Small White Bathroom Ideas and Design Inspiration

One of the most popular bathroom colours in the modern-day bathroom design trend is white.

And whilst it may seem like a relatively understated colour, there really is so much to do when using white as a core colour in your bathroom.

White is often the go-to colour choice for those trying to breathe a new lease of life into a smaller bathroom.

Simple, yet highly dynamic, this muted tone offers the perfect way to make smaller spaces feel bigger.

If you have a small bathroom and are wondering how you could dress up the space using white, we're here to provide a few ideas on how to spread this fresh and revitalising tone across your bathroom space.

 

Is white a good idea in a small bathroom?

Stuck on what colours to choose for your upcoming small bathroom renovation? Here are a few reasons why you might want to consider using white…

 

A room expanding bathroom colour

Many are familiar with the concept that white and bright colours will make a room feel bigger.

If you have a small bathroom, you may in fact want to embrace the smallness. But if you’re tired of feeling cramped and enclosed, white is an excellent choice to revitalise your bathroom.

White works to amplify light around the room.

The more natural light you can let in and bounce across the walls and floors, the bigger the bathroom will feel. This natural glow will also make the room feel warmer and more inviting whilst accentuating a sense of space and freshness.

A great starting point

 

A white bathroom doesn't have to mean that every surface, floor to ceiling has to be white.

White is an understated colour that offers plenty of opportunities to enlighten the room with more colour and texture.

As a neutral tone, it can pair with pretty much any colour you can imagine.

If you’re unsure about which colours you’ll use in your space, white provides an all-round blank canvas to build upon.

 

A small bathroom colour choice that works for all budgets

 

When you think about it, there really are so many bathroom features that are available in white.

From basins and baths, to shower trays and vanity units, white makes an appearance in most bathrooms.

And because of the vast choice of features, there’s something for every budget, meaning that the white bathroom look can be achieved, whatever you wish to spend.

 

White bathroom wall and floor ideas

When you start to think about what your white bathroom may look like, the first thing that may spring to mind is white tiles or wall panels.

The choice really is plentiful when you choose to dress your walls up with white, and there are lots of different ways to give your bathroom a unique character and style, just by the panels or tiles that you choose.

To entwine timeless retro with modern, get yourself some small underground style styles. Give your pearly white tiles that bit more wow factor, and use darker grout such as grey or black.

For an all-out modern look, the cosmopolitan look can be achieved using small tiles and experimenting with different angles and gradients to build texture through the space.

If it's a traditional look you’re going for with real high-end luxury appeal, have you considered large-profile white marble wall tiles? Use from floor to ceiling or pair with a punchy standout painted wall colour.

Or maybe you’re all about the glitz and the glamour and are on the hunt for something that brings a little sparkle to your bathroom. Take a look at these snowflake sparkly white wall panels for a touch of real show-biz Hollywood glam.

Whilst tiles can be a great choice for walls, if you’re looking to create a more rustic and shabby chic look, you may instead want to paint wooden wall panels white.

Wall panels are available in a variety of styles. For a taste of traditional, use shaker-style panelling.

Or, for the washed-up beachy look, shiplap wall panelling offers a subtle little additional detail that can go a long way in completely transforming your bathroom. This can be placed around the bottom half of the wall, or even on ceiling eaves for a cosy finish.

When it comes to the floor, you could keep things bright and light with white floor tiles. Or for extra texture, choose a patterned floor with a speckle of colour or a dramatic jump-out design.

 

Choosing white bathroom features for a small bathroom

When space is premium, you need to get a little nifty when choosing space-saving features.

Thankfully, there are plenty of white bathroom furniture options available.

 

Basins for small bathrooms

Depending on how much room you have to play with, you may choose a basin style that doubles up as a super storage space.

A white floating wall-mounted vanity unit is an option you may wish to consider. Keep your room clutter free by using the handy storage, and the floor clear and free with a floating design.

If you’re not too fussed about the extra storage, or are looking for a slimline solution, there are plenty of floating basins you could choose from.

Semi-pedestal basins are available in a range of shapes. For a modern look, opt for a square-style basin, or to incorporate some smoother silhouettes, choose a curved style.

