Small Bathroom Mistakes Everyone Makes And How To Fix Them 

I LOVE that you're remembering those of us who don't live in showplaces but still want to elevate our bathrooms to be more beautiful, Garrett! In addition to your great design suggestions, I recommend adding luxury handsoaps, lotions, a fragrant candle, and beautiful linens. Those will make you feel as pampered as a guest and make your bath look and smell lovely! Thank you for another wonderful video, Garrett! Colleen

I don't know but I loved the way you said your intro sentence, about small places sometimes having the most potential, warmed my heart 😊

I was totally immersed in your video this morning. My mom should have been an interior designer. Her 1966 ranch house has a huge plate mirror in the long skinny main bathroom. It came all the way down to the counter. Water got under the edge and the silver on back began turning black. My mom bought picture frame type moulding and a decorative carved wood piece.. She framed out this huge mirror, put the decorative piece center top because the mouldings weren't long enough. This was early 1980s. A family member who builds high end homes loved her mirror solution. He began using that in many homes he built. I followed suit in 2016 in our bathroom remodel. It looks perfectly tailored for the space.

If only we’d known about cabinets for pedestal sinks years ago before taking a sledgehammer to my entire bathroom! I really love the idea of the blinds to the ceiling!

Black and white is classic. But using these expensive materials in a color is risky. . Neutral is best. As always, you’re the one I tune into.

I was one of the people who commented about my tiny bathroom on the previous video, so thanks very much, Garrett! Love how your advice is always stylish without sacrificing practicality. I'd really like to put in some sconces but there's just no room. However, you've inspired me look into installing some floating shelves above the loo. I decided a few years back to cut back on unnecessary toiletry products as much as possible (not using makeup and having no hair definitely makes this easier!) but I still need somewhere to store towels, soap and other bits and bobs. It might even give me some space to include some art pieces too to make the room a bit more interesting.

Our primary bathroom has a pedestal sink and I did not know about a cabinet that would fit underneath. I am on a mission now to find one! Thank you!

Thank you for acknowledging some of us have only one bathroom! Agree 99% except the shelves on top of toilets, I had one in the past and the stuff placed there fall inside the toilet too often :p

We recently moved and what we discovered was that the drawers were about 10 inches deep but had the room to be double that size. I took them to a cabinet maker and had new drawers made using the same draw fronts. Cheep option for extra space. Have a look at your drawers would be interesting to see if yours are the same.

Side lighting the mirror above your bathroom sink is the correct way to light this space. Light fixtures installed above a mirror causes you to look bad as the light casts shadows under your eyes nose etc. A person will always look better when the light source is at the same hight as your face. This will also keep you from applying to much makeup because you think you have dark eye bags

I totally agree with you, a main bathroom isn’t where you want a pedestal sink. We have a traditional bathroom vanity in our primary bathroom. And I’m still putting a small hutch in for more storage since we have the world’s smallest linen closet. I love the inspiration photos in your video since we’re going to be remodeling soon. Your expertise is always appreciated!

I have never seen the cabinets to store the toilet brush! Genius - and now I need one for each of my bathrooms. Thank you so much!

I love pedestal sinks. But I only have one bathroom in my house so it just wasn't an option for me.

We’re just redecorating our small, 1/2 visit bathroom, which is tiny. We’re adding one wall with all mirror and the wall in front of it, with scenery wall paper with branches, leaves, flowers, birds and butterflies. I’m crazy about how it’ll come out. So many great ideas for our master bathroom. Thank you Garrett. You’re awesome !

Hi Garrett, Always wonderful, thank you! Going on five years ago, when we were planning the finishes for our new home-to-be, we found a slab of Mari White granite for $500! I just had to have it - but, what to do with it? Well, it became the vanity top for one of my smaller 3-piece bathrooms, which I decided to decorate in black and white marble (how prescient, eh?). Given the small area to cover, the cost of the marble required - and I chose moderately priced varieties - was very reasonable and has been far exceeded by the impact the stonework provides! I found Nero Marquino marble hexagonal tiles in two sizes, 6” for the floor, and mosaic for the shower floor, which I coupled with 24”x24” Carrerra marble tiles for the entire wall surface of the bathroom. My tile supplier - Saltillo Imports in Toronto - found Nero Marquino marble baseboards for me. The Mari White granite was also fabricated into my shower threshold and the shower niche - very striking against the Carrera marble walls. I finished the room off with a curaveous black lacquered vanity with silver legs from Porcelanosa (very much on sale) with matching oval mirror, matte black and polished nickel plumbing fixtures and matching accessories, black rug and shower mat, and white, black and grey towels. I guess I was feeling particularly goth, because I had installed a black chandelier and matching sconces - I’ve second-guessed myself here, wondering if polished nickel might have been better, but that might have just caused the fixtures to recede, and the black makes them pop. The large window has a simple, white zebra blind set into its frame. It all looks very glam, yet fresh and clean. It probably helps that this bathroom is rarely used, although I do like to pop in to admire it!

