Ideas For Decorating A Small Bathroom

85+ Small Bathrooms That Are Big on Style

What these bathrooms lack in square footage, they make up for in high design.

elle decor small bathroom roundup

Trevor Tondro

Big things can indeed come in small packages—just take a look at your tiny bathroom. Because of the limited square footage and opportunities to change the layout, it's common to write off a small bathroom as a design afterthought. But in reality, a powder room or guest bath offers a great chance to experiment with a bold color palette, eye-catching tiles, or cool hardware. And, with the right design tricks, you can easily strike a balance between form and function—regardless of your bathroom's size.

Fortunately, you don't have to look far to find inspiration: We've scoured the archives and highlighted the very best small bathroom ideas here. With more than 85 rooms to peruse—featuring whimsical wallpaper and any number of other artful touches—there's bound to be a bright idea here that suits your space and style.

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Mirror, Mirror

In this turnkey London townhouse, designer Jean-Louis Deniot added a large geometric mirror to this soothing space. The result? A well-appointed bathroom that's practical, too.

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High-Contrast Excellence

What's black and white and chic all over? This petite bathroom Ann Pyne designed for her Manhattan client. Not only does the high-contrast color palette offer lots of drama, but the mirror-lined walls create the illusion of a larger space.

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One-Shade Wonder

If you want to make a big statement in a small bathroom, stick with a monochromatic palette. The inky blue Alisa Bloom used in this Chicago penthouse is equal parts moody and magnificent.

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Take a Soak

Just because you have a small room doesn't mean you necessarily have to skimp on a soaking tub. Steal this idea from a decent-sized bathroom: Martin Cooper and Karen Suen-Cooper moved the Clawfoot Supply tub to the corner in their upstate New York home, maximizing the space and offering an exquisite view.

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Gorgeous Galley

It turns out, a galley bathroom is a space-efficient layout. George Bevan optimized this petite room in California by trading in the soaking tub for a shower and adding a lengthy counter.

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Shower Alfresco

Tight on space? In some locales, you can take part of your bathroom outside. In her Cartagena, Colombia, vacation home, jewelry designer Chiqui de Echavarría gave her outdoor shower an ornate, otherworldly edge.

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Wainscoting Wonder

Tiles are the go-to wall treatment in most small bathrooms. But as this Marie Flanigan–designed space in Houston proves, wainscoting can be a striking—and less predictable—alternative.

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Old Meets New

Previously owned by the actress Ava Gardner, this Madrid apartment is bursting with rich history. Designer Isabel López-Quesada recreated its storied magic by transforming a 1940s inlaid dresser into an unconventionally cool vanity.

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Turn a Negative (Space) Into a Positive

Embracing negative space is a surefire way to make the most of limited square footage. This colorful Mumbai home takes a space-efficient approach with its brass sink, which was made from a wok.

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Back to Nature

Make the most of a small space with the help of Mother Nature. From the custom cement sink to the branch accents, artist and photographer Anita Calero's Colombian home pays homage to the great outdoors.

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A Stylish Sink

To make your small bathroom stand out, all you need is one statement piece. When Michael K. Chen renovated this apartment on Manhattan's East Side, he put a Cassiopeia marble vanity front and center. The custom mirror by Kin & Company and the Lindsey Adelman sconces highlight the vanity's "wow" factor.

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Soothing Subtlety

As Amanda Gunawan's Los Angeles guest bathroom proves, subtlety can make a huge statement. The architect decked out her limited space with a custom concrete sink, a vintage mirror, and sconces from West Elm.

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Art of the Matter

If your bathroom is small—but has a bare wall to spare—take a cue from Mauro Guerini and Jürgen Hilow-Iwaszura's Milan apartment. The couple paired a portrait of a widow from a Milanese family with a sink and mirror from Sbordoni and a tub by GEA Construction.

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The More, the Merrier

Why settle for one piece of art when you can enjoy a few? In her New Orleans home, the writer Julia Reed filled her bathroom gallery wall with early-19th-century prints of Napoléon and Pope Pius VII.

