Beauty & the Bath

Bathrooms are notorious for being tricky to design—with plumbing, hardware, and storage to work around, it can be hard to wrap your head around a poorly designed space or dated finishes to envision your ideal end space. Not to mention, bathrooms are commonly squeezed into tight spots in a home’s floor plan—especially older homes or apartments—so the layout can get pretty wonky.

But thankfully, we’ve got the internet and its bottomless well of design inspiration and tips to guide the way and give you fresh ideas to build your dream bathroom. 

Whether you’re looking to create an at-home spa atmosphere or just need a modern update on an old-fashioned design, here’s some inspiration for your dream bathroom.

Working with a tight space

Bathrooms carry a heavy task-load in any household, and often with the smallest footprint. This is why it’s more important than anywhere else to get creative with decor, utility, and storage when it comes to bathroom design and renovation, especially when working with an older space. 

Designer, actress, and artist Jessie Ruane took a cramped New York City apartment bathroom and created the powder room of her dreams with a splash of fun color and some creative shelving along the top of the wall. After painting the room with a dark green initially, she changed her mind and went over the walls with a fresh coat of pink, which shows the perks of working with a smaller space—there’s more room to change your mind.

A smaller bathroom is also the perfect place to experiment with fun, colorful wallpaper without the overwhelming effect it can have in a bigger room. Interior designer Kate Marker shows us how it’s done here, with eye-catching wallpaper that brings in some calming color.

No natural light? No problem

Unlike any other rooms in the house (aside from perhaps the closets), it’s common to see bathrooms without any windows to allow for natural light. While this might seem like it could pose a challenge, it’s actually a great chance to play with some darker colors on the walls that you might be afraid of trying in larger, more light-filled rooms. 

Darker paint colors can actually work better in rooms with less natural light—which can mute or alter how the colors appear—and play off of warmer light given off by incandescent bulbs. Minnesota-based interior designer Erin Haugard utilized both darker color and wallpaper in this bathroom to take a small, dark bathroom and turn it into a moody, sophisticated powder room.

Working with a dated bathroom

Sometimes full-on renovations are necessary in older homes, whether it be because of an awkward layout or just ugly, outdated finishes. But sometimes it can be the path of least resistance—and can be more fun with the outcome—to lean into older, more timeless styles, especially with elements like claw-foot tubs, tiled walls, or classic built-ins. This married couple in Georgia made their bathroom into a classic mid-century haven with clean, white subway tile in the shower and simple, mid-century vanities.

A surefire way to quickly dust off any outdated bathroom is with fresh, updated flooring. A hardwood-look tile like Brindle Wood Natural Porcelain Tile in a half-bath or waterproof natural tile like Bianca Carrara Porcelain Tile in the master instantly takes an older space from antiquated to contemporary, and can even play well off of older features like built-ins or lighting that you might want to hold onto. If you’re curious which floor might work with your bathroom, check out our Floor Finder, which matches your unique style profile and space requirements with the perfect flooring for your project. 

No matter where you’re starting—whether it’s old or new, funky or conventional—bathrooms are a great space to play around with color, finishes, and storage.

Do you have bathroom design tips or ideas? Tell us — and tag us — on Facebook or Instagram at @LLFlooring and use #LLStyle.