Moving the bathtub, toilet and sink is a pricey proposition in a bathroom remodel. If your floor plan doesn’t warrant it or your budget doesn’t permit it, there is still much you can do to improve the function and increase the beauty of your master, family or guest bath. Here are seven transformative ideas from before-and-after bathrooms big and small that kept their basic plumbing footprint.
Before Photo
1. Free the Bathtub From the Walls
Before: The built-in tub occupied a prime spot by the stained-glass window in this 150-square-foot Atlanta master bathroom, but it was taking up space that could be put to better use. The homeowners also wanted to change the 1980s vanity and brass shower frame and fittings.
Photo by Emily J. Followill Photography
After: Swapping the bulky built-in corner tub for a streamlined freestanding one made room for a longer double vanity, which interior designers Joann Kandrac and Kelly Kole updated with cherry cabinetry, rectangular undermount sinks and lever-handle faucets. The vanity now ends in a tall linen cabinet, just out of view on the left. Repositioning the tub filler from front to back wasn’t a big deal, Kandrac says.
Tip: The National Electrical Code stipulates that lights over bathtubs be rated for damp locations and that the lowest part of the fixture be at least 8 feet from the top of the tub. Local codes may vary.
Find an interior designer near you on Houzz
Photo by Emily J. Followill Photography
Kandrac and Kole also redid the shower in porcelain field tile with marble matchstick accents (walls), interlocking sliced pebbles (floor), frameless glass,
and rain and handheld shower heads.
Marble tile in a basketweave pattern replaces plain square tile on the bathroom floor.
Read more about this bathroom remodel
Before Photo
Becky Harris
2. Update the Vanity in Bamboo and Quartz (and Find Your Niche)
Before:
This 50-square-foot Los Angeles bathroom’s traditional look, worn fixtures and finishes, and cutesy decor no longer suited teen and tween sisters. It also didn’t have enough places for their toiletries.Photo by Erika Bierman Photography
After: Fulfilling her clients’ wish to swap out the traditional raised-panel vanity for a contemporary edge-grain bamboo one was the starting point for building designer Wendy Wilson. The taller, shallower vanity has plenty of storage, sleek pulls and a speckled quartz waterfall countertop. The moisture-resistant and easy-to-clean engineered stone appears on the tub apron as well.
Bathroom Countertops: The Pros and Cons of Engineered Quartz
Photo by Erika Bierman Photography
Wilson maximized the tight space by utilizing a wall-mounted sink faucet and recessing the mirrored medicine cabinets, the towel bar and the ample shampoo niche.
The glass-tiled shower’s clear enclosure and a white laminated glass bathroom door let natural light from the new skylight and awning window filter through.
Read more about this bathroom remodel
Before Photo
3. Make a Bold Backsplash the Focal Point (and Repeat It in the Shower)
Before:
This dreary 95-square-foot master bathroom in Southern California had a nondescript shower and toilet on one side of a pocket door and a carpeted vanity area on the other. An electrical cord running behind the faucet was a bit of an eyesore.After: Setting watery-blue glass tile in a herringbone pattern behind the new vanity and in vertical bands in the shower was one way designer-builder Marie Cairns and designer Luz Del Pozzo modernized and brightened the room. The tile glows in the light of the new mirrored medicine cabinet and flanking linear sconces.
Having one oversize rectangular vessel sink and two single-hole, deck-mounted faucets leaves the quartz counter less chopped up than it was with two oval undermount sinks and three-hole faucets. The top drawers in the wood-effect vanity have electrical outlets for the homeowners’ styling and shaving tools.
Shop for glass tile on Houzz
The designers enlarged the shower so it could accommodate a bench and draw light from a nearby window. They also replaced carpeting in the vanity area and dated tile in the shower-toilet area with wood-look luxury vinyl planks and marble-look porcelain tile, respectively.
Facing the vanity, a tall linen closet with doors mirrored on the inside and out holds extra towels and a beloved tool-cabinet-turned-jewelry box. A wall of matching cabinetry, just out of view to the left of the shower, provides an abundance of storage.
Read more about this bathroom remodel
Before Photo
4. Lavish the Walls With Elegant but Economical Tile
Before:
Except for a medicine cabinet, this 36½-square-foot Minneapolis master bathroom had almost no storage, forcing the homeowners to balance toiletries on the grab bars and pile them under the console sink. The basic square wall tile had prominent grout lines that were hard to keep clean. It also didn’t extend very far up the walls of the unusually long alcove tub.Jaimie Nelson Design
Photo by Matt Dahlman of Red Pine PhotographyAfter: Lining the walls with a large-format, marble-effect porcelain tile went a long way toward giving the room an airy, luxurious feel. Interior designer Jaimie Nelson broke up the 1-by-2-foot tile’s straight lines by using marble hexagonal tile on the floor — made all the easier to see and clean by a floating vanity and a slim skirted toilet.
Shop for wall-mounted vanities
Jaimie Nelson Design
Photo by Matt Dahlman of Red Pine Photography
To beef up storage, Nelson recessed two shampoo niches and two cabinets in the walls, concealing the cabinets behind framed artwork. A shorter tub behind a glass shower panel left room for a handy ledge opposite the shower controls.
