Tiny Bathrooms, Huge Transformations: The Most Satisfying Makeovers of 2025
Dated bathrooms often come with big challenges. Upgrading cramped layouts and tired fixtures can be expensive, and deciding on a color palette can make or break a morning mood. That’s why the team at Apartment Therapy is always impressed by what readers come up with to make their bathrooms better.
Over the last year, we’ve taken notes as you’ve transformed these spaces with quick and intensive makeovers that showcase the visual impact supplied by a can of paint or a whole new tub (and everything in between). Stretching a dollar here isn’t always easy, but these before-and-afters sure make it seem that way — and the results give others hope that they can be just as creative. From color-drenching and bold paneling to contact paper and penny tiles, these are our seven favorite bathroom transformations of 2025.
Dark green contact paper takes this bathroom from 2000s to on-trend.
DIYer Lily Tsutsumida (@lilytsutsumidaart) had a bathroom with lots of beige tiles from the early 2000s, and a plum paint color on the walls that she and her husband, Evan, didn’t like. They didn’t have money for a major renovation, so they made changes with a $20 solution: contact paper. They created an on-trend checkered finish that she says has held up surprisingly well.
A clover block stamp made a bathroom’s white walls look whimsical.
Designer Jessie Surber (@jessiesurberinteriors) started this bathroom project with all-white walls, which was basically a blank canvas for her imagination. She sketched out a leafy pattern with pencil and paper, and then transferred her design into a block stamp. She applied the stamp to the walls, and now the bathroom has a colorful-meets-whimsical finish.
Bold paints and fabric turned this 1970s bathroom into a stunning retreat.
Designer Kate Pearce (@katepearcevintage) sought low-budget solutions for her 1970s-era bathroom, and found them in periwinkle paint, accent colors for the cabinetry, peel-and-stick flooring, and pretty fabrics for privacy. The striking difference seems like it could’ve cost a fortune, but the total came out to about $150.
Bold wallpaper and paneling make this new bathroom feel fun.
Hannah Bayliss’ (@thatstonecottage) bathroom had some tricky angles and dated tiles, which made a strong case for a new layout and fresh finishes — after all, there’s only so much you can do about a cramped shower before calling it quits. She and her husband hired a contractor to figure out where to move the sink and toilet in order to enlarge the shower, and the new arrangement was highlighted with bold wallpaper and charming paneling.
India-inspired wallpaper and a new tub take this bathroom out of the 2000s.
Designer Mitesh Trambadia’s (@desimeetsdesign) bathroom had a clunky soaker tub and green walls, among other dated issues from a bygone era. He started fresh with a new soaking tub and modern tiles, but the garden wallpaper inspired by India really makes this room feel serene.
Vintage finds and refreshed wood paneling give a 1967 bathroom a new look.
After Madison Zavoda-Brennan (@midcentury.madison) saw a vintage yellow toilet paper holder at a record store, she used it as inspiration to overhaul the bathroom inside her 1967 house. She and her husband, Jack, sourced their own old-school finds from Facebook Marketplace alongside restored wood paneling and new penny tiles.
Existing Art Deco tiles look even better with butter-yellow paint.
Tory Tawlks’ bathroom already had existing butter-yellow tiles, but the Art Decor detailing in her bathroom felt flat against the white walls. So she painted them in a sunny shade to color-drench the room, and then contrasted that choice with a reddish brown shade for the built-in storage. Considering that this transformation cost a little more than $200, it’s proof that paint can go a long way.