Cheap Small Bathroom Ideas

When it comes to redesigning a bathroom, many put the idea on the back burner because of cost.

Even with the smallest of bathrooms, for some, the idea of ripping out the bathroom and replacing it with something new just throws up far too many pound signs. And, for that reason, bathrooms become neglected and last on the list for a refurb.

However, not every bathroom redesign has to cost the earth. There are plenty of different ways to do up your bathroom, without having to remortgage your home.

Creating a beautiful bathroom from a smaller space, on the cheap, is entirely achievable with a little know-how.

 

 

There is often a presumptive concern or worry that decorating a bathroom on a low budget will wind up in a bathroom that just looks tacky and shoddy. However, we’re here to tell you that there are lots of low-cost methods to achieve a quality, long-lasting and sophisticated look with real appeal.

In this article, we’re focusing on how to do up your smaller bathroom for less.

So grab a piece of paper and a pen, and make a note of these cheap small bathroom ideas that are sure to help you cut costs whilst assembling an exquisite bathroom space.

Getting to grips with your space

Every great bathroom redesign starts with a solid understanding of the space you have to work with.

Take a look at what already exists and identify what’s working, and what’s not.

Many homeowners fall into a trap of trying to cram too much into a trimmer bathroom. This is a design no-no.

Stuffing too much into a smaller space will quickly turn what should be a calm and relaxing area of the home into a cramped, dingy and stressful nightmare.

So, find out what is working, what’s not and what you need from your bathroom space.

Ask yourself a few of these questions:

Do you have unnecessary features, such as a large bath that engulfs half the room?

How is the existing layout creating space or causing restrictions?

Is there an overuse of bulky units and furniture items?

Are the colours working or are they making the room feel cold, dark and overwhelmed?

How much natural light is there and is it being used to its full potential?

Write down what is working, and what’s not working.

 

How small is small?

When we talk about small bathroom design, we could be referring to a small main bathroom, an ensuite or a cloakroom toilet.

 

Each of these spaces provides something different to a household dynamic, and therefore what’s needed from them differs.

Consider the space you have available to you, against the needs of the room.

For example, in a smaller cloakroom toilet, you may only really need space for a toilet and a small basin.

However, your main family bathroom will require that bit more, in the form of somewhere to wash, somewhere to store towels and toiletries as well as a toilet and a basin.

Once you know exactly what you need the space for, you can suss out some of the core features you’ll need, not just from a design angle, but to meet your lifestyle needs too.

Pick a design goal

Just because your space and budget is smaller, you certainly shouldn’t exclude yourself from designing a bathroom that works to your tastes and favoured interior styles.

 

 

Every bathroom revamp needs a design goal, otherwise, you’ll find yourself throwing together a mismatch of features, and you’ll be back to square one.

Start by choosing your key themes.

Work out a colour theme, such as blue, green, grey or neutral, as well as a general theme such as a traditional design, something ultra-modern, a shabby chic style or a spa-like feel.

Once you’ve got your colours and theme in mind, you can get to work building out the space.

 

Bathroom design tips for smaller budgets

 

Make use of natural light

One of the cheapest and easiest ways to make a smaller bathroom feel bigger is by making use of natural light.

There are a few different ways to ensure warm lighting from outdoors is soaked through the walls and features to enhance a more capacious feel.

Avoid overcrowding the windows

To allow natural light to seep into the bathroom, avoid blocking the windows up with heavy blinds or fussy curtains, lots of accessories and decorations and clutter.

Ensure that your bathroom has enough surface and storage space to pack away those spare shampoo bottles and extra towels to keep your window clear.

Mix between paint and tiles

Pick from a lighter and brighter colour palette.

For a neutral look, consider creams, magnolia, light mocha, oatmeal or light pebble grey. Or if you want something with a little more spark, choose lighter colours such as minty green, duck egg blue, mellow yellow or baby pink.

 

These colours can be spread across the bathroom using tiles and wall panels, or for a lower cost option, simply use paint.