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Take Flight

When it comes to decorating a small bathroom, go big or go home. In this whimsical New York apartment in SoHo, designer Sasha Bikoff covered the powder room in charming wallpaper from Christian Lacroix. (The butterfly pattern seen here goes nicely with the throw pillows she deployed in the living room.)

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Sitting Pretty

From the strategically placed alcoves in the Brèche de Médicis marble walls to the slim Junya Ishigami chairs, this Parisian apartment makes the most of its small bathroom—and looks good doing it.

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Hello, Yellow

A small bathroom is a great place to add an unexpected pop of color. For example, this Moroccan bathroom certainly makes a statement—the walls and floor are covered in Popham Design's Hex Long Shadow.

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Bold Bathroom

In their apartment in Manhattan's West Village, Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan embrace their bold style by covering the walls in penny tiles from Artistic Tile, along with vintage prints and an extravagant medallion courtesy of Hermès.

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Up in the Air

For this Oakland bathroom, the only way to go is up. Designer Patrick Printy covered the ceiling in a leaf-patterned wallpaper; he brings the design back down to earth by anchoring the room with a bold bust and console vanity.

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Selling Sunset

Behind every eye-catching bathroom is a beautiful color palette. With burgundy tiles, blush pink walls, and a shower curtain in warm tones, actress and activist Sophia Bush's small bathroom in the Hollywood Hills is the design equivalent of a gorgeous sunset.

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Mix and Match

Even a small bathroom has room for more than one type of tile. Swedish It girl Babba C. Rivera added cool nonchalance to her space by pairing white rectangular tiles with a penny style on the floor.

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Wondrous Wallpaper

A whimsical set of wallpaper make a big statement in a small space. In this Elizabeth Roberts–designed brownstone, a crisp custom Calacatta marble sink is paired with the Hermès Jardin d'Osier wallcovering from Dedar.

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Total Terrazzo

Architect Javier Robles lends his artful eye to every room of this Hamptons home—including this guest bathroom. The engineered marble that lines the wall and counters is from Max Lamb, while the fittings come courtesy of Boffi.

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Oceanic Oasis

In this Newport Beach home, designer Shannon McLaren Wilkins redefines the California cool aesthetic with modern pops of color and a Mediterranean flair. The guest bedroom, which took 15 iterations to perfect, features a wall of glossy green tiles and artwork by Anna Ullman to bring the home's beach surroundings inside.

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Opt for Opulence

Belgian-born, London-based interior designer Philip Vergeylen gives every room of this 25,000-square-foot,Georgian-style mansion in London an air of opulence. The custom black-lacquer paneling in the powder room is inset with Gracie wallpaper.

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Textured Treatment

Designer David Netto relied on bold colors and mixed materials to revitalize this Upper East Side prewar home. The juxtaposition between the stone shower and terrazzo floor creates a modern, nuanced environment. Subway tiles from Datile, a stoic St. Thomas Creations sink, and Benjamin Moore's Deep Royal bridge the gap between the two textures.

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Old-World Charm

Retail guru Patricia Greene's Upper East Side home exudes old-world charm. In the guest bathroom, the sink and fittings are by Waterworks, the mirror is by RH, Restoration Hardware, and the walls are clad in tiles by Mosaic House.

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Traditional Meets Modern

A seamless blend of elegance and comfort are on full display in a Houston home designed by Paloma Contreras. The powder room features a neutral Phillip Jeffries wallpaper, sink fittings from Kohler, Ralph Lauren Home sconces, and a vintage rug.

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Hand-Painted Detail

For a Chicago powder room, ED A-Lister Steven Gambrel settled on graphic hand-painted wallpaper by Gracie to complement the sink and floor in Onyx Fantastico marble. The vintage faucet was salvaged from Bunny Mellon's Manhattan townhouse. The sconce is by Blackman Cruz.

Kelsey Mulvey Kelsey Mulvey is a freelance lifestyle journalist, who covers shopping and deals for Marie Claire, Women's Health, and Men's Health, among others.

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