Bathrooms Home Projects

Lots of New York apartments come with charming vintage bathrooms. Not this one. The bathroom of Heather and Doug’s Park Slope condo, true to its roots in the ’80s, had dark, dour maroon tile on the walls and grungy white tile (with grungy white grout) on the floor. The homeowners, with a view to selling the apartment in the next few years, wanted a bathroom remodel that would make their space brighter and more pleasant, and appeal to potential buyers as well.

Project by: Jen and Eric Alden of Rara Avis Design Location: Rose Park Historic Neighborhood – Long Beach, California Jen and Eric’s bathroom, while not a total eyesore, was in need of some major updating. Being visual people with a practical bent, they decided that they wanted a bathroom that could stand up to water. Like, almost every inch of it. Coupled with some lucky vintage finds, their tile transformation makes for a pretty impressive overhaul.

After getting burned by Eisenhower-era pinks and olive greens, we’ve been playing it safe, color-wise, in the bathroom for a long time. Subway tile and white walls dominate modern bathrooms, with maybe a little grey tile on the floor for contrast. But that may all be about to change. More and more now I’m starting to see bathrooms that embrace the darker, moodier colors that are already so popular in other parts of the house. Take a look at these nine stylish examples.

Well, this sure is something. We strongly suggest you hit the zoom on the wallpaper…we’ll wait. Now that that’s out of the way, Sophie’s bathroom was dark and crowded but after smartly adjusting the layout and changing basically everything about the “before” room, she now has a light and adorable space. From Sophie: When we bought this house, seven years ago, we felt in love with its potential. Its layout and location are fantastic.

Chelsea’s black and white bathroom makeover incorporates classic elements into her family bathroom that keep the space feeling crisp and light. She also teaches us that one way to inspire even more tub envy is to paint said tub black. From Chelsea: This was a bathroom remodel that my husband and I completed on our small upstairs bathroom in our 1918 Craftsman bungalow located in Columbus, Ohio.

Sug-what? Pronounced seew-grew, this sticky substance is like moldable glue that’s clay-like out of the package, then hardens to rubber after 24 hours. People have found all sorts of ways to fix and create things with this flexible, interesting stuff. But perhaps most intriguing is its potential for renters.

Interior designer Laura Breisch of Making Home Interiors took on her toughest client — herself — when she purchased this Detroit home that had stood empty for 30 years and she purchased in a foreclosure auction. Instead of working with contractors, she enlisted her boyfriend and father and the three of them remodeled this bathroom from head to toe.

Shara’s old bathroom, while not totally on the cutting edge of design trends, was still pretty cute and seemingly livable. Turns out there were some structural issues with the bathroom (discovered during a kitchen remodel), so Shara jumped at the opportunity to rethink and upgrade the small space. She switched around the layout, built her own beautiful wooden vanity and added some sleek design elements that turned the bathroom into a spa-like space of serenity.

We love the look of a vintage-style mosaic tile floor in the bathroom. Like all true design classics, it matches with pretty much anything, and never really goes out of style. Compared to a lot of other options, it’s quite inexpensive — and when it comes to patterns, your choices are almost limitless. Here are some of our favorites. 1. Victorian Basketweave Black and White Porcelain Mosaic Tile, $70.99 for a box of 10 from Overstock 2.

Kari was charged with upping the glam and functionality of the master bathroom for a pair of empty nesters. After re-thinking the layout she added some black and white drama with some seriously high impact wallpaper. From Kari: My company, Kari McIntosh Designs, was hired by a couple whose youngest son had just left for college. They loved their classic Victorian home, but had always dreamt of renovating it to give it a contemporary makeover.

Jennifer’s pink tile bathroom was a little outdated aesthetically, but more urgently, it lacked function. Like, didn’t have a door, lacked function. For under $3k Jennifer and her husband were able to add style and useability to the space. From Jenn: Our 1961 ranch only has two bathrooms, one of which was this sad pink nightmare. We’d spent six years in a pink bathroom in our previous apartment and 12 with another pink bathroom in this, our first house.

