55 Gorgeous Small Bathroom Ideas to Maximize Every Inch of Space

Anyone who has lived in a micro-sized home will tell you that small bathrooms often feel like an afterthought, simply dropped into your tiny floor plan. Leaning into smart design is a must, mainly to make room for crucial small bathroom storage tips that help you fit in appliances, beauty essentials, plus linens and towels (even without counter space!). And even just one of these tips — tackled in under an hour, or even less — can create a massive difference in your morning and evening routines.

This guide to small bathroom design ideas includes real style tips sourced from Apartment Therapy’s collection of house tours, where families have created genius ways to stretch every inch of space in tiny bathrooms within studio apartments and more. If you’re looking for inspiration for low-lift bathroom makeovers that’ll instantly make your life easier, these tricks are a great place to start. 

From floating shelves and tiny sinks to mosaic tile and chic towel racks, these tips all have one thing in common: A beautifully designed small bathroom. Keep reading for 55+ ingenious small bathroom ideas to maximize even the smallest of spaces — all without sacrificing an inch of style.

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If you’re working on a remodel, opting to remove a pedestal sink or a sink console might be a better option for a small bathroom where actual floor space is nonexistent. Getting rid of under-sink storage may sound scary, but clearance under your sink makes the room itself feel much larger — plus, you can use vertical wallspace to make up for any storage losses. The vintage trough sink pictured above made the primary bathroom in this renovated cottage in Nebraska feel lofty after it was installed (peep the wall shelving!).

For those in renovation mode, adding recessed shelving into your bathroom is always a good idea — and more is more, meaning you should add the feature in showers, vanities and any wallspace possible. A full renovation in this Manhattan family home allowed for the guest-facing bathroom to be reoptimized to reduce clutter; massive recessed shelving in a shower-tub combo helps keep the minimalist interior as sleek as possible (clutter-free!).

Hear us out — sometimes, bleak fluorescent bathroom lighting (often the case for renters!) can make a small space feel so much more drab than it actually is. Accent lighting in small bathrooms doesn’t have to feel like clutter when it’s installed right; take this micro bathroom in a tiny Brooklyn apartment, for example. An easy-to-install pendant shade is a lovely option for renters who can’t do a full renovation, and sleek floor lighting helps to accentuate how tidy this space actually is.

Stuck with a windowless bathroom? It’s a lot more common than you’d think — and the easiest solution for most involves a heavy dose of a bright, bold paint. In this 380-square-foot studio apartment in Brooklyn, a pop of muted pastel pink helps to create a rosy atmosphere in a darker bathroom sandwiched between a kitchen and a neighboring apartment. The hue in question helps to mimic a sunshine glow where there is none (so do these colors).

It may sound silly, but take a page out of the playbook for many hotel chains — wall-mounted soaps, toothpaste and other beauty essentials allow you to keep your precious sink free of eyesore clutter. Soap and hand lotion are a must for guests in a powder room, and we love how the family in this Art Deco-esque Los Angeles apartment used a handy dispenser to keep the sink looking minimal.

This New Jersey bath isn’t teeny tiny, but it offers a few smart small space storage ideas all the same. Chief among them? The minimalist peg style hooks that take up just a sliver of wall space and provide an ideal space for hanging towels.

This UK bathroom features a lovely stained glass window that you can gaze at while soaking in the tub. Don’t have this kind of architecture in your space, or rent and can’t replace your window with something colorful? You can fake it until you make it with stained glass privacy film.

The orange shower curtain and blue walls in the bathroom of a stylish New Orleans shotgun house pull the eye up and around the space. They also help visually elongate the room, emphasizing the tall ceilings and taking attention off of the narrowness of the space.

Bring a burst of color into a small, minimalist bathroom by painting your sink cabinets in a vibrant hue, as seen in this soothing space in a Michigan kit home.

Take a cue from this Santa Barbara home by bringing some boho flair to a small bathroom. Here, you’ll see a mix of textures and textiles, like the woven rug, linen shower curtain, and rattan baskets.

Looking for an easy small bathroom idea for a chic upgrade? Replace your current mirror with a more sophisticated one — like the round floral bone mirror in this San Francisco apartment — to elevate the entire ambiance of your bathroom. No renovations necessary!

