For your space and layout, I would tile the whole wall behind the toilet/ sink from floor to ceiling.

I would also consider a wall mounted toilet and a wall mounted vanity to allow more floor space/ sense of openness.

Thanks mopped. I thought about tiling the whole wall but thought in such a small space that it might be too much marble look and too busy. Also, since there is really no storage, there will be a recessed medicine cabinet above the vanity.

Toilet and vanity are already purchased, but that is an outside wall in a cold climate so a wall hung toilet could have been a problem if it wasn't installed correctly.

Here’s the thing. It’s a bathroom, not a public space, so you can go a bit over the top.

I like to tile everything :) it helps not having the space cut up horizontally or vertically.

We did this recently for one very small bathroom, where there isn’t tile it has mirror to ceiling.

some small baths (not mine) w/tile to ceiling + fixtures mounted above floor

large tiles extend behind the toilet, then mirror on the upper half of the wall to ceiling if you don’t like all-tile

I like your idea of tiling beyond just the shower area, and I would extend it to the bump out wall and at least half of the wall behind the toilet and vanity. You could also find a small coordinating tile that you could use on not only the toilet/vanity wall and wrap it to include the other walls in the bathroom as well. It’s small so the less you break up the space the better. I think you said your going with a marble tile so that should be something you enjoy for many years to come.

"I have what is undoubtedly the smallest master bath in existence" --- I thought it might make you feel better if you knew that I had one that would probably fit into yours, twice :)

No help on the tile. I think it's totally a matter of preference. However, if this were my bath, I'd go with a smaller one piece skirted toilet and a floating vanity.

I know, you didn't ask but I feel like both of these would make your bathroom feel bigger, even if it isn't :).

Since you have already purchased, of course, keep what you have. I like the whole wall (and bump out) tiled to match the shower. Are you going with glass shower doors? I like the unifying look of doing it this way in a small bath. Less choppy.

""I have what is undoubtedly the smallest master bath in existence" --- I thought it might make you feel better if you knew that I had one that would probably fit into yours, twice :)

Haha I was coming here to say something similar. I've got the same size/spacing of sink and toilet; and a shower that is *maybe* 1/3 the size of that one. :D

We did similar and it was worth it too. Not to mention easier to wipe down. (Boys are gross - especially the full grown ones 🤮)

I wonder what others think about using larger than usual tiles - 12 by 24 inches?

Here is compact bath with smaller marble like tiles.

240 West 98th Street · More Info

These wall tiles are Venato Blanco Matte in the 12" x 24" size from the Tile shop.

I like the look better than I thought I would.

Lowry Hill Bathroom Remodel · More Info

I also think tiling the whole vanity wall (and bump out) in the shower tile will really help expand the space.

I agree that more storage is always better in a bathroom - for your recessed cabinet, maybe one that spans the whole vanity wall? More reflection & more light make will make it feel bigger (plus more storage!).

I don’t think you said what kind of shower door you are doing, but if possible I would keep it as un-obscured as possible; seeing through to your new tile especially - can the towels go on hooks beside the light switch?

Originaltuckerdc, this is a second floor bath so the sink and toilet water lines come up through the floor, which is another reason for not doing floating. The shower plumbing is not on the outside wall. The house was built in 1980 and we’ve been here over 20 years and there’s been no frozen pipes since we’ve been here. I have made a habit of leaving the vanity door open on any below zero days.

The overall message seems to be tile as much as you can afford and keep the look the same throughout. That will enlarge the look of the room. I personally hate full wall bathroom mirrors (I have 4 in my house) and think a working medicine cabinet is preferable. But keep everything but the floors the same tile. Larger for the shower seems just as nice as smaller as per @houssan’s photos above.

We are going with a clear glass shower door but have to do a slider because there’s no room for a door to swing either in (would hit shower head) or out (would hit toilet). There’s no room for a towel bar so we will add a couple towel hooks. Except for showering and brushing teeth in there, we do everything else in the hall bath. There’s no spot to lay a hair dryer, brush, or makeup and it really makes me crazy.

We need storage badly so had planned on a recessed medicine cabinet (pottery barn vintage round rectangular), because the current hole fits, and a above the toilet wall mount cabinet, shallower than what is there, probably from WG wood products. I have been considering changing that plan though and going with a large mirrored medicine cabinet that would fill the whole space over the vanity and toilet (about 40 to 46 inches long), except that all the storage would be so shallow.

Thoughts?

