Sometimes A Small Bathroom Is All You've Got To Work With...
And That's OK!
A Note on Product Links:
(There are some affiliate links in this post. If you just want the links to the products seen in the pictures, please scroll to the bottom of the page and you will find everything there, including decor items.)
Let's Get Started
Small is just fine! Small CAN be luxury!
But honestly, when we bought this house we were torn about the bathroom. It was the ensuite to the master bedroom, and there was no room for it to grow. We couldn’t cut into the bedroom without taking away from the bedroom closet, which was too small already. And the other space to borrow from was the adjacent bathroom, which was not happening. We knew we were going to have to make the space work.
Here is a little before picture. The bathroom really wasn’t that bad, updated within the past ten years for sure. However, the grout and tile was stained from iron in the water and the tile was cracking at the edges.
Also, the vanity had no organization and there wasn’t a lot of space to put anything. The shower was also outfitted with handicap handles that were not coming off without cracking tile.
All in all, we just were not happy with this bathroom for the long term. We knew we were going to change it, but had to come up with a plan.
Tile Purchases
We came up with this general vision board. we knew we wanted gold fixtures and neautral tile tones. For the shower floor we chose a matte white penny. We loved that it wasn’t shiny, since the wall tile had a glossy finish. They were not going to compete!
For the bathroom floor tile we also went with a matte finish. Mostly because it would not be a slip hazard. This is a 12×24 greige tile from Home Depot. Fairly inexpensive and worked really well with our neutral palette.
Finally we used a beautiful tile from Wayfair that we were unsure of when looking online but came out so much more beautiful then we anticipated! It is Renzo 3″ x 12″ Glossy Ceramic Subway Wall Tile 3×12 tile with variations of cream that is so beautiful! Please keep scrolling so you can see some up close photos of this tile!
Some progress shots. We didn’t get pictures of all the in between steps, but the tiling is always so messy its hard to pick up a phone and take photos while working. One thing we thought was going to ruin the tile but we ended up iking a lot was that the tile was not perfectly square. With a little time we figured out a pattern that we could use. The tile looked a little imperfect which we kind of loved because it gave great character! And isn’t that creamy tile for beautiful!
Shower Fixture
These fixtures are from Amazon and they really complimented the space. We love the color and quality! They are a nice heavy set from Moen, kind of pricey but we love them!
And just a note on the niches. The back and left wall of the shower are exterior walls, and we decided not to do niches there. So we put two narrow niches next to the plumbing. Honestly, they are actually crazy convenient. Not my first choice for niche placement, but they do the job!
The shower turned out beautiful and we decided not to do a glass wall/door because of price as well as the fact that they get gross so quickly. A white curtain and beautiful gold rod worked perfectly!
Bathroom Vanity, Mirror, & Hardware
Okay, here is my favorite part of this bathroom, and in my opinion probably the most important part of the bathroom. First, the mirror and second, the vanity. This mirror is a recessed mirror that opens up. It has great storage and was a game changer for the space! Seriously, you need this mirror is you have a small bathroom. It looks seamless too – doesn’t stick out at all!
The vanity is gorgeous. I needed something with a little movement, and I needed something dark. The room had plenty of white, light and bright, but was missing some contrast. We got this vanity from Amazon for a very good price. I mean, the vanity can usually be quite expensive, but this one fits the budget! It’s 30″ wide and 18″ deep. Unfortunately, it has not been in stock since we purchased it, but here are excellent alternatives:
30″ floating black vanity (can fir baskets underneath for additional storage!)
Finally the faucet was also an Amazon purchase and budget friendly! It’s a 3-hole faucet and very simple to install.