Before and After: You Won't Believe These Bathroom Remodels (2024)

For most of us, the bathroom is where we find peace and quiet after a long day — whether with a long shower, soothing bath or nightly skin care routine. But, there's no room for relaxation if your space is cluttered, poorly designed or outdated. Whether you're working with a small bathroom layout or spacious primary bath, your modern bathroom design should feel clean and calming. Ashley Macuga of Collected Interiors believes "an investment in a bathroom remodel is an investment in self care."

To help you craft your at-home sanctuary, we've rounded up before-and-after bathroom remodel ideas for every budget. Say goodbye to everything from old-fashioned fixtures, plumbing and tiles to '80s color schemes and clunky vanity mirrors. See how our favorite designers swap out dark, dreary designs for beautiful bathrooms on par with the top 2023 bathroom trends. If we've learned one thing it's that built-in bathtubs are out, and freestanding tubs are in. Other popular choices: white wall tiles, gold hardware, natural woods and fresh paint colors.

Bathroom remodels can get pricey quick, so it's important to decide on a budget. We've highlighted DIY projects to upgrade existing features — like painting a vanity or swapping fixtures on an existing sink. To save on costs, Macuga says to keep plumbing locations the same when possible, invest in floor tile over shower tile, but never skimp on your bathroom vanity. "You want a vanity that can withstand the wear and tear of everyday use."

Previously, this dark bathroom featured a black wood vanity with chrome hardware and a marble countertop. The walls were painted a medium gray, and the space was lacking color.

Keeping the floating vanity and marble countertop, interior designer Ashley DeLapp swaps out the hardware and gives the cabinets a coat of glossy green paint. If that wasn't enough, she adds a cheerful wallpaper and fresh floor tiles.

With neutral walls, a large window and soaking tub, this space was definitely livable — but there were dated fixtures and it didn't feel well-lit.

The previous tub is swapped for a more modern style, along with the dated plumbing and light fixtures. Interior design Jessica Risko Smith paints the walls a crisp white and replaces the wood flooring with lighter tiles. The end result feels much cleaner and brighter.

From the yellow-green carpet and dated vanity to the floral window treatments, everything in this space had to go.

With updated fixtures, white tile walls and a fluted wood vanity, this modern bathroom is unrecognizable thanks to the hard work of A1000XBetter.

Popular in the 1950s, pink bathroom tiles can sometimes look chic and retro — but that's not what we're seeing here. And, dare we mention that old frosted window.

Here, Collected Interiors keeps the bathroom layout similar, but essentially everything is new. The wall tiles are swapped for white painted walls, the pedestal sink for a wood vanity and the outdated tub for a freestanding style. There's even an upgraded window.

Dark wood flooring makes this space feel dim and drab, and the boring gold fixtures aren't doing it any favors.

Everything is new besides the pedestal sink, which looks instantly more modern when paired with a high-neck faucet, a sleek gold vanity mirror and upgraded sconces. To take it even further, Jessica Risko Smith adds patterned wallpaper and geometric floor tiles.

We don't completely hate this bathroom design, but the black countertop feels dark and the full wall mirror is overpowering the space.

While the new cabinets are a similar wood tone, they're paired with sleek hardware and bright white countertops. Plus, designer Amy Pigliacampo swaps the red-brown walls for a true white paint and the full wall mirror for trendy round vanity mirrors.

Floor-to-ceiling white has never looked this drab, and the only piece of decor is a small round mirror (which also happens to be hung way too high).

Instead of white exposed plumbing, interior designer Bethany Adams goes for trendy gold plumbing then pairs the small vessel sink with a matching faucet. A modern vanity mirror sits at a better height, modern lighting brightens the room and the interior window panel is painted black for contrast.

Another functional bathroom design that just feels out of date. The bathtub tiles and poorly placed artwork make the space feel smaller than it actually is.

When Collected Interiors swapped the retro bathtub tiles for a modern freestanding tub, added white wall tiles and hung larger artwork, this space instantly opened up. Small changes, including the white marble flooring, makes the end result feel so much bigger.

Plain white walls, a dark wood vanity and old-fashioned fixtures define this dull bathroom design.

For a space without sunlight, it's important to keep things natural and bright. Arterberry Cooke swaps the dark vanity for a floating warm wood vanity. The new vessel sink, wall mounted faucet and light fixtures play with vertical space to make the room feel larger.

You can't go wrong with a soaking tub in front of a big window exposed to nature, but we're not loving the dated pendant or lack of decor.

Designer Erika Jayne Design opens up the bathroom with a freestanding tub and adjacent open shelving — which also creates the perfect place to store towels and layer in decor. Of course, the pendant and window shades are swapped for more modern styles.