This Cramped 1950s Bathroom Got a Makeover, and Now the Square Footage Feels “Generous”
People who live in smaller homes can probably relate to this sentiment from designer Lauren Saab @saabstudios.design): “In a smaller home, you feel the inefficiencies of every square foot,” she says. And she was definitely feeling the inefficiencies in her 1,162-square-foot 1950s house’s bathroom.
“The bathroom was one of the smallest rooms in the house, but the vanity made it feel even tighter,” she says. “It protruded so far into the narrow footprint that it nearly collided with the door swing. Anyone entering had to sidestep around it just to get inside, which made the room feel cramped and awkward.”
Not to mention the design was on the dated side. “The goal was to create a clean, bright foundation with materials that feel timeless but still bring personality,” Lauren says.
The vanity got an upgrade.
One of the biggest difference-makers was replacing the aforementioned bulky vanity. “Replacing the oversized vanity with the slimmer wall-hung version completely transformed the room,” Lauren says — but the biggest challenge was finding a retailer that offered the right dimensions, as Lauren and her husband, Nathanael, wanted to DIY most of the work for this room and not have anything custom-built.
They found a base from Wayfair, and the searching and scrolling was worth it because “the door now clears comfortably, circulation flows, and the space feels intentional rather than compromised,” Lauren says. “That single decision made the bathroom work.” Lauren and Nathanael added a drop sink and large drawer pulls to the big-box vanity.
Another game-changer? The new mirror. Before, “The mirror was laughably wrong for the space,” Lauren adds. “It was basically a long narrow full-length mirror mounted sideways — so shallow that when you stood in front of it you could not even see the top of your head.”
The bathroom makeover was all about balance.
Lauren and Nathanael sourced all of their materials for the bathroom, and the only pro help they brought in was for the marble flooring, which “set the tone, with its Carrara pieces and small square insets that bring just enough pattern without overwhelming the space,” Lauren says. Her goal was to balance the stone with some warmth by adding beadboard.
The beadboard and trim are painted gray (Benjamin Moore’s Classic Gray), and the walls are white (Benjamin Moore’s Cloud White). Lauren and Nathanael did the painting and installed the mirror, lighting, and molding themselves.
Lauren says the “after” feels appropriate for “the scale of the room while layering in choices that felt tailored to the house’s character.” In total, the transformation cost about $4,200, including the professional tilework.
“It went from being the room we avoided to one that feels calm and generous — proof that even the smallest spaces can be designed to live beautifully,” Lauren says.
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