Alternatively, you could make use of your corner space by choosing a white corner hung basin.

Don’t forget that there are also lots of slim-line styles to choose from. These are a perfect choice for narrow bathrooms such as cloakroom toilets.

Top off the look with a perfectly paired tap.

In smaller bathrooms, it’s important to remember that the little features make a big difference.

For a classy classic bathroom, you may want to take a look at these traditional-styled four-spindle taps.

The brushed brass look can add an element of surprising warmth to an all-white bathroom.

To break things up and draw more attention to the use of white, black taps paired with a black plug will bring a superb level of designer disparity.

And if you’re all about giving your small bathroom little pockets of pazazz, a waterfall tap is a simple, yet highly effective way to add evermore character to a sophisticated white bathroom design.

Shower designs for small white bathrooms

When limited on space, you may choose a shower rather than a bath when planning out your bathroom redesign.

The first thing to consider is whether you’ll choose a traditional style shower, with a shower tray and doors, or a modern style wet room shower.

There are no right or wrong answers here. It depends entirely on the style of bathroom you’d like to achieve.

For a seamless, space-creating look, a wet room-style shower can help to make a room feel bigger. The clear glass will give the room an all-in-one feel.

And, if you’re concerned that too much white may be a little blinding, bring things down a tone with a black wet room floor.

If you want to add a zonal feel, a shower could be the answer.

Break the room up whilst saving space when considering a corner shower. A chrome finish will provide more of a blended, light-reflecting feel.

Or to add an extra dimension or depth, contrast the white wall with a matte black shower frame. This style pairs brilliantly with smaller white tiles with a black grout finish to provide an edgy urban look.

If a bath is an absolute must-have, have you factored in the idea of taking the combined approach when choosing a shower bath?

These are ideal for smaller family bathrooms, providing the best of both worlds.

Choose a clear shower screen to avoid accentuating the bulkiness that a bath could bring and a crispy white bath panel to complete the look.

 

Don’t forget, you’ll also need to choose a shower kit.

For a touch of vintage glamour, a sophisticated brushed brass shower kit will stand out on a white marble-panelled wall.

This colour also works well if you plan to bring other colours into the space such as dark blue or grey.

To mix and match between light and dark, choose matte black. Or, if you want to keep things simple, with an understated shower kit, chrome offers subtle sophistication.

 

Toilet styles to choose from

Toilets are typically white, so really you could choose any style.

But, if you have space saving on the mind, there are a few different options that may be more suited to your small bathroom needs.

First up, you’ve got a back-to-wall toilet.

This modern-day design hides the cistern behind the wall to save floor space. Similarly, a wall-hung toilet also keeps all the inner workings of the loo hidden but keeps the space under the toilet free-flowing.

If backing the toilet cistern into the wall isn't an option, alternatively you could choose a close couple toilet.

Bathroom colours that pair with white

Whilst an all-white bathroom is the chosen colour palette for some, there’s nothing wrong with adding speckles of colour to your white bathroom.

In fact, this can be a superb way to keep things looking interesting and renewed, whilst avoiding a clinical look and breathing a little more life and personalisation into your home spa space.

White can still remain the key bathroom colour, which will help to make a smaller space feel bigger. You can also use it to complement and accentuate other colours that you want to incorporate.

Here are a few colours that work well in white bathrooms:

 

Buildable black and white colour schemes

A classic and timeless bathroom colour combo, black and white work well in bathrooms of all sizes. In your smaller bathroom, it’s likely that you’ll want white to carry through as the main colour.

However, patches of black can change the dynamic of your space completely.

What’s more, you don’t have to use immense quantities of this deep and dark tone to make a real impact. There are lots of subtle little ways to bring black into a white bathroom space.

We’ve mentioned a few already, including using black grout between white tiles, choosing matte black taps and shower fittings, and even a black shower tray.

However, you could also incorporate a black radiator or towel rail on a white tiled backdrop, a black basin or vanity unit or even one black standout feature wall.

A black pendant light can add an extra layer to take your bathroom from 2D to 3D, and black towels and accessories add evermore character to the space.

Go grey and white

If you like the idea of black, but want to lighten the tone just a tad, grey is another perfect pairing with white.

