7 Before and After Bathroom Layouts from Our Tours
These before and after images reveal how designers made better use of space to create calm, well-functioning washrooms
Sometimes, helping to make a bathroom function better can be as straightforward as reorientating the sanitaryware or moving a doorway along a few centimetres; other times, a more radical rethink is required. All seven of these projects created improved spaces for the homeowners. Take a look at the designers’ clever solutions.
The reconfigured space still has those three essentials, but look what a difference twisting the bath around has made.
Turning it 90 degrees to run parallel with the shower – and making use of the shower wall to mount the taps – has allowed designer Laura Anderson of Craft & Trade Renovations to create a long vanity unit with much more storage, plus a dressing table under the window.
She also stole a little bit of space from the shower to make the area in front of the vanity unit more roomy, but swapping the glass bricks for frameless glazing has lessened the impact. “We decreased the shower footprint a bit, but you don’t feel it with the clear glass,” homeowner Virginia Crawford says.
Learn more about how this bathroom was given a serene new layout.
Turning it 90 degrees to run parallel with the shower – and making use of the shower wall to mount the taps – has allowed designer Laura Anderson of Craft & Trade Renovations to create a long vanity unit with much more storage, plus a dressing table under the window.
She also stole a little bit of space from the shower to make the area in front of the vanity unit more roomy, but swapping the glass bricks for frameless glazing has lessened the impact. “We decreased the shower footprint a bit, but you don’t feel it with the clear glass,” homeowner Virginia Crawford says.
Learn more about how this bathroom was given a serene new layout.
Consolidate a disjointed layout
This bathroom was bitty to say the least, with two separate basins and two separate cupboards, plus a bath the owners didn’t use.
As the ‘after’ layout on the right here shows, designer Tara Lenney fitted a spacious new shower in place of the former bath. Ditching the former shower and the cupboard next to it and rotating the toilet allowed for a larger single cupboard and freed up the right-hand wall for a luxuriously long double vanity unit.
This bathroom was bitty to say the least, with two separate basins and two separate cupboards, plus a bath the owners didn’t use.
As the ‘after’ layout on the right here shows, designer Tara Lenney fitted a spacious new shower in place of the former bath. Ditching the former shower and the cupboard next to it and rotating the toilet allowed for a larger single cupboard and freed up the right-hand wall for a luxuriously long double vanity unit.
“The layout is so much more user-friendly for us, using every square inch of the bathroom we had,” owner Nikki says. “Now everything is cohesive.”
See all the areas of this clever redesign.
Feeling inspired? Find reviewed architects in your area and see photos of their past projects.
See all the areas of this clever redesign.
Feeling inspired? Find reviewed architects in your area and see photos of their past projects.
Create two from one
Dividing this unnecessarily large family bathroom, seen here in the ‘before’ plan, allowed the parents to have their own en suite while still keeping a room with a bath and shower for their daughter and guests.
Dividing this unnecessarily large family bathroom, seen here in the ‘before’ plan, allowed the parents to have their own en suite while still keeping a room with a bath and shower for their daughter and guests.
As the new plan, by Kate Clare of LOUD Architecture & Interior Design, shows, a pocket door from the main bedroom now opens into an L-shaped en suite with double basins, a shower and a smart oval bath. The original doorway (bottom right) opens from the landing onto a small but well-equipped second bathroom.
In the new en suite, Kate used two Durastone shelves rather than an enclosed vanity unit for the basins to keep the narrow space as airy as possible. A row of mirrored cabinets adds storage while visually opening up the space.
The smaller bathroom is perfect for the daughter and guests. As the room has no window, a vent runs in the ceiling void. Kate installed a large mirror for an open feel.
The basin was the one compromise. “We had to get a really slim basin to allow for the door swing and to create enough room between it and the loo,” Kate says. It was wall-hung to further boost the sense of space.
Discover more about how these bathrooms were created and the challenges that were overcome.
The basin was the one compromise. “We had to get a really slim basin to allow for the door swing and to create enough room between it and the loo,” Kate says. It was wall-hung to further boost the sense of space.
Discover more about how these bathrooms were created and the challenges that were overcome.
Reposition the entrance to create an en suite
When two rooms on the top floor of this home were merged into one to create a bedroom and dressing room, it made sense to include an en suite, too. The original bathroom, accessed from the landing, was perfectly placed to be requisitioned.
