Ah, the four-square-metre bathroom. Almost every urban home has one, give or take a metre here or there. Whether it’s a master ensuite, powder room or the kids’ bathroom, this common size allows enough room for a single-sink vanity, toilet and shower or shower-bath combination – and that’s about it. But as we’ve seen before in countless stories and images on Houzz, there are endless possibilities to bring style and comfort to this relatively compact space. Here, eight bathrooms show just what’s possible with the compact dimensions of a four-square-metre bathroom.
Banner Day Interiors
1. Timber-and-gold greatness
Designer: Clara Jung, Banner Day Consulting
Location: Brooklyn, USA
Size: About 4 square metres; 2.4 x 1.6 metres
Homeowners’ request: “The bathroom we started with had builder-grade finishes and fixtures,” says designer Clara Jung, who collaborated with her clients using a Houzz ideabook. “The clients wanted to elevate this guest bathroom, since it would be the one guests use most often. Closed storage for toiletries was another request.”
Space saver: “We skipped a glass enclosure for the shower and stuck with a traditional shower curtain to keep it very open and flowing,” Jung says. “Additionally, a curtain provides better access to the controls when giving kids a bath.”
Banner Day Interiors
Special features: V-pattern tiles were chosen for the shower. Black penny-round tiles with white grout run from the floor up the wall behind the vanity. A custom-designed wood trim and tub apron. “It set this bathroom apart,” says Jung.
Designer tip: “We spent a larger portion of the money on the shower-enclosure tile,” says Jung. “Yet one of the most distinctive design elements in this bathroom is the penny tiles lining the walls. Penny tiles are a relatively low-cost tile, but they really elevate the space.”
‘Uh-oh’ moment: “We didn’t want to use conventional trims to finish off the edging for the shower tile,” Jung says. “This forced us to think outside the box, and we ended up using wood trim to cap off all the tile, which worked wonderfully.”
Wall paint: Simply White, Benjamin Moore
Spazio LA Tile Gallery
2. Geometrically gorgeous
Designer: Spazio LA Tile Gallery
Location: California, USA
Size: 3.7 square metres; 2.4 x 1.5 metres
Homeowners’ request: Increase space and functionality by removing a bathtub and creating a walk-in shower.
Space savers: The designers removed the tub and extended the shower area all the way to the adjacent wall to create a larger shower. Floating shelves add storage.
Spazio LA Tile Gallery
Special features: Porcelain shower wall tiles set in a geometric pattern and a floating shower bench.
Designer tips: Extending the wall tiles to the other two walls tricks the eye into seeing a larger space. White bathroom walls create contrast with the shower area, setting it apart.
‘Uh-oh’ moment: The tiles didn’t come in a pattern, so the designers had to do a lot of planning ahead before setting the tile to get the geometric lines just right.
Wall paint: White Diamond, Benjamin Moore
Dvira Interiors
3. Marvelous marble
Designer: Dvira Ovadia
Location: Toronto, Canada
Size: 3.5 square metres; 1.5 x 2.2 metres
Homeowners’ request: Create a new bathroom where a former cupboard was on the third floor.
Space saver: “We used a slender-looking vanity that had a slender metal base, keeping the vanity off the ground,” says designer Dvira Ovadia. “This made the space feel airy, yet the full-size vanity cabinet provides ample storage for a small bathroom.”
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Dvira Interiors
Special features: Mini-marble mosaic tiles laid in a brick pattern covering the walls, ceiling and bathtub surround. “Placing the soaker tub under the sloped area made the most sense,” says Ovadia. “This is essentially why we decided to tile the slopes – to protect from any future water damage and create a seamless look.” The vanity is walnut with a quartz top.
Designer tip: “The idea of using one great tile and applying it throughout the bathroom was key in creating a polished look,” says Ovadia. “People often feel that they need to introduce multiple finishes to create something spectacular, but sometimes less is more, and the lesson is that we need to learn to simplify in smaller spaces.”
‘Uh-oh’ moment: “When we set out to tile the project, there was a misunderstanding with the tile setter,” says Ovadia. “He didn’t realise we had requested to tile all the angled walls of the shower, so his calculations were short. This caused a bit of a hiccup, but we managed to order more tiles and get the tile setter to complete the job.”
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Karin Bennett Designs
4. Black-and-porcelain punch
Designer: Karin Bennett
Location: Toronto, Canada
Size: About 3.4 square metres; 2 x 1.6 metres
Homeowners’ request: A serene, spa-like master ensuite with a boutique-hotel vibe.
Space saver: The sink is situated to the right of the vanity, with a wall-mounted tap on a side wall rather than the back wall to provide more benchtop space.
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Karin Bennett Designs
Special features: Black custom vanity (painted in Black Beauty by Benjamin Moore). Marble-look porcelain tiles on the floor, walls and bathtub apron. Quartz benchtop, matt-black fixtures and a black-framed glass shower divider.