Remember that the cost increases for every tile you add. Using both tiles and paint finishes accommodates a lower budget, whilst achieving a quality finish.

 

Get creative about how and where you place tiles across the room.

To add more vibrancy to the space, dabble speckles of colour across areas of the bathroom with a feature wall or basin backsplash using tiles or wall panels.

And, to get more bang for your buck, be selective about the colour of taps and accessories you choose, to create a striking and opulent contrast.

 

You could choose a herringbone effect, or the half and half look, where you place tiles at the bottom half of the wall, with a paint finish at the top half of the wall.

Add colour across the space

To add more colour, you could opt for coloured furniture such as a vanity unit or WC unit.

However, if these features are too bulky for your smaller space, consider painting a bath panel, skirting boards and picture rails.

 

Get clever with lighting

Lacking natural light? Consider how you can use lighting fixtures and fittings to warm the room up.

If you have a tall ceiling in a narrow room, shine the spotlight on the depth of space by using a pendant light.

 

 

Wall lights are another way to brighten up a small bathroom with no windows. Choose lamp shades or fittings that match your design theme to add more character.

Alternatively, you could choose a mirror with built-in lighting to style the boutique feel. Whilst this lighting is not designed to light the whole room, it will add to the ambience of your smaller space.

Find small bathroom-friendly furniture on a budget

There are plenty of low-cost bathroom furniture and feature options to choose from that will help you to get the very best out of your smaller bathroom space.

Tuck into the corners

When redesigning a smaller bathroom, you need to get a bit clever about how you use the space. That means looking at every wall and corner of the room and evaluating how they can be used to create an open and inviting ambience.

When you start to look at things from a different angle, you may find there’s an opportunity to create more space when using the corners of the room.

This will help to free up wall space, creating a more capacious feel.

Thankfully, there is a wide range of different types of budget-friendly features you could consider to do just that.

For a smaller cloakroom bathroom or ensuite, you could explore what you could do with a corner basin or cabinet. This convenient and compact design is available in a range of sizes and styles that provide plenty of room for hand washing and teeth brushing.

When it comes to a smaller family bathroom, why not swap out a clunky dated shower for a slick and smart quadrant shower unit?

And if a bath is an absolute must-have for your home spa space, why not consider a corner bath or b-shape bath?

 

 

The all-in-one approach

Combination vanities are designed to provide compact bathroom spaces with all the functional necessities in a stylish and space-saving way.

If your bathroom is particularly small or narrow, this may be an option that you consider.

 

 

Smart and slick in its look, the combination vanity unit comprises both the toilet and the basin, as well as a countertop and storage cupboard.

It’s a 3-in-one style, that looks great in modern bathrooms.

Available in white and grey, use the bright white colour to contrast against darker wall colours such as black, grey and blue. Then choose a style tap to complete the look.

 

Space-saving bathroom features

Handpick the very best bathroom furniture and features for your bathroom space.

From space-saving, wall-hung vanity units to slimline basins, be sure to choose quality and cost-effective small bathroom furniture.

 

It’s all about the basin

Small bathrooms benefit from a clear floor space.

And for that reason, wall-hung basins are a superb option for smaller bathrooms, as they help to keep the floor space open and free-flowing.

What’s more, it’s easier to clean around floating features, helping to provide an everyday air of freshness through the bathroom.

 

 

Alternatively, if you have the room, opt for a wall-hung vanity unit. Available in a choice of colours and wooden finishes, these units are a great way to add a supplementary dimension of texture and personality to the bathroom, whilst providing handy extra storage capacity.

 

 

Narrow bathrooms can also benefit smaller or slimline basins. These are a favoured pick in cloakroom bathrooms, where the area is limited.

 

 

Or, for a more traditional look, choose a small pedestal basin.

These are available in a wide range of sizes, and are ideal for nibble bathroom spaces. These classic basins work well in overtly traditional bathrooms, as well as bathroom styles that blur the boundaries between retro and contemporary.

