Before vs After: How Remodeled Bathrooms Transformed Old Apartments

Many bathrooms (especially in old buildings) are hard to look at without tears. But it's not necessary to do an expensive Euro renovation to breathe new life into a bathroom.

Owners of these apartments turned to designers for help in transforming their living spaces. Let's see what and how they did.

1. Khrushchyovka: Bathroom with a washing machine

Before:

Marina Merenkova was invited by the owners to redesign a bathroom in a small Khrushchyovka apartment. Originally, instead of a towel rack, there was a makeshift construction made from a cast iron radiator with a tap, and the toilet almost touched the washing machine.

After:

A sink with a flat trap was placed above the washing machine, and the toilet was moved to a more optimal distance. A laundry basket was placed between them, and a towel warmer was installed above. The tiles were completely changed, and a large aesthetic mirror was hung so that being in the bathroom is pleasant.

2. Stalin-era building: Bathroom with a bathtub

Before:

In the original design, the bathroom was not equipped with a washing machine or boiler. There was no space to move around — all the equipment was placed right next to each other.

After:

Designer Natalia Solo had to expand the space using a corridor and choose a monochromatic color scheme.

3. Old building: Bathroom reconfiguration

Before:

This bathroom was quite depressing before the reconfiguration. A cramped space, boring beige walls, a narrow bathtub and toilet.

After:

Designers from Mikhail Novinsky's studio made a radical rearrangement. Instead of one bathroom, now there are two, the walls are tiled with gray 'hog', and the interior is brightened with blue.

4. Stalin-era building: Combined bathroom

Before:

The bathroom looked more like a public restroom in a provincial town. Old, worn tiles on the walls, an oddly placed mirror almost at the ceiling, a poster from the 90s, and an old sink — that's how the bathroom looked originally.

After:

Designer Marina Merenkova moved the mixers to the opposite wall, hung a large mirror, and placed a washing machine. Several storage units for household items also appeared in the bathroom.

5. Standard bathroom without reconfiguration

Before:

A typical view of a bathroom in an old building that needs renovation. Painted walls, plastic accessories, and exposed pipes look very unattractive. Also, one common tap for the sink and bathtub is not a very convenient solution.

After:

In this apartment, they decided not to make a major rearrangement but replaced furniture and equipment. For example, designer Maria Bezuglova chose a functional mirror-cabinet and a sink with a blue cabinet. The bathroom was 'cleaned' of old traces and beautifully finished with wall and floor treatments.