Bathroom Renovation Before & After: From Dated to Designer
- 13 hours ago
- 6 min read
See How We Completely Transformed This Bathroom
When this house was built in the early 2000s, this bathroom was actually considered quite modern. Beige ceramic tiles, decorative borders, a built-in bathtub and a pedestal sink were all very much on trend at the time. If you walked into a newly built home back then, chances are you'd have seen something very similar.
Fast forward more than twenty years and... let's just say some design trends don't age as gracefully as we'd hoped. 😅
After two decades of daily use, the bathroom still functioned perfectly, but it no longer reflected the style we loved. It felt darker, busier and far more dated than the rest of the house.
Rather than giving it a quick facelift, we decided to completely start over.
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We Didn't Rush Into It
One of the biggest advantages we had was time.
Since the house has multiple bathrooms, we weren't forced to complete the renovation within a few weeks. Instead, we could plan every decision carefully without feeling pressured.
And believe us—we took our time. It took months to settle on the right porcelain tiles.
and to decide on the vanity design.
Even something as simple as the taps became a surprisingly big decision.
We wanted every single element to feel intentional, minimal, modern and timeless (well 20 years later we might reconsider!!!)
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Before: A Bathroom That Had Served Its Time
The original bathroom wasn't too small (in fact, it had great proportions), but the problem wasn't the space—it was how that space was being used.
The beige patterned tiles, decorative borders, a bulky built-in bathtub and a pedestal sink made the room feel visually heavy.
Storage was very limited and I can tell you that cleaning wasn't particularly enjoyable.
Despite it being perfectly functional, the room simply no longer reflected our style, so it was time for a fresh start.
Demolition Day
Every renovation reaches the stage where you briefly wonder whether you've made a terrible mistake.
For us that moment came when absolutely everything disappeared.
The bathtub, the tiles, the sink, the toilet, even sections of the walls.
Suddenly, instead of a bathroom, we were looking at exposed brickwork, pipes and concrete.
Messy? Absolutely. Worth it? Without a doubt.
Building Everything Back Up
Once demolition was complete, the real transformation began.
New plumbing was installed.
Electrical wiring was upgraded.
A concealed toilet frame was built into the wall.
The walls were repaired and waterproofed before the first tile was even laid.
It's probably the least glamorous part of any renovation—but it's also the most important.
Beautiful finishes only stay beautiful when they're built properly.
Choosing Materials That Would Last
We knew from day one that we wanted a calm, uncluttered space.
Large-format stone-effect porcelain tiles immediately felt like the right choice.
Using the same tile across both the floor and walls creates visual continuity, while the minimal grout lines help the room appear larger and much easier to maintain.
Rather than relying on bold colours or busy patterns, we wanted texture to do the talking.
The result feels modern without chasing short-lived trends.
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Warmth & Good Lighting Were Essential
Minimalist bathrooms can sometimes feel cold and we certainly didn't want ours to.
The walnut slatted feature wall completely changed the atmosphere.
Against the soft stone porcelain, it introduces warmth, texture and natural contrast.
It's one of our favourite features in the entire room and proof that sometimes one carefully chosen detail can have a bigger impact than filling a room with decoration.
Lighting was one of the biggest priorities throughout the renovation.
Instead of relying solely on ceiling spotlights like we did before, we chose recessed perimeter dimmable LED lighting to create soft, indirect illumination throughout the room.
The oversized backlit mirror that you'll see below also adds another layer of light while making the entire bathroom feel larger.
It's subtle during the day and incredibly relaxing in the evening and we can safely say, that even the lighting alone completely changed the mood of the space.
Floating Furniture Makes Small Spaces Feel Bigger
One design choice that instantly modernised the room was lifting everything off the floor.
The floating vanity, which was a custom order, creates a lighter appearance while making cleaning underneath effortless.
The wall-hung toilet does exactly the same.
Together, they make the room feel larger without adding a single extra square metre.
The Walk-In Shower
Replacing the old bathtub with a spacious walk-in shower transformed how we use the room.
We added a smoked glass shower screen (scroll further down) to keep the space feeling open while adding just enough privacy.
Large porcelain tiles continue seamlessly into the shower area, creating a clean, uninterrupted finish.
Matte black fixtures provide just the right amount of contrast without dominating the room.
It's simple, elegant and easy to maintain. Exactly what we opted for.
The (Almost) Finished Result
The renovation itself is finally complete and looking at the before photos now, it's genuinely difficult to believe it's the same bathroom. However we're deliberately taking our time with the styling.
After months of dust, demolition and decision fatigue, we're in no rush to fill every surface just for the sake of calling it "finished." We'd rather live with the space for a while and add pieces we genuinely love than buy accessories just to tick a box.
The vision is simple: a boutique hotel feel with only a handful of carefully chosen details.
We're thinking:
An amber glass soap dispenser and matching toothbrush holder.
A minimalist eucalyptus reed diffuser.
Thick white hotel-quality towels.
A small tray for perfumes and everyday essentials.
One or two subtle decorative objects—nothing that makes the room feel cluttered.
The beauty of this bathroom is that it doesn't need much. The materials are already doing the hard work, so the accessories should simply complement them rather than compete for attention.
Boutique Hotel Accessories on Our Wishlist
🛒 If you're creating a similar look, I've rounded up some of my favourite boutique-inspired bathroom accessories below—the exact style we'll be adding ourselves soon.
Our Favourite Design Decisions
We chose large-format stone-effect porcelain tiles for a seamless, spacious feel instead of the smaller beige patterned tiles that made the room feel busy and dated.
We designed a floating vanity with a waterfall countertop instead of keeping the bulky pedestal sink that offered virtually no storage or visual impact.
We installed an oversized backlit LED mirror instead of the standard framed mirror that visually chopped up the wall.
We opted for a wall-hung toilet with a concealed cistern instead of the traditional floor-mounted toilet and exposed cistern for a cleaner, more minimalist look.
We introduced a walnut slatted feature wall instead of leaving the entire bathroom wrapped in the same beige tiles, adding warmth, texture and contrast.
We created a spacious walk-in shower with a smoked glass screen instead of the built-in bathtub, making the room feel much larger and more contemporary.
We replaced every chrome fixture with matte black taps, shower fittings and accessories for a sharper, more cohesive modern aesthetic.
We added soft recessed dimmable perimeter LED lighting instead of relying solely on recessed spotlights and the blue-lit ceiling recess, creating a much calmer, hotel-inspired atmosphere.
🦌 Elafina says:
If there's one thing this renovation taught us, it's that timeless design rarely happens by accident. It usually comes from slowing down, taking your time, changing your mind a few times (looking at far too many tile samples) and letting decisions grow in you before committing to them.
Looking back, we're so glad we didn't rush. Every choice was carefully considered, and together they created exactly the minimalist, modern bathroom we had imagined from the very beginning.
More than twenty years after the original bathroom was built, this space has been completely reimagined—and hopefully, unlike some of those early-2000s trends, it won't feel outdated any time soon.
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