Love the idea of painting the bathroom ceiling a different color! Simple idea that I can easily change if I don't like it. Thank you!

I have a very small master bath in my new house. The trade off was an older home with no HOA, and 1800 sq ft and a nice large back yard for my dog to run and play. I do love this house but the tiny master bath is a challenge . I live in Florida in a block home so I can’t go into the exterior wall to recess any more space. I like your idea of painting the Ceiling a different color , I might try that.

Dark teal goes well with duran duran mint green and white bathroom tile and tubs!! Ha! Eureka moment!!🤓

I have a tiny bathroom (5x7 feet). It is the first room we are redoing. Scraped off the popcorn ceiling (I HATE popcorn ceilings), got a new vanity with storage , and it's about 5 inches more shallow, so walking in feels more spacious, and not cramped; replaced the mirrored medicine cabinet with a 30x32 inch mirror (we will put a thin frame on it later, as we realized AFTER we installed it, that we may have to take it down when we move the light receptacle a bit), and added a white cabinet over the toilet for more storage. Our colour scheme is white and light grey, with a couple of black accents (the new LED lighting, and the frame around the mirror). LOVE that you mentioned putting in storage between the studs.. my hubby is debating about doing this for yet more storage, but we haven't come to a solid conclusion yet where we want it. :)

I only have one bathroom, and it is fairly small with a tiny window, but after it was renovated we painted the walls a blue gray with bright white trim. That made it look a lot bigger. I am going to paint the vanity a midnight blue some time this year for some more contrast. Edit: As for storage, I use a shelf unit over the toilet, which sits in a recessed area already. I put my towels and washcloths on there. I also have a tall cabinet for all the stuff that doesn't fit in the sink vanity, which has four drawers and some space under the sink. I hide the nitty gritty under there (toilet cleaner and plunger, sanitary pads, etc.)

I love the wall sconce for bathroom lighting! I never would’ve considered that💕

I am an out of sight kinda person so struggle with that as well

I love the bathroom with the “brick” shower. Gorgeous! The bathroom with coral and teal looks so much like my great grandma’s house in Florida back in the 80s. I would never do that for me, but the nostalgia made me smile. 🥰

Hi lovely. I know this is an older video but I renovated my tiny bathroom and used large natural stone tiles on the floor and 3/4 of the way up the walls. It looks much bigger and is so beautiful.

Totally agree with you!

Not only are side sconces beautiful, they light your face SO much better than overhead lights. I only have overhead lights, but when I go to a hotel with side sconces I see stuff my "beauty routine" missed at home. Oops. By the way, I've come to respect your opinion so much that I feel proud when I already have something you recommend in a video, in this case, glass shelves.

Thank you for addressing this topic with such practical advice.

Very useful information, as always! We are planning to keep overflow in the laundry room, and then have just a little storage in the small bathrooms. After watching this, I’m thinking a big lidded basket under the open vanity. I also like things to be beautiful but visible, so want to have a little open shelving.

I have a two smaller bathrooms in a1970 Cape Cod, and when we remoded several years ago, we added vanities with decent storage and drawers, but no place for towels. In one, I put a hotel rack towel bar. I only store towels on it. I keep extras in the linen closet in the hallway right outside. This way I can keep only a soap dispenser and one decorative item on the vanity top. In the other bathroom, I store all of the towels and extra washcloths in the guest bedroom (not attached, but right next to, the bedroom.) Both of these solutions have worked great for us. I wished we had done one with a walk-in shower. Happily, we are building new, and all of these tips are amazing!

Thank you, thank you…I have a big master bath a a smaller full guest bathroom …this helps. Always love your stuff

As always, great information. My tiny 2nd bathroom, the one with the pink tile and Martinique dupe wallpaper is pretty much done. I love it but the result came through a lot of trial and error. And frustration. Wish I had been privy to your design wisdom because then I could have arrived at the result without the frustration. My main bathroom isn't all that big and will be renovated. I will be using your excellent information so I expect the process will be less stressful. We are all so fortunate to have your video guidance.❤️

Great video and recommendations. A lot of channels on RU-vid offer plenty of complaints and dislikes with no legitimate advice. Appreciate what you're doing.

