How to renovate a small bathroom: 15 ideas to get it right
You get home after one of those endless days and think: I need to change something, but I don't know what. You walk down the hallway, step into each room and suddenly it hits you: the bathroom. Your same-old bathroom seems to have become too small.
It's normal. Over time we accumulate objects, routines and needs that take up more and more space. But don't worry: by the end of this article you'll know exactly how to renovate your small bathroom with practical, stylish, hassle-free ideas. We're not talking about hanging a couple of pictures here; we're talking about renovating it completely and making it yours.
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.
Before starting any renovation, it's important to keep a few factors in mind:
- Go for solutions that visually enlarge the space
- Choose practical, easy-care materials
- Make the most of the layout to gain a sense of spaciousness
Being clear about these principles from the start will help you make better decisions during the renovation and 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, so you can get the most out of it.
How to renovate a small bathroom so it offers big possibilities
You only have to mention in the lift that you're renovating the bathroom for the looks to change. Relax: we're going to give you tips to renovate it from top to bottom without major disruption and without depending on your neighbour's bathroom for every mishap.
If you want a clean, fast, affordable and elegant renovation, follow these keys to become a true "white-glove renovator".
Less space, same possibilities
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. Your small bathroom can look incredible if you go minimalist and choose a few well-selected pieces.
Zen, Italian, industrial, rustic, contemporary? They all work. There's only one commandment: less is more.
Practical and budget-friendly ideas for renovating a small bathroom
If the renovation felt like a chore, this list will change your mind. Quick, simple, affordable inspiration.
1. Light colours make bathrooms bigger
Perception is everything. 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 effortlessly. Lean on them to achieve this effect and avoid strong contrasts in small bathrooms.
2. The window, your best ally
Natural light is worth its weight in gold. If you can, install a window: it brightens, ventilates, reduces visual clutter and might even give you a view of the sky.
Also 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. Lights, camera... Lighting!
Not everything depends on the sun. 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 helps reduce 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 can visually amplify 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. A classic that never fails.
Full-length mirror
It adds visual continuity and doubles the sense of space. Extra tip: always light them.
Also, choosing frameless mirrors or ones with built-in lighting can reinforce this feeling even further, creating a more modern, luminous atmosphere without overloading the space.
5. Remove to gain
Cutting out unnecessary elements is fundamental in small bathrooms. Opting for more minimalist solutions opens up the space and improves the sense of order and spaciousness.
Take inspiration from the Japanese philosophy of Oosouji: get rid of what you don't use. Remove unnecessary fixtures or furniture and replace them with functional solutions.
6. The renovation starts at the door
If your bathroom is small, install a sliding door to free up space and improve movement. This can make a big difference, as it lets you make better use of the space while adding visual spaciousness, style and versatility. You can hide the tracks or leave them exposed.
Barn style
Perfect 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
Ideal for creative renovations and bathrooms with personality.
More tips for your renovation
Here are some extra ideas to improve your small bathroom without complicating things.
7. Wall-hung sanitaryware
This type of fixture leaves the floor visible, creating a greater sense of visual continuity. It also adds elegance, makes cleaning easier and frees up visual space.
8. Remove the bidet and gain half a metre
It's the silent renovation 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. And if you don't want to give up its function, there are 2-in-1 alternatives that don't take up a single extra centimetre: toilets with a built-in bidet function or hygienic hand showers next to the toilet.
That said, let's be honest: 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
Functional, practical and perfect for bathrooms with little space. Choosing raised units or ones with slim legs helps visually lighten the space, keeping the bathroom from looking cluttered.
10. Made-to-measure furniture
If your bathroom is measured in millimetres, made-to-measure furniture is the perfect option to make use of every corner. Adapting the furniture to the available space lets you take advantage of corners that would otherwise go unused.
11. A shower instead of a bathtub
In small bathrooms it's ideal to opt for shower trays, as they make the space look bigger. A shower is more accessible, quicker to install and modern, and transparent panels with slim profiles (or no profile) are on trend precisely because they 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 (that recess built into the shower wall) solves storage without stealing a single centimetre. 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: the square metre nobody uses.
Extra tip: if you coat the niche with the same microcement as the wall, the recess blends in and the shower gains visual continuity.
Renovate your 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, since it can be applied to 90% of bathroom surfaces: floors, walls, shower, bathtub and even furniture. It's resistant, hygienic and perfect for wet areas, and its seamless, continuous finish adds a greater sense of space.