Perhaps the next best thing to your landlord offering to fix up your rental bathroom (which rarely happens), is your landlord granting their blessing for you to fix it up yourself. Justyna was thrilled to get the green light from her landlord to make some bathroom improvements and she got straight to work. See what she accomplished on a small budget in this small rental: From Justyna: This summer I decided I couldn’t live with my rental bathroom any longer.

We got a glimpse of Ruth’s home in her House Call but her bathroom reno deserves some special attention. While the old bathroom was not horribly offensive aesthetically, it wasn’t fully functional (and a little stinky). After bumping the project up on her to-do list and getting to work, Ruth found herself with a darkly dramatic space that didn’t break the bank.

This master bath had plenty of space but not a lot of function. Kendra set out to not only upgrade and maximize the utility of the space, but to create a calm and serene atmosphere. From Kendra: This master suite had taken on minor renovations before, but nothing that allowed it to shine and become a truly functional and relaxing oasis. This space had an outdated standing shower, no access to the walk-in-closet and overall lack of functionally.

Ashley wanted a bathroom update that was stylish, full of storage and helped maximize the space of her small bathroom. By pulling in a surprising piece of furniture and painting the space a calming color, she created a bathroom that blends form and function. From Ashley: The tiny half bathroom connected to the master bedroom was original to the 1972 house and in desperate need of an update.

When Sophia and Leon bought their 3-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom Manhattan apartment, there wasn’t a lot going on in the petite second bathroom — but what was going on looked a little like a gas station bathroom: fine for a gas station, but not for a home. The yellowing wall tile was distinctly uninspiring, and dingy grout made the floor tiles look dirty no matter how many times they were cleaned.

When Marti set out to revamp her bathroom, she knew that a full tile update wasn’t in the cards. She didn’t let that deter her, however, and went ahead and made some really smart and stylish changes that created a less dated, more classic space. From Marti: My goal was to replace the glaring features that made the bathroom look really dated/cheap: most notably, the paint, mirror, and sink.

Sarah found herself in an all-too-familiar predicament: she had a bland bathroom and a strict landlord. Not wanting to force her bathroom to live a colorless life, she got creative and found a stylish and temporary solution. From Sarah: Last spring we moved from Manhattan to Northern Virginia, where we’ve been living in a beautiful rental house.

Debra’s home had gorgeous mid-century bones, and her renovations made the most of them. With some stunning tile and beautiful pictures, she turned her bathroom into a breathtaking beauty. From Debra: We recently finished renovating two of our mid-century home’s bathrooms. Since they are adjacent to one another, my first inclination was to combine them into one large space.

Courtney and John’s guest bathroom was outdated and had a funky layout, so they set out to open up and update the space. From Courtney & John: To complement our recently renovated guest room, we decided to tackle the attached guest bath as well. Overall, the bathroom was functional with a stock vanity and prefabricated shower/tub combo. But the space lacked style and was not utilizing the square footage to its maximum capacity.

Chrissy’s bathroom was standard, outdated builder grade blah. She transformed the space into something warm and welcoming without any major renovations. From Chrissy: The bathroom before consisted of builder grade oak cabinets and a mirror with no frame. The cabinet over the toilet was bulky and made the bathroom feel smaller.

Remember Sophia and Leon’s Manhattan apartment? Last week we witnessed the transformation of their kitchen, and this week we’re looking at the overhaul of the unit’s main bathroom. While the old bathroom wasn’t yet completely falling apart, it had poorly installed, mismatched fixtures — and the fact that it needed to serve for three people meant extra storage space would be welcome.

Courtney & John’s bathroom was the height of ’80s glamour: a Jacuzzi tub AND a gold trimmed shower? Choosing not to live in a Gordon Gekko fever dream, they stripped the bathroom down and opted for a space that played up the historic interest of their new home. From Courtney & John: For basic necessity, the master bathroom was the first space that needed to be tackled FAST in order for us to move into this foreclosure property.

Carrie, a serious Disney fan, has always fancied living Disney’s Haunted Mansion After trying to fix up her small bathroom she finally decided to let it go and follow her dream (which is a wish your heart makes) of a Disneyland-inspired bathroom. With a lucky wallpaper find (definitely not a poor unfortunate soul) and some smart internet shopping that let her remain one jump ahead of the design, even the bare necessities were on brand.

