10 Small Apartment Bathroom Ideas That Look Gorgeous And Easy To Copy
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This post shows you the 10 best small apartment bathroom ideas.
The bathroom is probably the last room anyone thinks about decorating in a small apartment — but it is also one of the easiest rooms to make look beautiful with just a few simple changes.
I honestly used to walk past mine without giving it a second thought until I started noticing how much a small bathroom can actually change when you add even two or three things in the right spots.
The whole room feels different — more personal, more finished, more like somewhere you actually want to be.
Whether you love clean neutrals, warm wood tones, or something with a bit more personality — these ideas are easy to copy no matter your style.
Add floating shelves and a mirror
Credit: simplyminedesigns
A floating shelf and a mirror are a great way to fill that blank wall in a small apartment bathroom.
The shelf gives you storage and a surface to style, while the mirror makes the whole bathroom feel bigger and more open.
Try a two-tier metal shelf above your toilet — use the top for glass jars and a small plant, and the bottom for rolled towels and everyday essentials.
It keeps everything off the counter without every surface disappearing under bottles and products.
Hang a black arch mirror on the side wall and the whole bathroom suddenly looks like it was actually put together on purpose.
Style your bathroom counter
The counter is the first thing anyone notices in a small bathroom — and a wooden riser or woven tray is honestly all it takes to make it look styled instead of just functional.
The riser does the work of lifting a few pieces up so the whole counter stops looking flat.
Try a round wooden riser with a candle and some decorative beads, and a tall white vase with eucalyptus stems beside it.
That combination of height, texture, and greenness is what makes it feel like a real styled moment rather than just stuff sitting on a counter.
Simple, warm, and one of the easiest bathroom updates you can make without spending much at all.
Add Wall Sconces or Lighting
Most rental bathrooms only have one harsh overhead light, and it does nothing for how the room actually feels.
Two wall sconces on either side of your mirror — brass arms with dark cone shades work well in almost any style — give you better light and a completely different mood at the same time.
Mount them at eye level instead of higher up, so the light actually lands where you need it when you’re getting ready.
It’s the kind of upgrade that makes a bathroom feel like it came with a much nicer apartment.
Shop brass wall sconces on Amazon to get this look.
Update your shower curtain
Credit: @txsizedhome
I think a shower curtain could change how a whole bathroom feels if you styled it properly.
Most rental bathrooms come with a plain white curtain that nobody ever thinks to replace — it’s just there, doing its job, and that’s it.
But swap it for one with pattern or texture and the whole room shifts.
Pair it with warm wood accents and a few black or neutral towels and the bathroom suddenly feels collected instead of thrown together.
If you only change one thing in your bathroom this year, this is genuinely one of the highest-impact swaps you can make.
Shop patterned shower curtains
Add shelves above the toilet
Using the space above your toilet wall by adding shelves gives you a lot more storage in a small bathroom — and a great spot to decorate too.
Keep each shelf simple — a plant, a candle, or some folded towels — nothing that needs more than a drill and a level.
Add a woven basket on the tank for extra toilet paper while you’re at it.
Hang art on the walls
Not everyone thinks a bathroom needs art on the walls, but I’m definitely in the “yes” camp.
This gallery wall mixes black and white travel photos, a dog portrait, and a couple of typography prints — all in different sizes and a combination of black, white, and wood frames.
Nothing here is matched on purpose, and that’s exactly what makes it work.
The black and white color scheme ties everything together even when the frames and subjects are completely different.
A wall like this next to the mirror means there’s always something to look at, which is honestly more than most bathrooms can say.
Add a plant or some greenery
A bathroom with nothing green in it always feels a little flat, no matter how nice everything else looks.
You don’t need a real plant either — a few stems of faux eucalyptus in a simple glass jar does the same job and lasts forever.
Tie the stems together with a bit of twine and set the jar next to your soap dispenser so it looks like it was always part of the setup, not an afterthought.
It’s the kind of detail that makes a counter feel finished instead of just functional.
Add a stylish soap dispenser set
The soap dispenser that came with your apartment is probably plastic, mismatched, and not something you’d ever choose yourself.
Swapping it for a glass one with a gold or matte black pump is one of those tiny changes that quietly upgrades the whole counter.
Glass also means the soap itself becomes part of the look, so even plain hand soap fits right in instead of standing out.
Add peel-and-stick wallpaper
Renters usually can’t paint, but wallpaper that peels off without damaging the wall is a different story.
A bold pattern on just one wall — like a dalmatian print or a graphic black and white design — gives a small bathroom a personality it didn’t have before.
Stick to just the wall behind the toilet or around the mirror so the pattern feels like a design choice, not like it took over the whole room.
It takes an afternoon to put up and comes off just as easily when you move out.
Style the back of your toilet with a basket
The top of your toilet tank is dead space in almost every small bathroom.
A woven basket with a few rolled towels and a small plant tucked inside turns that space into something that actually looks decorated.
Rolling the towels instead of folding them flat adds texture and makes the basket look fuller without you needing to add more stuff.
It also gives you somewhere to stash extra toilet paper without it sitting out in the open.
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