Your content is ALWAYS quality. Thank you for all the work you put into teaching us about home decor. Per usual, I feel very inspired.

I'm so excited to use some of these ideas in my bathroom❣ Thanks Garrett!!! 🤗

Thanks for the tips!

I used a very high gloss paint on the ceiling, installed a custom shower curtain that goes from ceiling to floor and a very tall vanity mirror. Definitely makes people look up!! :)

This is so helpful! I live in an apartment and while the bathroom is structured okay and isn't too small, it's the main room that gets little neutural light and has very natural shower tiles and floor tiles with a plain white cabinet. I'm going to really try to complete more decorating and adding storage the next couple of months.

I wish I had seen this video years ago before I remodeled my main small bathroom. I want to upgrade and the side sconces are a great idea! so glad I saw this!!

Bathrooms are so much fun to decorate!

Hi!!! I love all of your videos, but I think I love this one the best. I have this ugly pedestal sink and I hate it so much! It’s in such a small space, so it’s hard to find a vanity to switch it out with. That being said, I had NO IDEA they make cabinets that fit under pedestal sinks. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU so much for this info!!!!!Friends help friends. ❤️❤️❤️

I agree about the storage. I have a lot of makeup that I need to store somewhere! :-) Those open spaces (aka showcase for the clutter) just make me shudder and I'm quite a tidy person.

The timing on this is perfect 🤩 like you can read my mind. Was just looking at bathroom inspo last night on what to do with my two long and narrow bathrooms since neither have windows

I rented the cutest guest house apartment in Bel Air many many years ago (like almost 20). It was more like a one bedroom shack and outside the gate of the main house. Anyway in the teeny tiny half bath they used a gorgeous tiny corner sink from their yacht. 🤣 I will never forget that postage stamp bathroom.

Perfect timing! We’re just about to redo our small master bath. I think I’ll paint the ceiling something different and the shelving ideas are helpful. I also am an “out of sight, out of mind” person.

Thank you Garrett 🙂 I have small spaces.

Garrett I appreciate the heads up about your video tomorrow because I haven’t been getting your notifications 😞. This video dropped 2 days ago and I’m just now seeing it. I’ll be watching tomorrow. I really appreciate the hard work you put into your channel. I could watch you talk about anything. ❤️❤️

And immediately watching

Love this video, I do have a tiny bathroom but I am lucky, it's all mine, my husband has his own, I do have three floating glass shelves and yes, they need a quick dust every day, I do have a vanity with storage and inside drawers with partitions for all I need and use every day, love my white and light sea foam bathroom with lots of light, bright, practical and always has fresh green branches or some of my favorite flowers, a steam shower ( don't have the time to be soaking in a bathtub, lol...great ideas in this video, thanks, Happy New Year.

🤯 I did not know there were storage cabinets for pedestal sinks! I've been trying to figure this out, was going to get a whole new sink with cabinet. Thanks so much for this idea!

Found you yesterday because I'm about to redo my decor . .. Binged every video. You are fantastic

Happy new year Garrett!

I love love these ideas. I have a power room that didnt know what to do with it.

I’m going to redo my primary bathroom, thanks for the great ideas!

You have become my favorite youtube designer Garrett!!

Bonjour Garret, First Happy New Year to you, your hubby and of course your fur babies ! Now about this video : fantastic, you always have wonderful ideas as well as taking the time to explain things and how they can work or why they dont work. You truly help people, I am sure. Thank you for sharing and keep being the lovely person that you are !

Totally agree that planning storage space is vital especially for small bathroom. I installed a compact vanity unit and a slim tall storage unit in my small family bathroom which are very storage friendly. When I plan my new extension that has a ensuite bathroom I have also asked to move the bathroom window from the back to the side wall next to the WC unit so I can have plenty space to do wall cabinet above the sink. I personally highly recommend a compact vanity unit that combines sink, WC, and storage as it gives a sleek look and it is much easy to clean.

You’re just amazing! 🤩

❤️❤️🙌 great ideas.. thanks for sharing!

I love your ideas. You are a true talent!

