Before & After: Big Changes for a Little Bathroom

In their Clinton Hill co-op, Mario and Joe were struggling with a problem common to many apartment dwellers — a cramped, tiny bathroom with hardly any storage space. So they decided it was time for a renovation and, working completely within the room’s existing footprint, made a few changes that completely transformed this cramped space.

The biggest change: converting the old tub into a walk-in shower with a frameless glass door, which opens up the room considerably. For the walls and floor Mario and Joe chose large-format grey porcelain tile with a subtle texture and just a little bit of shine. A matching tile in a smaller size covers the shower floor and helps the shower to feel like a part of the rest of the room, which visually enlarges the space.

The new bathroom also has much more storage, thanks to an IKEA vanity (topped with a Ceasarstone countertop which continues across the top of the toilet) with two deep drawers.

The bathroom mirror conceals a new, larger medicine cabinet that extends the width of the vanity. And a couple of shower shelves (backed in the grey porcelain wall tile for a bit of contrast) keep shower necessities off the floor.

So even though the bathroom is still the same size, it now feels much bigger — and all the additional storage space means a lot less clutter, too.

Mario and Joe found their contractor, Jon, through Sweeten, an online resource that helps New York-area homeowners connect with architects, designers, and contractors. You can read more about the project, see more photos, and find sources on the project page at Sweeten.

Re-edited from a post originally published 4.18.16-NT