Sometimes it’s not the wall knocked down or the whole room painted that’s the visual impact your room needs — a small detail can pack a decor punch, too! The proof is in Erin and Tobin’s cute Providence condo: I spotted three small but mighty mini DIY projects in Erin and Tobin’s home — the kind of ideas you can do without a lot of time, tools or money. See if they’re small DIY details that could add personality to one of your rooms.

Stacy’s rental bathroom started out just fine. She had white and grey tile floors, a grey-blue wall color, and a white pedestal sink. The bathroom was tiny, but there was a separate counter and mirror from the sink, with plenty of space to store her products. The only trouble was the green countertops, which made the bathroom feel dark and dingy despite it being light everywhere else.

Eek! Nadya’s bathroom not only had some structural issues, but it was also lined with asbestos. In the midst of another renovation, Nadya had to tackle the issue on a budget. From Nadya: Our small post-war house in Brisbane, Australia was built in 1959, and like many similar houses of the era, had an asbestos-lined bathroom. As you can see, it was dingy and awful, and water from the shower was seeping into the wall. The nasty stuff had to go!

There were some great things that happened, design-wise, in the 70s, but this bathroom was not one of them. Molly and Jonathan had a few projects in mind when they purchased their Ditmas Park one-bedroom, but they knew that the “sunburn-colored” stripes in their bathroom needed to be the first thing to go. The problems with the bathroom went beyond the cosmetic.

Amanda’s cramped main bathroom was in desperate need of two things: light and space. After patiently waiting for two years, she got to work and created a bright & stylish space. From Amanda: We bought our 1925 Sears Kit home in December of 2014 and have slowly been renovating room by room. We started with the rooms that were deemed “unlivable” by us and let the rest stay as they were. Our upstairs bathroom was one of the rooms we learned to live with for almost two years.

When Nole and her family moved into their home, their sole bathroom was dark, cramped and falling apart. After overhauling the main fixtures and lightning everything up, they have a much happier spot! From Nole: This is the only full bathroom in our home. When my husband and I first toured our home, we immediately identified the bathroom as needing a total gut renovation.

Erin wanted to pack a lot of style into her small bathroom. With her eye on function and organization, she upgraded, replaced and customized her way to a space that really makes a statement. From Erin: The old bathroom was basic and old. Because I had a small space to work with, I wanted to make a statement in my bathroom. I removed the old cast-iron tub and opted for floor-to-ceiling oversized subway tile to draw the eye up and brighten the windowless space.

We featured Josef’s stylish Prague apartment a few weeks ago. Now we get to see how Daniele worked his magic on this tiny and outdated space. From Daniele: Josef gave me full creative freedom when renovating his apartment’s bathroom. The bathroom was old and dark. He wanted to fit in a bathtub, possibly his only request for this project. Given the small size of the bathroom I thought it was a bad idea, but he insisted so we did it.

New home, new projects! Kristina knew that upgrading her out of date bathroom was the first thing she wanted to tackle in her new home. Three months later she now has the bathroom of her dreams. From Kristina: As soon my husband and I moved into the Ravine House, we started on our massive upstairs renovation, which included our master bathroom. It was in desperate need of a revamp!

This bathroom looks like my childhood, and while that may be heartwarming for me, Tanya was not that wild about the dated look of her space. After saving up and getting down and dirty and doing a lot of work themselves, Tanya and her husband have a stylish and timeless bathroom in their forever home. From Tanya: Technically, the “before” photo I submitted is the before-before, because I gave it a temporary spruce while my Hubby and I planned and saved for this renovation.

When we moved into our little 1950’s fixer-upper 2 years ago (you might remember previous progress reports on the kitchen and living room), I thought there was no way I could possibly wash in that grimy, cramped and dysfunctional bathroom. It had no shower, the loudest toilet flush on the planet and extremely temperamental hot water. But we ran out of cash and so it turned out I could live with it. For a really long time.