Good ideas on the small bathrooms

Hey there friend thank you for all the tips we have a really small bathroom with a family of six and these tips helped a lot thank you very much

I’ve got a teeny bathroom. I found a bit of storage with a pretty open shelf above the door! I found some baskets that fit perfectly and spray-painted them so they “belonged” (sticking with very limited colors since it’s small). Every lit bit of storage helps when they’re small!

Hi Garret, excellent video as usual. Apropos towel bar vs hook, I definitely lean toward the bar. A damp towel dries better spread out on a bar … for us plebeians who reuse a towel 😆

Fabulous, thank you 💫

Non related to bathrooms but I must ask your paint color. I love the warmth of it.

Hello 👋 great video! You just gave me a great idea for my small bathroom. I absolutely hate those shower caddies you hang from the shower head, but unfortunately it’s a must when there’s no other option, but I think I just found one 😁

Great video. I have a very small bathroom. We will be remodeling it in the next couple years or so. I love the idea of the contrasting marble, floating shelves, and the sconces. I also want to add a window. The bathroom is along an outside wall and I don’t understand why it doesn’t have a window. I think it would add a lot to the space.

Hi Garrett, great video as always! Do you have any advice for a small bathroom with a low ceiling?

Hello, Garrett. We have one bathroom that is 65 sq. ft. We are currently re-building, and have chosen large marble tiles with blue veining for the floor and walls- approximately 3 feet and two-sides of the shower stall; changed out our tub/shower combo for a curb-less walk-in shower, and the back wall of the shower is a teal/blue subway tile. We purchased two antique dressers to re-purpose into vanities. I am thinking of adding a tall linen cabinet in the corner for extra storage. Please tell the pups hello!

Happy new year Garret. How do you feel about a really bold wallpaper on the celiing in a powder room? I'm thinking black?

I had a travertine floor in my master bath in my previous home. I loved it. Is travertine out of date now?

I need all of the storage I can get, no pedestal sink for me

Some really good suggestions. Thank you

Can u make a video on upgrading a rental condo

Oh yay…I already have a glass shelf….

Where should we hang our shower curtain? One designer says to the ceiling. But there is no light fixture over the shower and it is really dark in the rhere.

what do your think of a small main bathroon say 6x9 having tile around the tub/shower area wall and then have the same tile continue, say chair rail hight around the toilet and the vanity and any other wall in the bathroom.

Thanks Garrett for these great ideas for small bathroom. I have a limestone 8 inch border on my walls and my shower curtain is same color so I am thinnking to paint the wall around the skylight and ceiling that color. My 8x8 inch ceramic on my walls and floor are smokey grey/blue with beige (like a galaxy look) so it might look great alltogether. What do you think? I wish I could add here a picture of my tiles.

❤️❤️❤️

Omg I didn’t know they had cabinet around pedisol sink .. I’ll have to look up .. I have huge closet.. but I really don’t like the sink .. I have a medicine cabinet let my husband pick it out .. such a mistake.. so u gave me a few idea

I love you.

What is your favorite hotel in the world? Great video by the way!

Oils I hang the shower curtain higher, like to the ceiling…would that be weird? I have a smaller window….over the shower area.

I looked in the online store and couldn't find it, so I have to ask: who is the manufacturer of the sconces shown at 11:11? Those are fantastic. Great video Garrett!

For me, in the bathroom, try to keep stuff to a minimum, keep it easy to clean, keep it aired out.

Dear garret im trying to design a small 6m2 floor shower bathroom (no toilet) I’m really into copper and green , could you maybe propose an idea ? I wa thinking either brown floor and then half wall green and half white , not sure about glazed or not (any suggestions about that ?), or hexagons vs square, I don’t want marble it’s too expensive , I live in Netherlands so not much light inside , and I don’t like huge tiles more like 20x20 or 30x30 , I’m not very wealthy FYI , your videos are great 👍

how about rectangular bathrooms?

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I'm trying to think of a color scheme from my bathroom that will work around bone colored toilet and shower insert(there is no way around those 2 items I can't remove them) does anyone have any ideas? I wanted purple (light, white blacks and silver) but I really don't know how to work it into the room with those two items. I'm doing a full remodel new floor, new vanity color, new top, new paint so it can be anything but I really just can't get my mind around the toilet and the shower/bathtub insert. Any help will be GREATLY appreciated.

Marble on floor AND walls looks/feels too cold to me.

❤ xxx

Haha but those bathrooms arent small though. My house is older and only has 1 bathroom. Its 5'×7' with a full sized cast iron tub. My husband and i have three kids. Pretty sure it cant be saved and we just have to move lol.

What is your favorite hotel?!?!