Designer tip: “When decorating a small bathroom, you need to decide if you want more sink space or counter space,” says designer Karin Bennett, who used Houzz photos for inspiration and to communicate with her clients. “Often you can’t have both. For this ensuite, our clients preferred counter space so getting ready each morning was easy.”
‘Uh-oh’ moment: “We went back and forth trying to decide if we wanted to use our porcelain tile up the tub skirt or have a white-painted skirt,” Bennett says. “In the end, we wanted everything to feel seamless without any sightlines broken, so we decided to continue with our floor tile up the front of the tub.”
Eurodale Developments Inc
5. More marble marvellousness
Designers: Brendan Charters of Eurodale Developments (architectural designer) and Thornton Design (interior designer)
Location: Toronto, Canada
Size: 4.8 square metres
Homeowners’ request: An update to a kids’ bathroom as part of a larger addition and renovation.
Space saver: An adjustable frameless glass shower panel makes the bathroom appear larger.
Special features: Custom vanity, marble wall tiles in a chevron pattern, marble floor tiles in a basket-weave pattern, and a recessed stone shower niche.
‘Uh-oh’ moment: “It’s always the disruption or move-out factor,” says architectural designer Brendan Charters. “As a project evolves, it becomes more and more clear to people that living through a renovation is less than ideal. When water, electrical and HVAC need to be cut for rough-in and finish installations, it becomes about more than just dust and noise. It’s time to move out.”
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The Cabinet Gallery
6. Cheery cherry
Designers: April Collins and Mark Janke of The Cabinet Gallery
Location: Utah, USA
Size: 4.4 square metres; 2.8 x 1.5 metres
Homeowners’ request: A bathroom with a natural timber vanity.
Space saver: The tight-knot, rustic cherry vanity has a false drawer front and two doors, creating expansive and efficient bathroom storage in a compact cabinet.
Special features: Frameless glass shower divider, porcelain tile floors, shower walls and recessed niches.
Designer tip: “It’s good to make suggestions and guide your clients, but ultimately you have to listen to their needs, desires and wants,” says designer April Collins.
Michelle Graham Design
7. Marble and porcelain power
Designer: Michelle Graham
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Size: About 4.8 square metres; 3.3 x 1.4 metres
Homeowners’ request: This space was created when an oversize bedroom was partitioned to create two bedrooms with a new ensuite bathroom between them. The homeowner wanted a larger shower, sufficient storage and a clean, classic and elegant look.
Space saver: A wall-hung toilet. “It was the only way to ensure comfortable knee space, given there was a chase in front of the toilet, which provided only 1.2 metres of depth for the toilet,” says designer Michelle Graham.
Special features: Thassos and Carrara-marble floor tiles in a square-and-dot pattern. Calacatta Statuario-look porcelain wall tiles. Large mirror with a built-in medicine cabinet and attached sconces. “Keeping the materials simple and continuous adds to the feeling of space,” says Graham.
Designer tip: “Having the toilet and vanity floating above the floor makes the space look bigger and shows off the gorgeous floor,” says Graham.
‘Uh-oh’ moment: “We purchased a stock vanity and had it sprayed,” says Graham. “Unfortunately, the hole for the faucet was placed too close to the back of the countertop. I had to exchange the faucet for one where the tilt of the handle was minimal so that it would function properly. We also had to remove and reinstall the vanity after the walls were tiled, to build it off the wall to get the faucet installed.”
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Eneia White Interiors
8. Light timber and black beauty
Designer: Eneia White
Location: Manhattan, USA
Size: 3.3 square metres; 1.5 x 2.1 metres
Homeowners’ request: A fresh yet classic bathroom that would include matt-black fixtures and penny-round tiles.
Space saver: “After accounting for door clearances and switch locations, the standard-size towel bar wasn’t an option,” says designer Eneia White. “We opted for bath towel hooks to free up wall space and keep the walls feeling clean and uncluttered.”
Special features: A walnut vanity with a lacquer finish to protect it from moisture. White penny-round tiles and white grout on the wall. Timber-look shower tiles, wall-mounted tapware and a recessed medicine cabinet.
Designer tip: “Without any natural light from windows, bathrooms can get a little gloomy and heavy depending on tile selection,” says White. “Generally, your darkest tile should go on the floor, personality tiles should be used as accents and your classic tile should be used as your main tile. This combination leaves room for balanced personality.”
‘Uh-oh’ moment: “When the wood shower tiles arrived, we were expecting grey tones,” says White. “Some of the tiles looked grey; others looked much more brown. We opened every box and sorted through each tile to review the colours and veining. After creating piles of tiles that matched our vanity finish, we designated those for installation and opted to use the brown stash for waste.”
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