Neither of these ideas are my preference aesthetically, but extending the vanity top across the back of the toilet will give additional shelf space, and a shelf above the door can be used to store spare towels and baskets (if you’re tall enough to be able to use it)

Along with maximizing the width of your vanity to the biggest allowable in that space, and getting as big of a medicine cabinet as can fit on that wall, I’m not sure there are any more spots to stick storage into

Here is a possible solution to your hair dryer. I needed to piggyback this outlet from the one above the countertop because it was on the left, and I'm right handed. You may not need to, unless you want yours on the right too. Either way, most hair dryers come with hanging loops like this that make keeping it off the counter but handy.

Doing wall-mounted toilet and vanity means redoing all the waste plumbing.

I thought about doing larger tiles too, but as I looked at other photos I thought so many of them look like locker room showers. I found larger than usual tiles that were still at a good scale for our small bathrooms. In the photo above I believe they were 5x10 or so, and in our tiny master bath I used 4x16.

TIP: in heavily used showers, have your installer put in schluter cove vertically. You can see it in the reflection in the above photo with the mirror. Those corners are notoriously crud and mold collectors, and that cove makes it so much cleaner!

One way to gain “counter” space in a small bathroom is to have a shelf under the med cab. It means getting a short faucet, but that might be worth it to you. If you do go with a large medicine cabinet, it can have sliding doors, which makes the shelf a work better - you don’t have to move anything on the shelf to get the med cab open.

I went looking for photos, and found these:

modern cabinetry in tight bathroom · More Info

^ This one shows a full-width med cab and the vanity top extending over the toilet.

Siroka Residence · More Info

^ this one shows how to do a shelf and a cabinet without the ultra-expensive medicine cabinet. You could probably get a local handyman to cut down a store-bought standard cabinet set to this depth if you are doing DIY, or have your contractor build the “cabinet” on the wall with paint grade wood (it does not need a back on it!) and then order doors of your choice (to match your already-bought vanity) from an online door company at just the right size. You just have to be in the habit of keeping the lid down!

It is Time to Relax · More Info

^Here you see the idea of having the electrical outlet on the wall be inside the cab over the toilet (in your case) so that you can have the toothbrush hidden away and kept clean behind the door. Again, it is just shelves on your wall with a door hinged to cover them - less expensive than a med cab. Notice the little stone piece under the cabinet that sits on the counter? That keeps the cabinet clear of water splashes that might pool underneath and rot it. You could even use a pair of matching wood-framed mirrors, one over the sink, one as the door to the cabinet. A piano hinge can be hidden on the cabinet mirror door. I have a mirror with a piano hinge that hides a wall safe over my vanity in one bathroom. My contractor just framed out the mirror with 1x2 wood on the back to hang the piano hinge on.

Master Bath · More Info

^In this bathroom, they used a stone shelf to give you “landing space” to set down items you are using and cleverly extended it under the wall-mount med cab. It rather looks built-in without all the effort. If you already have a top on your vanity and are not getting a stone company involved, you can go to a big-box store or stone yard and ask for a windowsill the length of your wall. You can buy metal or wood brackets to hold it. Something to match the style of your vanity. I did this in a tiny bathroom. I even glued a thin piece of wood to the top of my wall brackets, leaving a space behind the small piece of wood for my toothbrush cord to sit. So my shelf also hid the cord that went back to the electrical outlet in the wall under the shelf. I just painted the bracket to match the wall. My tooth brush base and handle sat out and we kept our brush heads in a tall, thin cabinet next to the vanity.

See how these ideas give you more room to put things when getting ready, but look neat and intentional when stuff is put away? This makes a small bathroom work harder without looking cluttered.

If you use 12 x 24” tiles, it can work if you have two things: an experienced tile cutter who has a fresh blade, and grout that matches the tile. Do a drawing of a layout for each of your walls and see how many stubby, short sections you would have using such large tiles. In a 30” deep shower, using 12 x 24 tiles laid horizontally, there will be 6” wide pieces on every row. Your back wall on a 5 ft wide shower will have a 12” wide piece on every row, Make sure you like this before you buy big tiles. It is less obvious if the grout matches, but it is still there. You can also lay these tiles vertically.

This size tile requires that your walls be more flat to lay right and more square to look right. So if your house is not up to that standard, considerr a different tile. You probably should confer with the professional laying the tile before ordering it. If it is DIY, with little experience, go with an easier tile to lay. Research this. Look for threads on bad tile layout and cuts on this forum (search bar at top of page).