I was chatting with my friend Sarah while standing in her powder room a few weeks ago. I found myself smiling as I looked around. It was magic — and I’m not being hyperbolic.
Sarah had taken her tiny bathroom — barely three foot by five foot and more closet than restroom — and elevated it to luxurious. It was minimalist, not cluttered with anything that drew your eye around the room. When I left her house, I started thinking about my own bathroom and how frustrated I had been with it over the years.
We’ve all had those moments of staring in the mirror and thinking “THIS ROOM SUCKS???” You know the ones I’m talking about. Well, that was me, every morning, for the last six months or so since I moved into my current flat.
My bathroom wasn’t just small, it was depressing shades of beige, with a medicine cabinet that screamed “builder-grade” and a shower curtain that had definitely seen better decades.
But here’s the thing — small doesn’t have to mean mundane. Far from it, actually. Scale was my first issue to tackle.
Frankly, I see tiny bathrooms crammed with huge bathroom accessories every day. It’s like watching someone try to squeeze into a pair of trousers two sizes too small. Everything looks skewed and awkward.
So I started looking for things in more of my bathroom’s scale. My towel bar is 18” instead of the standard 24”. My mirror is petite and circular instead of the large rectangular mirror I had originally planned.
I downsized my toilet paper holder too. All of a sudden, my bathroom went from looking cluttered to looking curated. My next ah-ha was the mirror.
Hear me out on this one, I was genuinely surprised by this one too. I always thought one mirror was enough coverage, but I was so wrong. I installed a second, small mirror on the other side of the wall at an angle to catch light from the window.
It creates this insane illusion that the room is twice as wide. I even catch myself doing a double take sometimes and forget how tiny the actual space is. My friend Jess tried this trick after she saw mine and text me three days later: “Claire I swear my bathroom doubled in size overnight.” Now I know physics won’t agree, but booooooooy does it feel like it.
The lighting became my obsession next. The original overhead fixture did nobody any favours — it was harsh and unflattering and cast shadows in all the wrong places. I replaced it with a tiny pendant that shines upward (and bounces off the white ceiling creating that oh-so flattering, ambient glow) and added battery operated LED light strips underneath my floating shelf.
And the best part? I didn’t even have to hire an electrician! Just some strategic measuring and my Dad borrowing me a level that I still haven’t given back.
Paint colour was something I needed to really be bold with. So much bloggy information out there said “go bright for small spaces” which translated to beige or beige or maybe tan if you’re feeling adventurous. But Sarah’s powder room had me hooked.
It was this gorgeous shade of blue-green and for some reason made the space feel cozy rather than closing in on me. I painted three swatches on my bathroom wall and didn’t wash them off for two weeks. I wanted to see how they looked in both morning and night light as well as under artificial light.
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How they looked while I was brushing my teeth at 7am and not just how they would photograph for Instagram. The verdict? A light sage that changes with the light but is always welcoming.
PS Painting a small bathroom goes FAST. Like two coats, in one afternoon fast. Okay yes I got paint in my hair twice.
We’ll call that my DIY skill level right there. Storage was where I almost lost my mind. I wanted the room to be clutter-free, but where the hell do you put stuff when you have zero floor space and limited wall space?
The brainstorming session I had with myself (plus an afternoon trip to three different stores) led me to discover this skinny cabinet that squeezed into the six inches between my toilet and wall. It looks like something custom built to the space but was actually £40 from a discount retailer. I hung a small floating shelf above the door to store more out-of-the-way toiletries.
Speaking of small, I switched all my beauty products down a size. Instead of bulky pump bottles of shampoo lining my shower shelf, I used travel sized bottles. I bought a travel-sized soap dispenser.
Hell, even my toothbrush holder was tiny. It sounds silly, but it made SUCH a visual difference. Texture was important when you have a limited colour palette.
The white subway tile I chose have a handmade imperfection to them that bounce light beautifully. My bath mat has a subtle texture to it. My hand towels are waffle weave instead of flat cotton.
Small imperfections that add depth without adding bulk. Honestly, plants stumped me more than I care to admit. My first foray into using a medium peace lily looked amazing…in the room of a dollhouse.
Too busy. Too over the top. I now have two tiny plants: a trailing pothos on my floating shelf and a small snake plant by the sink.
They bring life to the room without overwhelming the space. Finishing touches took me months and I changed my mind more times than I’d like to admit. The hardware — cabinet knobs, towel rack, light switch covers — all got upgraded to brushed brass to feel warmer against the green walls.
I hung one piece of art: a small framed botanical print I picked up at a car boot sale for £3.
My biggest mistake? Trying to cram too much character into the room all at once.
Patterned wallpaper, coloured towels, glass jars, votives – they made the space feel chaotic and cluttered. Going minimalist was intimidating at first. Like I was making it boring.
But it was the opposite that happened. Less visual clutter let each piece really shine. The finished product feels bigger, intentional and something I enjoy spending time in.
People love to gush over it too, and I’ll never get over that. It’s just a tiny bathroom, what’s the big deal?! Well my friends, when you pay attention to the small things, there is NO such thing as just a tiny bathroom.