Touches of brass from the light fixture, mirror frame, towel holder and Kohler’s Purist faucets warm up the white-and-gray palette. A top-down, bottom-up cellular shade offers both light and privacy.
Read more about this bathroom remodel
Before Photo
5. Carry a Classic Theme From Floor to Ceiling
Before:
This 55-square-foot bathroom’s tired, old fixtures and sad, earthy colors weren’t reflective of the home’s youthful inhabitants and waterfront setting in the Florida Keys. A random side table boosted the minimal storage.Eclipse Design Studio LLC
Photo by Nery Wasserman
After: Striving for a fresh, timeless design that would appeal to three young children without being too cutesy, Rhona Chartouni of Eclipse Design Studio landed upon a nautical theme. Penny round tile in matte white and glossy navy form sailor stripes on the walls and floor, as well as on the face of the bathtub, from Kohler’s Bellwether collection.
On the ceiling, decorative painter Andrea Zadunaisky depicted a night sky with glow-in-the-dark stars. A battery-powered anchor-shaped light and, below it, a hardwired motion-sensor nightlight, centered on the tile “runner,” also help sleepy kids navigate the bathroom when the overhead lights would be too bright.
Find a local decorative painter
Eclipse Design Studio LLC
Photo by Nery Wasserman
The vanity’s custom lacquer finish, Corian countertop with integral sink, and open and closed storage are easy to keep shipshape.
The Eurofase mirror has LED lights at the top and bottom edges, as well as in a porthole-like ring around the integral magnifying mirror.
Read more about this bathroom remodel
Before Photo
6. Give a Basic Tub a Custom Apron to Match a Converted Vanity
Before:
Dark slate floor tile and white-veined black tile extending more than halfway up all four walls made this 42-square-foot guest bathroom in British Columbia seem even smaller than it was. The door opened right in front of a pedestal sink, which offered no storage.mango design co
Photo by Tracey Ayton
After: Facing a simple alcove bathtub with a custom teak apron helped Mango Design Co’s Tanya Mclean and Nichole Skladan give this room the midcentury modern style their clients desired. The apron, on a tub with an integral backrest from Duravit’s Starck collection, is coated with a clear marine-grade sealer for water resistance. Kohler’s Purist faucets in brushed gold tie in to the aesthetic. The finish also appears on the actuator of the dual-flush toilet from Kohler’s Persuade line.
Shop for dual-flush toilets
mango design co
Photo by Tracey Ayton
The clients also wanted to repurpose a piece of midcentury modern furniture as a vanity — not just for the look, but also for storage and environmental reasons. With a few modifications, this teak cabinet from Craigslist fit the bill. The above-counter sink is from Duravit’s Vero collection.
Matte white subway tile on the walls (set in a 90-degree herringbone pattern with unobtrusive white grout) and three-quarter-inch hexagonal tile on the floor (with practical charcoal gray grout) form a classic backdrop for such boho accessories as a colorful kilim, a woodblock-inspired shower curtain and a couple of plants.
The designers gained valuable inches and a better entrance to the bathroom by straightening out a jog in the adjacent hallway, moving the doorway and replacing the swinging door with a pocket one.
Read more about this bathroom remodel
Before Photo
7. Add Personality With Colorful Paper and Paint
Before:
The dust-catching fluted pedestal sink and toilet and the moisture-absorbing wooden floor were old-fashioned and impractical in this 60-square-foot first-floor bathroom used by a Michigan couple, their two toddlers and their guests.Petoskey Kitchen and Bath - Designs By Dawn
Photo by Scott Castelein
After: Blending a sense of fun with a traditional style befitting an old farmhouse was a goal for Lindsey Young of Designs by Dawn. She recommended Schumacher’s happily colored Chiang Mai Dragon wallpaper, based on a 1920s Art Deco print, and had the existing claw-foot tub painted to coordinate with the paper and the accent shade in the nearby kitchen. The tub now stands on a slate tile floor.
Painted wainscoting of horizontal wood planks not only reduces the amount of wallpaper required, but also offers better moisture resistance.
Tip: In a bathroom frequently used for showering or bathing, it’s a good idea to opt for vinyl wallpaper. If you have your heart set on something else, U.S. Bath Systems designer Stephanie Blanda recommends using a clear varnish over the paper, along with mildew-resistant primer and adhesive.
10 Times When Painting a Claw-Foot Tub Refreshed a Bathroom
Photo by Scott Castelein Flanking brass sconces relate to the brass elsewhere in the home.
The homeowners’ choice of the matte black tub filler and tap-on, tap-off sink faucet (both from Brizo’s Odin collection) led to a custom vanity that conceals the faucet’s battery pack behind an apron made from pieces of the home’s original oak molding. The white concrete countertop has an integral ramp sink. The open bottom reduces bulk.
Read more about this bathroom remodel
More on Houzz
How to Control the Cost of Your Bathroom Remodel
Read about other bathroom makeovers
Find a bathroom remodeler near you
Shop for bathroom products
