How to renovate a small bathroom: 15 ideas, prices and before & after
A small bathroom doesn't force you to give anything up: it forces you to decide better. In 2-3 m² (about 22-32 sq ft) every centimetre counts, and the decisions that really change the result are few and specific.
In this guide you'll find 15 ideas for renovating a small bathroom without building work, the minimum measurements worth respecting, two real before-and-after renovations, the most common mistakes and a fixed price reference.
The bathroom is just one piece: if the whole home is short on square metres, here's the complete guide to small apartment decoration.
Renovating a small bathroom may seem laborious, but with the right decisions you can make the most of every centimetre without giving up style or functionality.
Three criteria guide any small bathroom renovation:
- Visually enlarge the space before trying to gain it
- Choose practical, easy-care materials
- Make the most of the existing layout to avoid building work
Being clear about them from the start helps you avoid the classic mistakes in small bathrooms, like overloading the space or choosing impractical materials. Below you'll find 15 practical and budget-friendly ideas for renovating a small bathroom without building work.
How to renovate a small bathroom so it offers big possibilities
These are the keys to renovating it from top to bottom without major disruption: a clean, fast renovation with no rubble.
Microcement kits for bathrooms
All included and free shipping. Choose the area you're going to renovate.
Before and after: small bathrooms renovated without building work
Here's how two customers transformed their small bathrooms, without building work and without rubble:
Jena's bathroom (@cosy.happy.home)
A small bathroom with an old basin and a mosaic floor. Jena covered the walls with Spike-coloured microcement and the result is a more modern and visually larger bathroom.
Elle's bathroom (@ellefurniture)
Elle covered green and yellow tiles with Wasabi-coloured microcement, without removing a single one.
If you want to see more real renovations, drop by our customers' DIY renovations.
Minimum measurements in a 2-3 m² bathroom
A small bathroom can be highly functional if you respect certain measurements. Leave a 60 x 60 cm square to access the shower; if you install two basins, keep 60-90 cm between them. The main unit should be around 50-60 cm wide; a concealed cistern will take up about 17-20 cm. The ideal shower is no less than 70 cm wide, and lengthwise you can use the entire available wall.
A small bathroom, but with style
Size doesn't limit style. A small bathroom works well with a few well-selected pieces.
Zen, Italian, industrial, rustic or contemporary: they all work. There's only one rule: less is more.
Practical and budget-friendly ideas for renovating a small bathroom
1. Light colours make bathrooms bigger
To visually enlarge a small bathroom, go for light colours that multiply the light.
White, beige, warm greys or pastel tones like soft blue, lilac or mauve add spaciousness. Avoid strong contrasts in small bathrooms.
2. The window, your best ally
Natural light is decisive. If you can, install a window: it brightens, ventilates and reduces visual clutter.
Avoid covering it with heavy elements and choose light options that let the light through, such as sheer curtains, light blinds or translucent glass.
3. Lighting
Install two light points: a main one to light the whole bathroom and a secondary one to support key areas like the mirror.
Combining general lighting with strategic light points reduces shadows and adds a greater sense of depth.
4. Mirrors that transform your bathroom
Mirrors are essential in small bathrooms. Placing them opposite a light source or on a strategic wall visually amplifies the space. Here are the most recommended:
Large mirrors
The bigger the size, the more light is reflected and the greater the sense of space.
Dressing-room mirrors
They enlarge the space and add extra storage.
Full-length mirror
It adds visual continuity and doubles the sense of space. Always combine them with lighting.
Frameless mirrors or ones with built-in lighting reinforce this feeling even further, without overloading the space.
5. Remove to gain
Cutting out unnecessary elements is fundamental in small bathrooms. Minimalist solutions open up the space and improve the sense of order.
Remove fixtures or furniture you don't use and replace them with functional solutions.
6. The renovation starts at the door
If the bathroom is small, a sliding door frees up space and improves movement. It adds visual spaciousness and versatility, and you can hide the tracks or leave them exposed.
Barn style
Suitable if you want a rustic look with personality.
Designer
White doors go with almost everything and add brightness.
Panelled
They add a retro look without compromising privacy.
Reclaimed wood
Suitable for creative renovations and bathrooms with personality.
More ideas for your renovation
7. Wall-hung sanitaryware
They leave the floor visible and create a greater sense of continuity. They also make cleaning easier and free up visual space.
8. Remove the bidet and gain half a metre
It's the change that frees up the most space in a small bathroom: removing the bidet makes room for a unit, a towel rail or simply for moving around comfortably. If you don't want to give up its function, there are 2-in-1 alternatives that don't take up extra space: toilets with a built-in bidet function or hygienic hand showers next to the toilet.
That said: removing a fixture and capping its water supply is one of the few things on this list that may require a plumber. It's still a quick intervention with no masonry work.
9. Light furniture
Raised units or ones with slim legs visually lighten the space and keep the bathroom from looking cluttered.
10. Made-to-measure furniture
If your bathroom is measured in millimetres, made-to-measure furniture lets you take advantage of corners that would otherwise go unused.
11. A shower instead of a bathtub
In small bathrooms a shower tray makes the space look bigger. A shower is more accessible and quicker to install, and transparent panels with slim profiles, or no profile, don't block the view.
