Renovating a historic home comes with its own unique set of rewards and roadblocks. For this early 1900s home located near Malvern near Richmond’s West End, the challenge lay in a micro-sized master bath measuring just 4 to 4.5 feet wide. Before the bathroom remodel, the original room featured a bulky radiator, a standard pedestal sink that choked the entryway, and a basic, built-out 36×36 shower enclosure. To make matters worse, the original mosaic floor had been epoxied over into a yellow-pink-salmon color that dated the bathroom terribly.
By stripping the room down to the studs, we utilized clever visual illusions and compact engineering to deliver a stunning home improvement transformation. Creating a high-end bathroom remodel that lives significantly larger than its physical footprint.
Wall-Mounted Fixtures: The Secret to a Small Bathroom Remodel
When you’re dealing with a room this skinny, standard floor-mounted fixtures just won’t cut it. We had to get creative and hide the bulk directly inside the wall framing:
- Wall-Mounted Toilet: We installed a sleek, floating toilet with the actual water tank completely embedded behind the drywall. A flush actuator button on the wall keeps everything looking clean and saves massive floor space.
- Wall-Mounted Faucet: Piping the faucet straight out of the wall allowed us to use an ultra-shallow wood vanity so you can actually walk through the door without bumping your knees.
- Recessed Medicine Cabinet: Instead of hanging a bulky mirror that sticks out, we recessed the storage cabinet directly into the wall studs.
Blending Historic Charm and Modern Comfort
The rest of this historic home has central air, but this tiny bathroom completely lacked an A/C vent. To keep it warm without sacrificing precious real estate, we found a clever home improvement workaround. We traded the clunky, old 10-to-12-inch wide radiator for a specialized, narrow radiator that is only 6 inches wide. It fits the room’s proportions perfectly, and we topped it with a custom granite shelf to hold a little succulent for added decoration.
Tiny Bathroom Remodel Features That Expand Visual Space
Making a narrow walkway of a bathroom feel open comes down to clever material choices. On the window and sink walls, we used bright white glass subway tile. The glass naturally bounces light around, instantly giving the illusion of depth. Because drilling into glass tile for recessed niches can be incredibly risky, we made the custom stone shower shelves stand proud, adding a beautiful, custom design feature.
For the floor, we used a minor step-up threshold into the walk-in shower, but we kept the tile completely continuous. By running the same floor tile straight through to the back wall and hiding the drain along the back edge, your eye tracks the full length of the room without interruption. And for a final touch of luxury, the back shower wall features a built-in, heated mirror that stays completely fog-free no matter how hot the shower gets.