When two rooms on the top floor of this home were merged into one to create a bedroom and dressing room, it made sense to include an en suite, too. The original bathroom, accessed from the landing, was perfectly placed to be requisitioned.
The designers working on the property, Ellen Cumber and Alice Bettington of Golden Design, didn’t change the footprint of the bathroom, but simply shunted the doorway around to the left-hand wall, so it now opens into the bedroom.
The position of the new sanitarywear is almost the same as before, but blocking up the original doorway allowed the designers to reconfigure the shower and fit in two basins, seen here, to give the en suite a luxurious feel.
Tour the whole of this restored house with a boutique hotel mood.
Tour the whole of this restored house with a boutique hotel mood.
Commandeer a larger room
In this flat, a whole, good-sized room was being used for storage while the bathroom was squeezed into a narrow space.
Designer Cat Hoad of Absolute Project Management merged the old bathroom space into the back room to create a kitchen/dining/living room; kitted out the loft space with new boards, a light and a ladder to create a large storage area, then turned the former storeroom into a generous bathroom.
In this flat, a whole, good-sized room was being used for storage while the bathroom was squeezed into a narrow space.
Designer Cat Hoad of Absolute Project Management merged the old bathroom space into the back room to create a kitchen/dining/living room; kitted out the loft space with new boards, a light and a ladder to create a large storage area, then turned the former storeroom into a generous bathroom.
Cat also moved the former storeroom’s doorway, seen here, to the centre of the wall, which meant she could make full use of the area on the right to fit in a separate shower and bath.
The couple now have a lovely roomy bathroom kitted out with vintage pieces for bags of character.
Explore the whole of this reconfigured flat with a vintage vibe.
The couple now have a lovely roomy bathroom kitted out with vintage pieces for bags of character.
Explore the whole of this reconfigured flat with a vintage vibe.
Sacrifice small features to make a usable room
The en suite for the main bedroom in this home was rather cramped and outdated. Clever thinking allowed the homeowners to expand it.
The ‘before’ plan on the left here shows the original en suite (above the master bedroom, bottom right). Borrowing a tiny bit from the bedroom and ditching two small walk-in wardrobes left room for a good-sized bathroom (seen in the ‘after’ plan on the right).
Removing a fireplace in the bedroom (between the two windows on the right-hand side) freed up this wall, compensating for the inches lost to house the toilet. This area now has masses of clothes storage, so the walk-in wardrobe isn’t missed.
The en suite for the main bedroom in this home was rather cramped and outdated. Clever thinking allowed the homeowners to expand it.
The ‘before’ plan on the left here shows the original en suite (above the master bedroom, bottom right). Borrowing a tiny bit from the bedroom and ditching two small walk-in wardrobes left room for a good-sized bathroom (seen in the ‘after’ plan on the right).
Removing a fireplace in the bedroom (between the two windows on the right-hand side) freed up this wall, compensating for the inches lost to house the toilet. This area now has masses of clothes storage, so the walk-in wardrobe isn’t missed.
The new bathroom has space for a separate shower and bath, grouped in a 6ft sq wetroom area tiled in glossy dark green with a luxurious marble floor, plus a smart double vanity unit and a toilet in its own room. “The bathroom is everything we really wanted,” owner Hannah says.
See how the owners made other layout changes that vastly improved their new home.
See how the owners made other layout changes that vastly improved their new home.
Magic an en suite out of unused space
The little room seen top centre on this floorplan didn’t even exist before Simon Heckford of Oasys Property Solutions got creative.
The little room seen top centre on this floorplan didn’t even exist before Simon Heckford of Oasys Property Solutions got creative.
The en suite was carved out by removing a cloakroom on a half landing below, which ate into space on this floor. “Then we pinched a bit of space back to the chimney breast in the room behind [for the shower],” Simon says.
Now it contains a smart en suite for the main bedroom.
Read more about how the whole of this Georgian home was gently tailored for its owners.
Tell us…
Which is your favourite of these solutions? Have you had to rethink a bathroom in your home? Share your thoughts and photos in the Comments.
Now it contains a smart en suite for the main bedroom.
Read more about how the whole of this Georgian home was gently tailored for its owners.
Tell us…
Which is your favourite of these solutions? Have you had to rethink a bathroom in your home? Share your thoughts and photos in the Comments.
It’s amazing how much of an impact the positioning of key elements in a room can have. This bathroom had a vanity unit, a tub and a walk-in shower squeezed in…