Most Melbourne bathrooms are small. That’s not a design trend. It’s just how Australian homes were built, especially in the suburbs from the 1960s through the 1990s. If your bathroom is under 4 square metres, you’re not alone. About half the bathrooms we renovate fall into that size range.
The short answer
The good news is that a small bathroom can feel twice its size with the right layout, fixtures, and finishes. The bad news is that the wrong choices make it feel like a cupboard. Here’s what actually works.
1. Starting without a proper design
This one causes more problems than any other. A homeowner has a Pinterest board, the builder has a rough idea, and everyone assumes they’re on the same page. They’re not.
Without a measured layout plan, you end up with appliances that don’t fit, doors that clash when opened, and benchtops that look great in the showroom but block the walkway in your actual kitchen.
What to do instead: Get a scaled layout plan before you commit to anything. A good renovation company will measure your space, produce a design, and show you exactly where everything goes. At Hexon, we provide a layout plan and 3D concept rendering before quoting, so you can see the finished kitchen before we start.
Start with the layout, not the tiles
Every small bathroom renovation should begin with one question: can I improve the layout without moving the plumbing?
Moving a toilet or shower drain is expensive ($$3,000 to$$6,000 depending on access to the sub-floor). Sometimes it’s worth it. If your toilet is the first thing you see when you open the door, or your shower is so narrow you can’t bend down to wash your feet, a layout change pays for itself in daily comfort.
But often the existing plumbing positions are fine. The problem is the fixtures, not the pipes. Swapping a bulky vanity for a wall-hung unit, replacing a bath-shower combo with a walk-in shower, or changing the door swing from inward to outward can completely change how the room feels.
We measure every bathroom during our free consultation and show you what’s possible within the existing footprint before recommending any plumbing relocation.
Wall-hung vanities create floor space (and the illusion of more)
A floor-standing vanity in a small bathroom eats up visual space. You see the base, you see the floor interrupted, and the room feels heavy.
A wall-hung vanity does the opposite. The floor runs unbroken underneath it, which tricks the eye into reading the room as larger. It also makes cleaning the floor easier, which matters in a room where water ends up everywhere.
For small bathrooms, look for wall-hung vanities between 600mm and 900mm wide with a single basin. Anything wider crowds the room. Go for a model with internal drawers rather than an open shelf, so your toiletries stay hidden.
Walk-in showers beat shower-bath combos
If you have a combined shower-over-bath in a small bathroom, removing the bath and replacing it with a walk-in shower is one of the best upgrades you can make.
A walk-in shower with a fixed glass panel (no frame, no door) opens up the room visually and physically. You gain floor space, you remove a trip hazard, and you get a shower that actually feels like a shower instead of standing in a tub.
For families with young children who need a bath, consider whether you have a second bathroom where the bath could go. In our experience, most families stop using the bath regularly once the kids are past about 5 or 6 years old. A well-designed shower gets used every day.
Large-format tiles reduce grout lines and visual clutter
Small tiles (mosaic, subway, small square) create lots of grout lines. Each line is a visual boundary that chops up the surface and makes the room feel smaller and busier.
Large-format tiles (300x600mm, 600x600mm, or even 600x1200mm) do the opposite. Fewer grout lines means a cleaner, more continuous surface. The room reads as calmer and more spacious.
Use the same tile on the floor and walls (or at least the same colour family) to avoid visual breaks. A consistent colour from floor to ceiling makes a small room feel taller.
Colour matters too. Light tones (white, light grey, warm beige, soft stone) reflect more light and make the space feel open. Dark tiles can look dramatic in a large bathroom but tend to close in a small one.
Good lighting makes a small room feel bigger
A single ceiling light in a small bathroom creates shadows and dead spots. The room feels dim even with the light on.
Instead, use a combination of a ceiling downlight (or two, depending on the room), an LED mirror cabinet with built-in lighting, and if possible, natural light from a window or skylight.
LED mirror cabinets are particularly useful in small bathrooms because they combine three functions in one: mirror, storage, and task lighting. They eliminate the need for a separate mirror, a separate wall cabinet, and a separate light fitting.
Melbourne-specific considerations
Melbourne homes have a few quirks that affect small bathroom renovations.
Older weatherboard and brick veneer homes (common in the eastern and south eastern suburbs) often have timber-framed walls that need checking before you tile. If the framing is damp or deteriorated, it needs replacing before waterproofing. This is one of the reasons we always do a structural assessment during our inspection.
Ventilation is critical in Melbourne’s climate. Our winters are cold and damp, and a small bathroom without proper ventilation grows mould fast. Every bathroom we renovate gets a ducted exhaust fan (vented to the outside, not into the roof cavity) with a timer function so it runs after you leave the room.
Melbourne water pressure varies by suburb. Some areas (particularly elevated suburbs in the outer east) have lower pressure that affects shower performance. We check this during the consultation and recommend appropriate fixtures.
A small bathroom doesn't have to feel small
With the right layout, fixtures, tiles, and lighting, a 3 to 4 square metre bathroom can feel comfortable, functional, and well finished. The key is making deliberate choices about every element rather than just replacing like-for-like.
If you’re thinking about renovating a small bathroom in Melbourne, we’d be happy to take a look and show you what’s possible.
Book a free consultation or call 0426 992 464.