Lesley took a pretty major bathroom problem and turned it into a wonderful design opportunity. She set about putting the “do” back “mildew” (sorry) and ended up with a gorgeous new bathroom! From Lesley: This is a small family bathroom in our 1950s ranch home. It was pretty dated when we moved in but functional…until the floor started rotting and growing mildew, that is.

When Alyssa and her husband moved in to their Echo Park home seven years ago, they were happy to see a lot of the original details from the 1940s bungalow intact, like this blue tile in the bathroom. Though the tile was charming, the rest of the bathroom was dark and gloomy. Alyssa was able to give the space a whole new modern look with a just few small changes—and keep the charming vintage tile!

Amanda and Mike’s master bathroom was anything but masterful. When they decided to renovate it, they completely gutted the space from floor to ceiling, moved the toilet so they could fit a luxurious, giant shower and updated the fixtures and surfaces to include elements like marble tiles. The result is a bright modern retreat.

Amy’s bathroom was suffering from over-matching-syndrome. It was basically the bathroom equivalent of having your dress match your purse, shoes, scrunchie, lipstick and phone case. With some lucky finds and a lot of work Amy was able to create a calm and cool bathroom, with just the right amount of color. From Amy: My home is a 100 years old, and while the main floor and bedrooms had been recently renovated, the main bathroom hadn’t been touched in decades and was… pink.

It’s kind of hard to believe that this is the same bathroom and even harder to believe that this was a DIY project without any major renovating. Lauren’s paint game is truly next level. From Lauren: I am so excited to share this DIY labor of love. We moved into our house in upstate New York seven months ago. After spending all our money on the bones, we had pocket change left for changes and renovations. Luckily, I was happy with almost everything, except the first floor bath.

Risa’s bathroom update is such an impressive mix of super sensible (shout out to dark grout!) and totally gorgeous (those fixtures!) in a small space. From Risa: Our small townhouse bathroom (in Philadelphia) was the color of mucus. The kind you see when you have the flu. This bathroom was kind of like having the flu. It made you sick and achy all over just looking at it. No amount of elbow grease could get this thing looking clean.

When Alexia purchased her first house, she got all of the freedom and joy that come with homeownership as well as some very ’80s bathroom tile. With a trip to IKEA, some lucky finds and some smartly shopped tile, Alexia was able to create a soothing space on a budget. From Alexia: My house is from the early 1980s, the bathroom was carpeted when I moved in (I stripped and sanded) and the ‘before’ tiles were the original builders décor.

This Before & After is all about the pursuit of a beautiful dream. When they bought their co-op in Manhattan, Laura and Peter had a dream, the same dream that animates the hopes of millions of New Yorkers: an in-unit washer and dryer. In pursuit of their dream, they intentionally bought in a building that allowed retrofits of washer and dryer connections.

All this week we’re talking about bathroom renovations, starting with Ashley’s recent remodel, and following up with tons of helpful posts about the process! So you’re well under way on your bathroom renovation, but it’s time to choose a grout. While this step may seem unimportant in comparison to the bigger pieces of the renovation, the material and color of the grout can have a huge impact on your bathroom’s design and function.

Phew. This project was a squeaker. Ashley found out she was pregnant after the renovation was planned and wound up photographing the final space at about thirty-seven weeks. I think she’s pretty happy she didn’t bring her new baby daughter home while the paint was still drying. Take a look at the finished space!

All this week we’re talking about bathroom renovations, starting with Ashley’s recent remodel, and following up with tons of helpful posts about the process! There’s just something about soaking in a huge, luxurious tub to melt away all the stress of the day. When remodeling, the question is what kind of tub should you get: built-in or freestanding?

All this week we’re talking about bathroom renovations, starting with Ashley’s recent remodel, and following up with tons of helpful posts about the process! Changing out the faucet on your bathroom sink can be a pricey project. Fortunately, not every bathroom faucet is created equal. There are so many shapes, sizes, finishes -and price ranges to choose from. So where do you start?

Name Location Years lived in Room Room Size Ashley and her husband moved from Denver to a small town in Illinois a couple of years ago, buying an old 19th Century home in the process. It came with a real doozy of an upstairs bathroom. Since the couple is pretty hands-on (Ashley does a lot of DIY projects here at Apartment Therapy) they planned to tackle the space themselves.