With white marble tiles, you can blur the lines between white and grey, whilst demonstrating a smart and sophisticated use of colour through texture choice.

You could also opt for a grand and gracious grey vanity unit. Again, opting for the floating style will avoid the feel of space overuse, keeping the floor free-flowing.

Pair with grey cabinets or a bath panel.

Don’t forget that chrome taps and shower fittings will also add an extra dimension of grey to your space, whilst reflecting the lighter white tones around the room.

The more grey you add, the smaller the bathroom will feel. So, if your bathroom is particularly pokey, it’s a good idea to use grey in moderation if you’re striving for a more capacious finish.

Bring white tiles back into the mix, choose white vanity tops and a white ceiling to reinforce the use of white across your space.

Keep it cool with white and blue

Another popular bathroom colour combination has to be white and blue.

And there are a few reasons for that. Firstly, there are lots of different shades of blue that bring a different dynamic to the outcome of a bathroom redesign.

From summer breeze cornflower blue and tropical aqua to deep vibrant blue and high-flying sky blue, there are plenty of choices that pair beautifully with muted whites.

Secondly, there are lots of connotations that come with the colour blue that we want to feature in our relaxation space. From beachy sea vibes to sensory spa scenes, there's a lot blue can bring to a white bathroom.

Drip a juicy injection of colour when incorporating blue in your small white bathroom.

If you want to centralise the room using this stand-out colour, you could incorporate a bright blue vanity unit. Spread the blue love across the floor when choosing a white and blue patterned bathroom floor tile.

Alternatively, it might be a tiled blue feature wall contrasted against 3 white tiled walls.

Experiment with using different sizes and styles of tile. Smaller tiles of different colours will ignite the room with dazzling flickers of vibrancy and absorbing textures.

However larger profile tiles can be placed on the wall at different angles to create a dramatic storytelling effect.

Paint is a cost-saving alternative and another effective way to create a sumptuous colourful bathroom backdrop in a white space.

 

Pretty pink and white

For something a little different, have you considered pink and white?

Light pink works well in smaller bathrooms because just like white, it offers light-reflecting properties. What’s more, it can bring a sense of warmth, which is great if your bathroom lacks natural light.

Create a fun and fancy pink feature wall using pink tiles, paired with white tiles and paint. Choose a geometric floor tile that incorporates both pink and white to tie the two colours together.

To add an extra dynamic of sophistication to the mix, incorporate matte black or grey features such as taps, vanity units and shower doors.

This will settle down the tone a little, whilst shining the spotlight on the combination of white and pink across the space.

Alternatively, you could choose natural wood and timber finishes, paired with subtle hints of grey using wall panels.

 

Things to remember when decorating a white bathroom

 

Texture, texture, texture

If you’re using white as the main or only bathroom colour, you need to air on the side of caution.

This plain colour needs a little more to bring it to life. Otherwise, you run the risk of creating a very bland and clinical space with no distinct character.

Be sure to get experimental by incorporating different textures and patterns. Do your research and find tiles that bring geometric symmetry to your space.

Factor in how bringing subtle dabbles of darker tones could lift the space and make it multi-dimensional.

Find accessories that compliment the white, as well as artwork and plants that keep the space feeling fresh and homely.

 

Start with white

If you’re uncertain about which colours to choose, start with white. You can always build more to a white bathroom.

Be careful not to overdo it on colour. Pick no more than 2 colours to start with, then work more colour into the space with accessories and features.

Don’t forget about lighting

It’s all well and good to have a bright white space, but if you lack lighting, it won’t be so bright after all.

Try not to block windows. If you don’t have a bathroom window, it might be well worthwhile thinking about installing one.

And, if that’s too far out of the budget, consider how different styles of lighting will bring warmth and glow to your space. Mix and match between ceiling lights, uplighters and downlighters to set the mood.

Keep on top of the cleaning

Remember that white shows up all the dust, dirt and grime so keeping on top of the cleaning is a must with a white bathroom.

For areas that need that bit more cleaning, such as the shower wall, floor or vanity units, you may wish to mix and match between some dark colours and patterned finishes. Whilst like any bathroom, you’ll still need to clean regularly, marks and dirt will not show up so easily.