A bathroom in a tiny home is about as small as you can get, but this Washington DC bath doesn’t feel cramped. If you keep products to a minimum and select only your favorite plant or candle to display, things will feel more spacious, even if they’re actually far from it.

Searching for a stylish way to free up space around your sink? Swingarm sconces — like the ones in this Michigan home — are a great small bathroom idea. They’ll  provide plenty of accent lighting without taking up an inch of surface space.

Cover a single wall in a fresh coat of chalkboard paint to make an artful statement in a small bathroom, which is not only a great small bathroom idea, but a handy source of entertainment while you’re in there. Let this Rhode Island home serve as the perfect bathroom inspo.

Bring a pop of color and contrast to your small bathroom by painting your baseboards and door trim in a bright hue. The owner of this Kansas City home nailed this design trick.

Maximize a small, awkwardly shaped bathroom by covering the walls with some playful wallpaper, as we saw in this charming house in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Place a few gorgeous leafy green houseplants in your small bathroom to naturally energize the space — and purify the air. This Albuquerque, New Mexico home proves that it’s very easy to be green when it’s used as a statement piece.

Not working with a ton of wall space to hang art in your tiny bathroom? Learn from Cupcakes and Cashmere founder Emily Schuman and prop a piece of art above your toilet tank. Let it lean against the wall for a sleek, nails-free display as she did inside her Los Angeles home.

In this dramatic Brooklyn brownstone, small but stately twin mirrors bring a touch of grandeur to a small bathroom.

Dark walls allow flashy gold-finished fixtures to shine in a small bathroom, as we found in an Art Deco-inspired Indiana home, which hits a high note in our book.

Too much of a good thing can be wonderful, and gallery walls in a small bathroom are no exception. Take a cue from this eclectic Nashville home and install floor-to-ceiling gallery displays on every wall of your bathroom for an impactful maximalist scene.

You can always count on wood-paneled walls to create an outdoorsy atmosphere in your tiny bathroom, just like we saw in this inspiring Austin, Texas bungalow. Who needs to trek to a log cabin when you have this?

When you don’t have enough room to place houseplants in your powder room, but you’re looking for small bathroom ideas to add a touch of nature to your space,  consider vibrant leaf-patterned wallpaper. This trick definitely pops in a lush Beverly Hills home.

In this modern and airy San Francisco home, clean-lined black accents create depth and contrast in a small earth-toned bathroom.

Don’t let a lack of square footage hold you back from designing your dream bathroom. Take a cue from Lauren Naimola and Chad Pratt and paint the walls a bold color and hang a statement plant in your bathroom to prove that good style will always trump size.

As proven in this maximalist Philadelphia home, a micro sink doesn’t mean micro style. The sink features stately gold fixtures, which helps it stand out in this teeny powder room.

Keep the look of your shower stall visually light with a clear shower curtain. For some semblance of privacy, search for one with a bit of a tint to it, similar to the pink and blue version in this renovated California cabin.

Sure, the bathroom in this 825-square-foot Brooklyn apartment is large by New York standards, but it’s not exactly a cavernous retreat. To help enlarge the space, the owners installed a window pane glass shower door, which tricks the eye into thinking the room goes on for miles.

When your bathroom is small, you want every square inch of shower space you can get. Enter the curbless shower — as seen in this gorgeous Munich dorm room (the American envy is real here) — which typically has a drain in the center of the floor and allows shower users to walk right in without stepping over a lip or a door.

Even if your shower takes up your entire bathroom, you can still make the most of the space, as evidenced by this gorgeous Swedish studio. A water-resistant bench for holding your belongings and towels is a great small bathroom idea. 

A cheery shower curtain can amp up just about any space, and the one in this boho-style Bronx apartment creates an artful display. When it comes to small bathroom ideas, adding decor in your favorite style will make up for a lack of space. 

Even the smallest bathroom has at least one place to sit… and we all know what that one place is! But if you need extra seating and simply don’t have room for it, cop the look we found in this Texas home and add some seating to your shower. 

Short on space? No one will even know when you opt for a super bold shower curtain like the one in this Washington, DC bathroom. 

Plant parents don’t need to sweat it, if shelf space is taken, and there’s no room on the floor. Many plants do perfectly fine chilling with you in the shower. Just take note of how the owners of this stunning Montreal home did it and research to see if your green-fronded friends can find a home in your bathroom. You can even hang a few off of your shower rod!