Patience truly is a virtue, as demonstrated by Megan’s two phase bathroom remodel. By keeping one eye on savings and one eye on design, she was able to create a tastefully modern space that didn’t break the bank. From Megan: When we moved into our 1960s home seven years ago, the bathroom was an eyesore. The blue tile and wallpaper were original to the home and they needed to go! The problem was that we didn’t have a budget to completely remodel the space.

Closet space is certainly useful and often a desired selling point when searching for a home, but with an opportunity to trade that for a luxurious master bathroom, Ryan and Joanna opted for the latter. Immediately after moving into their new home, Ryan and Joanna jumped into a major renovation project—turning two relatively small and generic bathrooms into two beautiful custom spaces, losing a closet and a back door in the process.

After buying a home that had been in her family for years, Katie knew there were changes to be made. Her open space updates took her space out of the ’80s. From Katie: My husband and I bought a 1980s ranch home from my grandparents. The home has been in our family for 20+ years. We knew that every room needed to be touched but that idea excited us because it has given us the ability to make our house exactly how we want it! The biggest project to date has been a brand new kitchen.

While not lacking in a certain crumbly charm, the bathroom in Colin and Orli’s Crown Heights co-op was definitely not a place where you would want to take a bath. Five different layers of floor tiles, installed on top of each other over the years, made for an unsettling drop when stepping into the tub. The subway tile walls were starting to look far too much like an actual subway for comfort, and thanks to many decades of water damage, the whole thing was falling apart.

This family bathroom was original to the 1925 house – in which I grew up – and was basically unchanged except for an extremely rudimentary shower addition my grandfather had put in about 25 years ago.

While I’ll never say no to drama, sometimes a subtle, relaxing makeover is in order. Jordan and Anton took their awkwardly laid out bathroom and turned it into a timeless retreat (plus storage!). Check it out… Thank you, Jordan and Anton!

Our home was built in 1919. The bathroom had undergone multiple “updates” which included a huge clawfoot tub. When we moved in, the bathroom renovation was not our first priority but after about a week of living in a house with one bathroom with only 10 inches between the toilet and bathtub, it became our priority.

When Megan and Sam bought their New Orleans Victorian two years ago, they decided to tackle a complete bathroom renovation on their own. Thankfully, Sam has a lot of construction and renovation work under his belt, so the job was familiar terrain. Here’s what Megan had to say about the project: After ripping out all the ugly brown and beige tile on the floor and walls (and one trip to the hospital for stitches–always wear work gloves!

My husband and I bought our house 7 years ago, in the city of Laval, a suburb north of Montreal. The layout of the bathroom was typical of the houses in the neighborhood. Since the first day I set foot in it, I did not like anything about that room. The shower was so narrow that we had difficulty washing our feet. The bathroom was as demoralizing as a rainy day. I demolished everything, including the ugly shell-shaped soap dish and the strange podium around the bath.

My husband, Jake, and I recently purchased our first home. It’s a 1950s ranch and we have lots of fun projects we need to tackle to bring it up to this decade. The first thing we took on was our smaller bathroom. We were able to salvage the tile in the tub and the toilet but almost everything else had to go. We (mostly Jake) did all the work ourselves including demo, putting in new drywall, electrical work and plumbing. Our final budget was around $1200 for all materials.

When one couple bought their Clinton Hill co-op in 2014, the space’s one bathroom was old, a little bit dated, and really, really small. Their renovation didn’t change the space’s footprint any, but smart, modern choices mean that their new bathroom has a spacious feel that belies its small size. The transformation of the couple’s entire apartment is documented in a separate Apartment Therapy post, which you can find here.

Deirdre’s powder room needed a punch of color and a little style upgrade. This Charleston resident decided to go with a horse racing theme and a jewel-toned wallpaper that, when paired with the glossy beadboard, makes the space. From Maggie: Leland galCandy Shop Vintage Thank you Maggie & Deirdre!

There used to be a dance you’d have to do to use Erica’s tiny powder room: Squeeze in past the oversized vanity, do a little spin, and shut the door. With just $300, she transformed the space into something more stylish and more functional: From Erica: To start, bright white board and batten was added to the lower four feet of wall, above the faux chunky baseboard, and a light gray paint above. The old linoleum was replaced with lovely white hexagon tile and a light gray grout.

