Small bathroom renovations for a day spa oasis

Small bathroom renovations with a day spa feel was the top priority in this home renovation project.

Wendy and Neil's ensuite bathroom had always been a tight squeeze. "We had this big corner bath and my husband and I would be falling over each other if we were in the bathroom at the same time," says Wendy.

Renovating their 12-year-old home gave them the opportunity to redesign with small bathroom renovations, which Wendy says had been built very cheaply, and create a bathroom oasis. "It's a project home, so it had the most basic bathroom fittings and was very ordinary," she says. "I figured if we were going to do small bathroom renovations, I'd make it a bit more luxurious." 

Small bathroom renovations to create a day spa

Wendy had seen pictures of a Bali hotel bathroom that featured a Hoesch freestanding bath, which she knew she had to have. She also loved the day spa look, and wanted her new bathroom to have a tranquil and relaxing feel.

Interior designer Bev Kahn was brought in to design the small bathroom renovations - the first thing to go was the enormous corner spa bath. "The bath took up almost three-quarters of the room if you included the steps that led up to it," says Bev. A new ensuite bathroom design was proposed.

Bringing design to life with a bathroom renovator

Enlisting the help of builder Sam Abouhamad from Bathroom Dynamics in St Leonards, New South Wales, Bev completely changed the layout of the bathroom space. "We got rid of the door, making it slide into the wall cavity, floated the vanity off the wall, moved the toilet and then put in a larger, frameless shower," she says. The result is an ensuite bathroom that looks much larger than its dimensions.

The ensuite also has a lovely natural feel to it, thanks to striking tile designs in earthy tones. The French-pattern travertine feature tile forms a kind of mat under the bath, which enhances the sense of space in the room, and is repeated in a vertical strip down the wall behind the vanities and in the little niche over the bath.

Small bathroom renovations issues

With a house full of kids, the most difficult part of the small bathroom renovations for Wendy and Neil was the fact the family was living in the home while it was all taking place. "That was the biggest challenge," says Wendy. "We felt like we were playing musical rooms."

But the inconvenience was worth it and the couple couldn't be happier with their new ensuite. Wendy is particularly delighted with the bathroom lights that Sam installed underneath the vanity and in the wall niche, which can be switched on independently to create a lovely soft look. "The lighting is so beautiful, it makes the bathroom feel like a luxury hotel," she says.

But Wendy's gorgeous new bathroom oasis doesn't come with all the perks of a Bali hotel. "Unfortunately, I still have to clean it," she laughs.

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