These UK homeowners used specialized tile, paint, and a stencil to create a fun focal wall in their bathroom. The success of this project proves that if custom patterned tile isn’t in the budget, you can still get creative by painting your own design with the proper materials.

Visually expand the look of your small bathroom by using tiles to create vertical striping, as seen in this bold lime and white Swiss space. You can choose to tile this way just around the tub area, or carry the pattern around the entire space for a really punchy effect. Just as is the case in fashion, the vertical bands can elongate the space and make it appear a bit larger and loftier than it actually is.

The blush Zellige wall tile paired with the beige floor tile in this California desert bathroom make this small space look larger than life.

Chevron-style marble walls a la Brian Mitchell and Ericka James’ San Francisco home bring a touch of texture and movement to a tiny bathroom without taking up any floor space.

The tile in this Los Angeles bathroom is as classic as it gets. White subway tile with black grout in the shower and black and white penny tile on the floor go together seamlessly and make the small bathroom appear larger than it is.

Smaller square footage means less room for decor, but when you install striking tile, like what’s seen in this cozy Vermont getaway, who needs anything more? The colors and patterns in the ceramic squares instantly brighten up the room and take up zero precious space, since they’re used as a countertop material and to trim out the shower.

Add mosaic tile to the walls surrounding your bathtub or shower to create an artful display in your small bathroom, just like we saw in Shana Cohen’s cozy cottage in Florida. 

If you’re starting from scratch with a bath reno, think about putting a tiled wainscoting wall treatment to work by topping it with a built-in shelf, just as these French countryside dwellers did. Sacrificing a few inches of floorspace to build out the shelf pays big dividends here, especially if you continue the shelf around a few of the bathroom’s walls. A perch like this is the perfect spot for items like perfume bottles and other toiletries.

Did you know certain shelving units are shaped to fit snuggly into corners? Find something that’s shaped like a triangle, and you can take advantage of those dead corners you might currently have in your bathroom, just as this couple did in their Bahamas cottage.

Working with little to no surface space for storage on your pedestal sink? Mount a floating picture ledge above your sink to store cosmetics, perfume bottles, and other small bathroom necessities, as we saw in this Paris apartment.

Installing hanging baskets for shower storage makes your bathroom look so much more fun — just take a look at this chic Pennsylvania home as an example. Your walls also won’t feel as cluttered, and you’ll avoid the pain of drilling or putting together a flat packed shelf.

When you’re short on space, you’ve got to use every inch. And that often means hanging things from the ceilings and walls (instead of using the cabinetry), like this Ontario bathroom displays. 

In a very small bathroom, built-ins are an absolute must to save wall space. This white built-in cabinet is sleek and doesn’t crowd this teeny bathroom in an Airstream trailer. And a coordinating rug and shower curtain give the space cohesiveness.

Just because you’ve opted for a floating vanity doesn’t mean you can’t store things below. These oversized jute baskets are the perfect touch in this rustic bathroom in a 500-year-old Italian countryside home, and allow for plenty of storage space as well. 

A pair of wall-mounted shelves turn a cramped bathroom corner into a storage-savvy scene. Let a chic Washington, D.C. apartment show you how it’s done.

A well-placed tray instantly creates an additional storage opportunity on top of your toilet tank, as we saw in this modern Chicago home.

Score some extra sink-side storage space by replacing your wall-mounted towel rack with a multifunctional leaning ladder, like the one in this Australian home.

Invest in a sleek and slender hanging rail system, like the FINTORP series at IKEA, so you won’t waste an inch of precious sink space on toiletries. Jordan and Brittany Griggs take their storage strategy to the next level in their RV with this hack.

A petite side chair provides a place to perch and surface space for tub-side storage in a small bathroom, as seen in this English farmhouse.

If you’re working with little to no storage space around your shower or bathtub, mount a floating shelf or picture ledge on the wall above the tub to store your shampoo, conditioner, and soap. This Buenos Aires home strikes a balance between form and function.

When you don’t have any surface space around your pedestal sink, a great small bathroom idea is to consider employing a petite, tiered side table to create some instant storage opportunity. This Austin abode shows how to get the job done in style.