Bathroom Remodel design

What the room has to do

A bathroom is the one room where you can see every surface without turning your head, so the finishes have nowhere to hide. Most bathroom remodels keep the fixtures roughly where they are and change tile, vanity, lighting and glass — which is enough to make the room unrecognisable.

Layout rules

• Leave 30in of clear width centred on the toilet, and 21in of clear floor in front of it.
• A shower needs 36×36in of interior floor to be comfortable; 30×30in is the practical floor.
• Hang the mirror so its centre sits at 62–65in — eye height for most adults.
• Give a single vanity 30–36in of width; below 24in there is nowhere to put anything down.
• Keep the door swing clear of the vanity drawers, or hang it to swing out.

Lighting plan

Light the face, not the ceiling. Sconces either side of the mirror at 60–66in throw even light with no under-eye shadow; a single downlight above the mirror does the opposite. Add a separate damp-rated fixture in the shower.

What usually goes wrong

• A ceiling light behind the person at the mirror, lighting the back of their head.
• Large-format floor tile fought into a small room, leaving slivers at every wall.
• A vanity chosen for looks that blocks the door swing.
• Grout colour picked from a chart rather than against the actual tile.

In a small one

Under 40 sq ft, a wall-hung vanity and a clear glass screen instead of a framed enclosure buy back more perceived space than any tile choice. Seeing the floor run under the vanity is most of the effect.