Guest Toilet Design: Why the Smallest Room Can Be the Boldest
A guest toilet is the one room where you can be bolder than anywhere else. Pick one statement element, light the face from the sides of the mirror, and keep soap, towel and ventilation easy.
By Maya Sheinberger | 14.11.26
I wrote about this in my Mako column: in many Israeli homes, the guest toilet has become the most daring room in the house. Clients who take weeks to choose a sofa fabric will happily say yes to a bold wallpaper in the guest toilet. This post is the practical version: how to make that boldness work in a room of one or two square meters.
Key takeaways
Let one element lead: a wallpaper, a stone, a sink or a mirror.
Embrace the size. Dark, enveloping colors suit a small room.
Light the face from the sides of the mirror, not from above.
Keep humor in the content, and quality in the frame and the materials.
Plan the practical side first: soap, towel, ventilation, easy-to-clean surfaces.
Why is the guest toilet the boldest room in the house?
Because the visit is short and the door is closed. You live in the living room for hours, so it has to be calm. A guest toilet is a few minutes behind a closed door, so it can have a personality of its own without changing the mood of the whole home. I think of it as the place where the home is allowed to show off a little.
The idea that a bathroom object can be art isn't new. In 1917, Marcel Duchamp signed a factory-made urinal "R. Mutt" and submitted it to an exhibition under the title Fountain. In 2016, Maurizio Cattelan's America, a working toilet in 18-karat gold, was installed at the Guggenheim in New York, and visitors were invited to use it. In 2019 it was stolen from Blenheim Palace in England, and in 2025 two of the men involved were sentenced to prison. Your goal is more modest: a room guests mention on the way out. And on 19 November, World Toilet Day, a UN day for safe sanitation for everyone, is a good excuse to give the smallest room some thought.
In the OA apartment, adding a guest toilet was one of the main decisions of the new plan, and it mattered a lot to the couple. As I put it at the time: "A guest bathroom is an opportunity to create a little surprise, a design moment that stands out while remaining cohesive with the rest of the home." The room continues the wall cladding of the main bathroom and pairs it with a mirror-clad wall, a black floating vanity and a black side table for decor and hygiene products.
Should a small guest toilet look bigger?
Not necessarily. Here, small is the point. Black tiles, a deep green or a wallpaper on every wall turn the size into intimacy, as long as it looks intended. In a room you stay in for two minutes, character matters more than a feeling of space.
In the BN apartment, the guest toilets were designed in black, with a combination of black tiles and mosaics. In L House in Ramat Gan, the guest bathroom got a monochrome textured wallpaper, with a white Corian countertop against a custom-made black cabinet. I show more small rooms in my guide to small bathroom design.
What should lead the design?
One element, and everything else supports it. Guests should spot the soap in two seconds. Choose your star:
Bold element | What supports it | Watch out for |
Patterned wallpaper | A plain sink and a big mirror to double the pattern | Moisture near the sink; keep paper away from splashes |
Dramatic stone or veined countertop | The same stone continuing up the wall behind the sink | A second strong pattern on the floor or walls |
Sculptural sink | Quiet walls in one color | A busy wallpaper competing with it |
Statement mirror | Plain cladding and a simple vanity | A mirror too small for the wall |
Deep wall color | Black or brass fittings, warm light | Cold, overhead light that flattens the color |
If you choose a dramatic stone, let it continue from the countertop up the wall behind the sink, so the room reads as one material, not two. I write more about this in my guide to natural stone at home.
In the YL apartment, the guest toilet sits next to the laundry area and continues the blue of the home with blue tiles on the walls. The central wall is clad in terrazzo tiles, and a floating cabinet with a black sink above it ties the room to the black details elsewhere in the apartment.
How do you light a guest toilet?
From the sides of the mirror, at face height. Wall lights on both sides of the mirror, or a mirror with integrated LED lighting, light the face softly and bring out the materials. A single spotlight above your head does the opposite: it carves shadows under the eyes, and nobody wants their reflection to look like a passport photo. In the OA powder room, the statement mirror has integrated LED lighting. In my studio, I keep the light warm, at 3000K. My full method is in how to plan lighting at home.
Can a guest toilet be funny?
Yes, and it's one of the best places for it. My rule is one wink per room: keep the materials and the frame serious, and let a single detail smile. Guests notice it during the visit, and the room still looks designed. In the M penthouse, the guest toilet was once almost too small to enter, so I enlarged it. The sink sits on a white wire-mesh shelf, and a faucet with a red handle adds one small touch of color, a joke told quietly. For more on hanging art, see art in a minimalist home.
What does a guest toilet really need?
Someone has to use it, so start with the basics:
A place for soap. A shelf, a niche or a side table, as in the OA apartment.
A towel within reach. A hook or rail beside the sink, not across the room.
Ventilation. A window or an extractor fan, planned with the electrical plan.
Surfaces you can clean. Porcelain, stone, Corian or a washable wallpaper near the sink.
A door that works. In the RA apartment, the guest toilet is clad in gray stone-look porcelain tiles, with a custom Corian sink and a large mirror, and right after it a full-height pocket door closes off the bedrooms while guests are over.
If the room also has a shower, choose materials that handle humidity and keep paper, art and textiles away from the wet zone. And if a renovation isn't on the table, small fittings you touch every visit, such as the faucet, the towel hook and the soap dish, are the quickest way to change how the room feels.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best wallpaper for a guest toilet?
A washable, moisture-resistant wallpaper, kept away from direct splashes near the sink. In a guest toilet without a shower, a bold pattern is usually safe.
Should a guest toilet match the rest of the house?
It should connect, not match. Repeat one material or color from the home, and let the guest toilet be bolder than the other rooms.
Can a small guest toilet be dark?
Yes. Dark tiles, deep colors or black fittings make a small room feel intimate and deliberate, especially in a light home.
How should a guest toilet be lit?
With wall lights on both sides of the mirror or an integrated LED mirror, in warm 3000K light. Avoid a single spotlight directly overhead.
What does every guest toilet need?
A place for soap, a towel within reach, good ventilation and surfaces that are easy to clean.
Planning a guest toilet your guests will talk about? I'd love to hear about your project.
Maya Sheinberger is an interior designer with more than 18 years of experience. After five years at a leading architecture firm, she founded her independent studio in 2012. She holds a B.Des with honors from the College of Management. Her work has appeared in more than 170 publications in Israel and abroad, including eight Archilovers Best Project awards, and one of her apartments features in the book The New Minimalist Style.
Photography @itaybenitphotographer · Styling @maya_livnat_harush
