When it comes to small-bathroom makeovers, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. A complete overhaul is often the most appealing (and the only logical) option, but once the dust from demo day settles, you’ll be faced with a heap of not-so-easy decisions to make. What type of tile should you use? Where can you squeeze in extra storage? Does this layout even make sense?!
Rather than come up with the answers to these questions out of thin air, read on to gather inspiration from these dramatic bathroom before-and-afters. As it has been said, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
The One Designed With Future Teens in Mind
Even though designer Linette Dai’s clients’ kids were only babies when she made over this bathroom, she created a space with two teenage girls in mind. The first order of business was expanding the room by stealing some square footage from the adjacent hallway (taking it from 42 to 68 square feet). Then Dai tucked the toilet in an alcove next to the tub-shower, making way for a double vanity topped with a large slab of terrazzo and eight functional drawers below.
The One With the Souped-Up Medicine Cabinet
Designer Jen Mac Beth, owner and creative director of California Casa Interiors, kept the arched millwork theme in her client Jenna Rainey’s home, going with this bespoke medicine cabinet. The wood piece balances hidden storage for skin care and toothpaste with open shelving for towels and decorative objects.
The Retro One
Jill Singer, cofounder and editor in chief of Sight Unseen, wanted the bathrooms in her Hamptons home to be reminiscent of the tile-covered spaces in the iconic Gerald Luss House. What’s more ’50s than colorful grid tile that extends down the side of the tub?
The Babyproof One
Jess and Fabian Molina had the ultimate motivator when they decided to renovate the bathroom in their Portland, Oregon, home: the arrival of their first child. They added a vanity with plenty of storage for bath time toys, put in a deeper tub, swapped the curtain for a glass partition, and installed a towel warmer so their little one never catches a chill.
The Sophisticated First-Floor One
Nicole Arruda’s New Jersey–based clients were adamant about keeping the shower in their downstairs bathroom. The designer shifted the placement of the shower to the shortest wall and clad it in Clé Tile’s blue-black Battle Armor tile. The sink was scored from Chateau Domingue, a Houston-based shop that’s loaded with architectural antiques.
The One Where the Tub Stayed Put
The reason Megan Ananian and Andrew Ginn decided to keep the builder-grade tub in their 680-square-foot Brooklyn home? Replacing it would have required them to call a plumber, which would have bogged the timeline down with securing permits. So they decided to design around it, swapping the light-blocking shower curtain with a glass wall from Overstock and adding vertically stacked tile from Tile Bar, a floating sink vanity from MEBO, and a flush medicine cabinet from Pottery Barn.
The One Where the Shower Is Like Its Own Room
The next big bathroom trend? Creating a room within a room. The spalike space in this Alberta, Canada, house, designed by McKenzie Milhousen, ticks the box with its deep-set shower. By taking away one of the closets in the guest bedroom, Milhousen gained enough square footage for the alcove.
The One for a Morning Person
New York City–based designer Kylie Bass knew that her client, an on-air news reporter, needed to be in her office before the rest of Manhattan woke up. So she sought to transform her bathroom into a place fit for getting ready during the wee hours by building out a custom vanity that takes advantage of every inch in the narrow space. In addition to the two base cabinets and sinks, Bass dropped in a central countertop with a discreet drawer underneath. The shallow cubby is ideal for flat-laying brushes and hairstyling tools.
The Checkerboard One
Jillian Smith-Moher of Twenty-Two Twelve and Autumn Hachey, the mind behind Stay Here, teamed up to make this Whistler vacation rental as groovy as possible with tiled surfaces and checkerboard galore. The scheme started with tiled countertops in the kitchen and extended all the way to the floor of the powder room, bringing some much-needed fun to the windowless space. The clever money saver? The IKEA vanity that stars semi-custom doors by Kitch in ivory oak.
The Storied One
Kim Allen, of the husband-and-wife–run firm Studio BKA, didn’t just want the bathroom in this New Orleans home to look good, she wanted it to feel like it had a story. She went with a curved glass and metal shower enclosure and turned vanity legs, framed the IKEA medicine cabinet with two mirrors to make the piece appear more substantial, and exaggerated the height of the wainscoting.
The Under-$500 One
Nicole Christopher jokes that she was the perfect person to renovate her tiny Vermont bathroom because she’s a double Virgo. For less than $500, she gave the space a major facelift by spray-painting the fixtures (toilet handle, light switch plate, and window crank) with a matte enamel paint, applying white waterproof paint to the shower walls, installing a sconce over the medicine cabinet, scoring fresh towel hooks on Amazon, and cladding the ceiling in tongue-and-groove panels.
Designer Halle Baran’s clients understandably wanted a bathroom with a tub to bathe their three children (ages 6, 4, and 1 ½), but the catch was she only had 55 square feet to work with. After gutting the children’s existing bathroom, Baran plopped in an alcove tub-shower from Signature Hardware where the old stall used to be, taking full advantage of the 60-inch-wide wall.
The One With Special Effects
Utah-based designer Andrea West wins the award for best shower tile moment. To make the configuration extra-special, West took the Starburst Hex pattern from Cement Tile Shop up onto the ceiling and had it cut to look like it was melting into the subway tile.
The Ultra-Sleek One
Tali Roth stuck to a strictly linear scheme in this no-fuss master bathroom in New York City. The designer’s real challenge (other than working with the room’s existing layout) was getting the grout color just right so the squares were clearly defined but not too graphic. The strength of the design lies in its simplicity.
The Terrazzo One
Roth went in a much bolder direction for the second bathroom in the same Manhattan apartment as featured above, covering the floor and walls in an oversize orange and green terrazzo. You can hardly even notice she kept the original tub in the mix.
The Farmhouse One
Designer Jenny Komenda gutted her daughters’ bathroom and started with all-white walls as her base. She then added easy-to-maintain tile flooring in a herringbone pattern, along with marble countertops and a gray-blue vanity with plenty of storage. Knocking out a wall allowed her to add a second sink so the kids don’t have to share.
The One With Graphic Floor Tile
Amber Lewis reinvented this interior with a complete white-out, making the perfect foundation for intricately patterned floor tile, a marble vanity with a black steel base, and a leather-wrapped mirror.
Lewis also took an all-encompassing approach to this master bathroom. She swapped out the existing double vanity for a lighter, hardware-less option and installed a glossy dark backsplash that makes the copper sconces, brass faucets, and silver-framed mirrors shine.
The One With Discreet Shelving
Yet another inspiring before-and-after from Amber Interiors: This bathroom once had bulky cabinetry and the tiniest pedestal sink. Lewis quickly tore those out and brought in cherrywood floating shelves, accentuating their red undertones with Merlot-colored pulls. Spare towels, beauty tools, and scented candles can all be kept out of the way in this handsome nook.
The Splashy Pastel One
Stasia Buckle’s rental bathroom wasn’t totally outdated, but it wasn’t exactly inspiring either. That all changed when she gave it a splashy coat of Fairy Dust pink. A high shelf filled with hanging plants also makes the ceilings look taller—in addition to bringing a refreshing dose of nature to the small space.
The One With a Dramatic Marble Moment
When you’re working with minimal square footage, the occasional splurge is well worth it, as Tali Roth proves here. This sink’s purple-veined marble countertop steals the spotlight, while simple, affordable tiled floors and white walls set a serene backdrop.