12. Niches and vertical storage in the shower
Bottles on the shower tray floor are the great enemies of order. A niche (the recess built into the shower wall) solves storage without stealing centimetres. And if your wall doesn't allow a recess, corner shelves, vertical shelving or a rail with baskets achieve the same effect by using the height.
If you coat the niche with the same microcement as the wall, the recess blends in and the shower gains visual continuity.
Renovate a small bathroom without building work? Yes, you can
Ready-to-use microcement is one of the best options for renovating a small bathroom without building work, because it can be applied to 90% of surfaces: floors, walls, shower and even furniture (not the inside of the bathtub: that's a job for a professional). It's resistant, hygienic and suitable for wet areas, and its seamless, continuous finish adds a greater sense of space.
If you want the complete plan, we explain how to renovate the bathroom without building work in a weekend, step by step and with no rubble.
13. Microcement on furniture
It lets you create shelves or integrated structures without losing space.
14. Microcement in the shower
It adds visual continuity and a greater sense of space thanks to its seamless application.
15. Microcement on floors and walls
Resistant, seamless and easy to clean, it unifies the whole space. It's available in 20 colours.
These solutions are especially recommended for small bathrooms, as they avoid building work, reduce renovation times and let you transform the space without rubble.
SEE ALL BATHROOM KITS · FROM $231
Renovate a bathroom with tile paint
Tile paint is another of the fastest and most affordable solutions for renovating a small bathroom without building work, as it transforms the room without having to remove the existing tiles. We show you how to paint bathroom tiles easily and affordably.
To complete your no-building-work renovation you have Smartcover Tiles tile paint, with 11 colours available and simple application. It dries fast, is resistant to water and humidity and delivers a professional finish.
PAINT YOUR TILES WITHOUT BUILDING WORK
Mistakes to avoid when renovating a small bathroom
Knowing what not to do is as important as knowing what to do. These are the most common mistakes:
- Overloading the space: in a few square metres, every object counts double. Fewer pieces, better chosen.
- Dark colours on every surface: a deep tone can look good on one wall; on all four, it shrinks the bathroom.
- Floor-standing sanitaryware and furniture: they break the visual continuity. Wall-hung or slim-legged, whenever possible.
- Thick-profile shower screens or opaque curtains: they cut the bathroom in two. Better transparent glass and slim profiles.
- Coating without treating damp first: no material, not even microcement, should be applied over unresolved damp; sooner or later it shows up as stains.
- Multiplying grout lines: the more joints, the more lines fragmenting the space and the more cleaning. Continuous coatings and large formats work in favour of spaciousness.
How to renovate an accessible small bathroom
In a small bathroom, accessibility and spaciousness push in the same direction: what clears the way also enlarges the space. A shower tray flush with the floor removes the step, which is the main risk point, and it's worth keeping a clear passage of 80 cm and a turning circle of 150 cm if a wheelchair is used.
Add grab bars anchored to the wall (not suction cups) next to the toilet and in the shower area, a fold-down seat if needed, and single-lever or thermostatic taps, which take less strength to operate.
On the floor, the key is slip resistance. A continuous coating avoids joints, which are where dirt builds up and where the change in level shows; microcement lets you go from bathtub to flush shower without lifting the existing floor.
How much does it cost to renovate a small bathroom
With building work, renovating a small 2-3 m² bathroom usually costs between $1,856 and $4,524, and one of around 5 m², about $4,060 (around $754 per m²) in 2026. Without building work but with a professional, the starting point is around $1,740, and in the US, a professional applicator charges around $315–420 per m² (roughly $29–39 per sq ft), labour included.
Doing it yourself changes the scale: coating a complete small bathroom (about 18 m² between walls and floor) comes to around $978–1,025 in materials (the 24 m² kit, depending on the substrate), at about $54–57 per m², and the kits come at a fixed price, between $231 and $411 in the 4 and 8 m² sizes, depending on the surface and the metres; colour doesn't change the price. Painting the tiles is even cheaper: from around $95, with a 2.5 L tub that covers about 16 m². Discover the price of microcement per m² for the details of what affects the budget.
Frequently asked questions about renovating a small bathroom
How much does it cost to renovate a small bathroom?
With building work, between $1,856 and $4,524 for a 2-3 m² bathroom. Without building work and doing it yourself, around $978–1,025 in materials for the full bathroom, or from around $95 if you only paint the tiles. Kits come at a fixed price, between $231 and $411 in the 4 and 8 m² sizes.
How do you renovate a very small bathroom (2-3 m²)?
Prioritise what multiplies the space: light colours, a large lit mirror, a transparent shower screen, wall-hung sanitaryware and a continuous, seamless coating on walls and floor. And out with everything you don't use daily, bidet included.
What colours should you choose if the bathroom has no window?
A light base (white, beige or soft grey) to multiply the artificial light, two light points (general and mirror) and, if you can, a backlit mirror. Slightly satin finishes help bounce the light around.
Shower or bathtub in a small bathroom?
A shower, almost always: it frees up space, is more accessible and makes cleaning easier. And if you also coat the tray and walls with microcement, you gain continuity and a sense of spaciousness.
And if you keep the bathtub, the microcement bathtub guide tells you what you can coat yourself with the kit (its surroundings) and why the inside is a job for a professional.
Reviewed by the Smartcret technical team.