Jenny is the owner and designer behind Penny Jark Interiors. The home that she shares with her husband has a small bathroom that as the “before” photo shows, wasn’t exactly bursting with boldness. Then Jenny brought her style to the space. From Jenny: When working with clients I often come to an understanding of what aesthetic they prefer. However when it comes to my own dwelling I go back on forth on style, colors and the overall feeling I’d like in the space.

Carrie’s small bathroom was lacking style, with a basic vanity and overpoweringly avocado walls. For little more than $100, she brightened the space with a farmhouse twist: The fresh white paint and rustic wood touches really make the small space feel welcoming. Carrie added a plank wall on the left using plywood, and gave the vanity a distressed look with chalk paint.

Lauren and her husband spent their home budget on upgrading the things they couldn’t DIY. So after they moved in, they went to work on personalizing the builder basic areas, like this bathroom—for under $400. Lauren painted the vanity an airy gray, added labels to the drawers to combat clutter, and framed out that moulding-less window. The frameless mirror got replaced with a matching pair found on clearance. She didn’t stop there.

Gaëtan is a talented architect now living in Montreal with his girlfriend Violaine and their son Hubert. After renovating their kitchen, he took on redesigning the bathroom! From dated to modern, the space is now sophisticated and fresh. The palette is monochromatic; Everything is white, except for the floor which is in a soft beige tone. To cut costs, Gaetan chose to go with white wall tiles from Home Depot, and decided to splurge on the sink and fixtures instead.

The bathroom in Amy’s Brooklyn Heights condo wasn’t terrible or falling apart. But after living there for a while, she started to notice how the finishes picked by the previous owner weren’t in line with the style of the rest of her home, and the vanity cabinet and countertop extension were making the narrow bathroom feel unnecessarily cramped. So she decided to swap out a few fixtures, and replace the tile, to make her bathroom feel bigger and give it a classic, timeless feel.

Since they’ll eventually sell this house, Kelley didn’t want to spend too much money in updating the place. So when this bathroom was feeling a little bit country, she set a short budget, and made the existing vintage tile shine: From Kelley: We live in a small cape cod house built in 1951. We love it, but can’t stay here forever because the layout and size doesn’t really allow for a family in the future.

Amanda’s late father collected over 10,000 pennies in his lifetime. She turned those cents into a gorgeous patterned floor inspired by Paris. From Amanda: Ever since visiting Parisian cafes, we’ve always had a thing for hex or penny-tiled floors. It just so happens that my late father left a collection of over 10,000 actual pennies. Four years ago, I started packing my carry-on full of them each time flew across the country to visit my Mom.

When planning their kitchen overhaul, Manhattan homeowners Pallavi and Keyur had originally decided to leave their bathroom — which was original to the house and a little the worse for wear — as it was. But as the project progressed, they realized it was important to them that the style of their bathroom match up to the updated look they were pursuing in the rest of the apartment, and that by leaving all the fixture footprints in place, they could save money on the remodel.

How do you balance the need for updates when you’re waiting to do a larger remodel? Ashley and her family faced that exact conundrum when they set out to spend not a ton of money on a bathroom update that’ll get them through the next five years. From Ashley: Our goal with this DIY bathroom update was to modernize it and make it fit us without spending a ton of money. This bathroom will eventually be part of a large scale remodel, but eventually is the key word.

You’ve probably seen a lot of bathrooms like this: not great, not terrible, just so-so. First-time Manhattan homeowners Hafeeza and her husband were planning on a remodel of their kitchen, with updates to their bathroom to be made at a later date. But their contractor helped them realize that they could fit the bathroom upgrades into their budget right now — and that only a few small changes would make a big difference.

When Katrina moved into her 1952 Portland bungalow, the area that needed the most attention was this really teeny bathroom. It was sponge-painted (gasp!), had a bathtub that nothing short of nasty (ugh!), and it was hard to even turn around in the tiny space. She and her husband decided to gut it and start over, taking over an extra closet to create more space.