Designing a Tiny Bathroom? This Is Where I'd Spend My Design Budget for Maximum Impact
Small spaces call for big design ideas — and in a powder room, that means a sculptural stone sink that works hard and looks good doing it
There’s a school of thought that bathroom sanitaryware looks best in white. Sure, white toilets and sinks have timeless style appeal, but when it comes to designing a powder room — an inherently smaller-scale room housing a toilet and sink — there’s a wave of designers opting to make a statement by featuring a rock-solid, sculptural sink as the focal point in the room.
Whether square, rectangular, or curved off and crafted with more fluid lines, a stone bathroom sink, says interior designer Clarisa Llaneza, "succeeds because it creates a memorable moment." Colorful and varied, it brings "weight, permanence, and a sense of nature" into a space, she adds. "A rich tonal variation can add depth to the decor, creating a sense of tension between softness and strength."
There’s a distinct air of confidence required for this design cue. "I often encourage clients to be more adventurous than they would in a primary bath," explains Clarisa. "Guests can forgive a little impracticality if the room feels special." And this feeling of being ‘special’ is really the crux here. A ‘wow’ sink ‘transforms a routine act into an experience and gives the room a distinct identity’ — an injection of emotional value in a space that’s so often just given over to practicality and some form of an air freshener.
In this space designed by Perth-based interiors studio ZARQ, designer Zac Evangelisti selected a custom made Calacatta Viola Marble sink and paired it with a wallpaper with a knotted bamboo pattern against a silk moire background. "The deep reds in the viola marble [of the sink] pair with the chocolate, earthy tones," he tells us. Importantly, while the paper is striking, the sink remains the "refined focal point" and "hero" in the room, he says. "The basin being so unique, featuring dramatic veining throughout, means that it provides a sense of play and energy to a space that is typically and solely utility."
Of course, there are practicalities to consider when designing your room around a sink like this. Often fairly sizable and striking in appearance, they tend to be "generous by nature", say designers Benjamin Stelly and Tanya Selway, the duo behind interiors studio Stelly Selway. "You’re committing to it being the focal point."
For this reason, other design elements in the room should be chosen to complement it, not fight it. When Stelly Selway opted to include a bespoke Hammam with high-contrast marble veining in the bathroom pictured at the start of this article, they selected white walls, plain blush zellige tiles, and a simple wooden plinth for their sink to sit on — restrained "to avoid it feeling cluttered". This approach works particularly well for family life, where the look can be "polished, but not too precious", they explain.
Image credit: Lauren Miller. Design: Parris McKenna x Bert Mount
Interior designer Paris McKenna proves in her Cedarline project that even a sliver of space can house the most striking sink. This Calcutta Viola marble example has been made bespoke to slim and precise proportions, maximizing "flow and function" in the small bathroom. The devil is in the detail, says Paris.
"This type of sink will not conceal a drain and P-trap, so it’s necessary to select decorative options to ensure design cohesion, otherwise, you’ll end up with PVC piping underneath, and that is not the look." The designer paired the custom creation with symmetrical wall lights for added impact, and bespoke unlacquered brass taps. It’s a small space turned "destination in itself", proportionally petite, but packed with personality.
Image credit: Lauren Miller. Design: Clarisa Llaneza
In her St Thomas powder room project, designer Clarisa Llaneza features a bespoke basin crafted from Aquassanta Rosso marble and pairs it with a mirror in a neighboring spectrum shade. The mirror doesn't fight the rosso tones — it amplifies the warmth and coordinates the curve dialogue, too. The result is what Clarisa calls ‘a jewel box’, one where beauty gets full focus.
Image credit: Jasper Fry. Design: Marta de la Rica
In this powder room in her Battersea townhouse project, interior designer Marta de la Rica paired a black Marquina stone sink with a pinch-topped velvet sink skirt in green — a design that depicts mulberries, and softens the scene. Those feeling particularly short on space might use this fabric trick to hide a bit of concealed storage behind it. Here, the designer has chosen twin polished wall lights, and taps complete the look.
Image credit: Simon Brown. Design: Stelly Selway
Immediately striking, the high-contrast marble veining of this bespoke Hammam basin is the glory moment in Stelly Selway's London Upper Mall project. "When the sink is doing that much visually, everything else needs to take a step back," the duo says. "The blush zellige and warm wood work because they're calmer, quieter — in the same tonal family. We'd always rather under-do the rest of the room than risk it feeling busy."
If maintaining a sense of space is a key concern, there are design tricks you can pull out of a hat. "You have to think about every centimeter," say Benjamin and Tanya. "Where possible, we built storage into the plinth itself rather than letting it sit out in the open. That way you're not sacrificing any practicality; you're just keeping it all tucked away and tidy. The goal is to keep the floor as clear as possible so the sink has the space to feel like a proper feature rather than something you're squeezing in." On a similar note, opting for a wall-hung toilet sans floor pedestal can also help create the illusion of a larger floor area and make a small bathroom look bigger.
To maintain its striking quality, consider cleaning and preservation too. "It's more straightforward than people expect, honestly," say Benjamin and Tanya. "Seal it before it gets used with a good stone sealant, and then just keep on top of that every so often depending on how much use it gets. The main thing to know is to keep acidic cleaners well away from it; anything citrus or vinegar-based will dull the surface over time. A mild soap and a soft cloth are really all you need day to day." Treat it well, and a sculptural stone or marble sink like this isn’t just a star feature — it gets better with age.
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