And 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, making the most of every corner of the bathroom.
14. Microcement in the shower
It adds visual continuity and a greater sense of space thanks to its seamless application, avoiding visual breaks.
15. Microcement on floors and walls
Resistant, seamless and very easy to clean, it's perfect for unifying the whole space. It's also available in 20 colours to suit any decorative style.
These solutions are especially recommended for small bathrooms, as they avoid long, dreadful building work, reduce renovation times and let you transform the space quickly and without rubble.
As well as helping you renovate without building work, this coating adds visual continuity and a sense of spaciousness, two key aspects in small bathrooms. If you want inspiration from real projects of microcement bathrooms, you can check our complete guide.
MAKE YOUR BATHROOM FEEL BIGGER
Renovate a bathroom with paint and unleash your inner artist
Tile paint is another of the fastest and most affordable solutions for renovating a small bathroom without building work, as it completely transforms a room without having to remove the existing tiles.
To complete your no-building-work renovation, try Smartcover Tiles tile paint, with 11 colours available and simple application. Smartcover Tiles 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 mistakes we see most often, and the easiest to dodge:
- 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 gorgeous 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.
Before and after: small bathrooms renovated without building work
Nothing is more convincing than seeing it. Here's how two of our Smartlovers 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 that was crying out for a change. Jena covered the walls with Spike-coloured microcement and the result is a modern, warm and visually much larger bathroom.
Elle's bathroom (@ellefurniture)
Green and yellow tiles from another era? Elle covered them with Wasabi-coloured microcement without removing a single one, and her bathroom went from dated to magazine cover.
If you want to see more real renovations, drop by our Smartlovers' DIY renovations.
How much does it cost to renovate a small bathroom
The price of renovating a small bathroom can range from more affordable options, like painting the tiles, to solutions like microcement, depending on the materials and the scope of the renovation. As a market reference, a renovation with building work of a small bathroom (2-3 m²) usually ranges between €1,600 and €3,900, and that of a full bathroom of around 5 m² comes to about €3,500 (around €650/m²) in 2026. Even a no-building-work renovation done by a professional starts from around €1,500; doing it yourself costs far less: coating a complete small bathroom with microcement (about 18 m² between walls and floor) comes to around €800 in materials, at about €45/m².
To give you a rough idea, the cost can vary quite a bit depending on the solution you choose. For example, painting the tiles with a specific paint is one of the most affordable options, with budgets starting from around €82 (a 2.5 L tub covers about 16 m² with two coats: the material comes to about €5/m², compared with the €18-20/m² a professional usually charges to paint them), while having microcement applied by a professional costs between €90 and €120/m², labour included; if you apply it yourself with a ready-to-use kit, you save the labour and the kit price is fixed. Discover the price of microcement per m² to learn about all the factors that affect the budget.
Smartcret's ready-to-use microcement kits let you completely renovate the space. They usually range between €186.61 and €388.06 for the typical surfaces of a small bathroom (4 and 8 m² kits), depending on the surface material and the metres to cover, so the cost can vary by project, but you always know the final cost.
In addition, small changes like replacing furniture, improving the lighting or updating the taps can mean an extra investment, normally between €50 and €300, but with a big impact on the final result.
In short, the price of renovating a small bathroom depends on the size, the materials and the type of renovation. But if you choose ready-to-use microcement or Smartcover Tiles, you'll save time, building work and money without giving up a quality finish.
If you want a fast, clean renovation with no rubble, our products are your best ally. Yes, you can!
Frequently asked questions about renovating a small bathroom
How much does it cost to renovate a small bathroom?
With building work, a small bathroom (2-3 m²) usually costs between €1,600 and €3,900, and one of around 5 m², about €3,500 (€650/m²). Without building work and without a professional, coating the full bathroom with microcement (about 18 m² between walls and floor) comes to around €800 in materials; and you can start from around €82 by painting the tiles. Kits come at a fixed price, between €186.61 and €388.06 per surface, depending on the substrate and the metres.
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.
How do you renovate a bathroom on a small budget?
In order of impact per euro: paint the tiles, change the taps, handles and towel rails, update the lighting and the mirror, and add textiles and storage. With less than €150 the change shows; with a microcement kit, the bathroom is transformed.
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.
Reviewed by the Smartcret technical team.