 

 

Save for the finishing touches

If you choose budget-friendly features, be sure to provide a luxury finish by choosing stylish taps.

This will take your bathroom to the next level to achieve both cost-saving functionality and glamorous charm.

 

 

For traditional bathrooms, pick brushed brass or four spindle taps. If it’s something a little more contemporary you’re going for, chrome or matte black tap finishes are both superb options.

 

Combine bath and shower time

Can’t live without a bath? Double up your bath space as a shower with a shower bath and glass shower door and a shower kit.

Relish in everyday showers whilst having the choice for a long soak, without having to take up too much space.

 

 

What’s more, straight baths are available in a wide selection of sizes.

So, even if you’ve only got room for a smaller bath, you’ll be able to find the right fit to create your dream bathroom.

Save toilet space

A toilet is a core feature of any bathroom. However, traditional-style toilets can take up more space than you have to play with.

Thankfully, there are a few space-saving options that are designed to reduce floor space wastage.

 

 

Take a look at the walls and find out if you can hide the pipework behind the walls with a back-to-wall toilet.

Alternatively, you could consider a wall-hung toilet, which will also give you an extra few inches of space.

If neither of these choices is working for you, why not consider a small close coupled toilet or even a corner toilet?

Avoid breaking up the space with a wetroom

With smaller bathrooms, you want to avoid heavy linears that break up the space.

Keeping the room open will construct a more comfortable and soothing space, even if your bathroom is tiny.

If you know that installing a bath isn’t on the cards for you, why not turn your attention to a wet room bathroom?

 

 

Wet rooms offer a really simple and cost-effective way to turn your bathroom into something really special, whilst saving space.

Without bulky doors and shower trays, you can keep things flat and smooth. To avoid breaking up the space, choose a wet room screen.

And, to turn your wetroom shower into a luxury feature, create a scenic shower time backdrop using tile or wall panels.

 

A few things to keep in mind when redesigning your small bathroom on a budget

 

You don’t have to do it all at once

 

 

As soon as you’ve got the main features in, and your bathroom can be used, take your time to find the finishing touches that make the space feel like home.

You may decide that you want premium taps or a luxury handrail further on down the line. Or perhaps your want to replace your bath with a suave and sophisticated roll top style.

If your budget doesn't accommodate these features right away, there’s nothing wrong with waiting and adding to your space piecemeal style.

You’ll feel a great sense of accomplishment when you take your time to get everything just right, even if that means working across different sections of the bathroom bit by bit.

What can you save and salvage?

 

You may find that only certain elements of your bathroom need replacing.

For example, you may hate the wall colour, a certain tile pattern or even a basin design, but there may be pre-existing features that are in great condition, and just need an added personal touch.

Wet rooms and showers can be given a little lift simply by replacing the shower head with something a little more luxurious. Maybe you could replace the wet room screen with a style that’s a little more small-space friendly.

Or, perhaps you like the tiles and existing bath, but want to achieve more of a traditional look with a high level toilet and a basin that’s more suited to your tastes.

Look at what you already have, and if you like it, you don’t have to lose or replace it. Build your redesign around what works for you.

Value-adding features that don’t cost the Earth

Your bathroom should be entirely sculpted around you. The most enjoyable bathrooms are those that mean something to their users.

 

You don’t have to buy the most expensive features to create a bathroom that you love.

Rather, inviting the things that you love into your bathroom will ensure that your space is valuable to you.

These could be accessories such as mirrors, artwork, a bath mat and ornaments that have sentimental value.

It could be an old chair or bathroom cabinet that you or a family member has restored.

Or maybe it will be second-hand door handles and dressing gown hooks that have been pre-loved and have their own story to tell.

Alternatively, it could be something as simple as incorporating your favourite colours or a design theme that reminds you of something or somewhere special.

Bring your room together through the features and elements that you hand-pick to make your bathroom space feel like home.