Here’s A Little Thing I Made For My Small Bathroom

My small bathroom sits on the second floor, right outside our bedroom, and for years I treated it as nothing more than a functional space that needed to stay clean and usable, never really stopping to ask whether it felt good to be there. 

Compared to modern bathrooms you see online, it is much smaller, narrower, and clearly built in a different time, and even though we repainted everything white and refreshed the basics, every time I stepped inside, the room felt strangely unfinished, like it was waiting for something I had not yet figured out.

One night, while lying on the bed with Dan, scrolling through the Internet without any real goal in mind, I kept stopping on photos of old houses and thoughtfully renovated bathrooms, and I remember turning my phone toward him and saying that our upstairs toilet felt plain in a way that was hard to explain. 

Dan smiled and said it worked just fine, but he also knew that when I say something like that, it means I am already halfway into a project, even if I do not fully see it yet.

Working Within a Very Tight Layout

The reality of this toilet room is that it does not give you much freedom, and every decision has to respect the size. 

From the door to the back wall, it measures about 150 centimeters, and the width is roughly 95 centimeters at the widest point, which means that once the toilet and pedestal sink are in place, there is very little room to add furniture, shelves, or anything decorative without making the space feel crowded.

Because of that, I knew early on that changing fixtures or adding storage was not the right direction, and as I stood there one morning brushing my teeth, my eyes kept drifting to the window above the toilet tank, which was letting in light but otherwise doing absolutely nothing for the room. 

That window suddenly felt like the one element that could carry the entire space if I treated it carefully.

Looking for Ideas Without Wanting a Copy

I spent several evenings looking through photos online, focusing mostly on older homes rather than new builds, because I wanted something that felt natural to our house instead of borrowed from a trend. 

I noticed that many small bathrooms in older homes had stained glass windows, not loud or colorful in a dramatic way, but soft, calm patterns that filtered light and added character without taking over the room.

That idea stayed with me longer than I expected, mostly because it felt honest to the house, and it solved more than one problem at once by adding privacy, warmth, and personality without using extra space. 

I did not want curtains, and I did not want temporary window film that would peel off after a year. I wanted something that felt settled.

Finding the Right Piece Close to Home

A few days later, I decided to visit a small shop nearby called Willow & Pane, a place that sells glass, old hardware, and restoration pieces, even though I was not sure I would find anything usable. 

I almost walked past it, but something told me to step inside, and I am glad I did.

Leaning against the wall were several stained glass panels, and one of them immediately caught my attention with its soft blues and greens shaped like leaves and branches, simple but thoughtful, and not too busy. 

It reminded me of our garden in early summer, when everything feels calm but alive at the same time, and I knew right away that this was the piece I had been looking for.

Measuring Everything Twice Before Committing

Before buying the glass, I went home and measured the window opening again, slowly and carefully, because with a space this small, there is no room for guessing. 

The inner frame measured 46 centimeters wide and 61 centimeters tall, and the depth of the window recess was about 6 centimeters, which meant the glass could sit securely without sticking out into the room.

The stained glass panel was slightly larger, but the shop offered to cut it down to size, and I made sure to leave a small gap of about 3 millimeters on each side so the glass could fit comfortably and allow for expansion over time. 

These tiny measurements felt surprisingly important, and I did not want to rush them.

Materials I Used for This Small Update

For this small renovation, I did not need much, but each item had a purpose:

• Custom-cut stained glass panel
• Clear silicone adhesive for glass
• Thin wooden stops, 1 cm thick
• Small finishing nails
• White paint to match the window frame
• Measuring tape and level

I already had most tools at home, which made the project feel manageable instead of overwhelming.

Installing the Glass Slowly and Carefully

I started by cleaning the window frame thoroughly and removing any dust or old paint flakes so the glass would sit evenly, then I dry-fitted the panel to make sure it aligned properly before committing to anything permanent. 

Once I was satisfied with the fit, I applied a thin line of clear silicone along the inner edge of the frame and gently pressed the stained glass into place, holding it steady for a moment before adding the wooden stops around the edges.

The stops were painted white beforehand so they blended into the frame, and I nailed them carefully, taking my time to avoid cracking the glass, then sealed the edges lightly and left everything to cure overnight.

Seeing the Space Differently the Next Morning

The next morning, when sunlight came through the window, the bathroom felt completely different, even though nothing else had changed. 

The light shifted softly across the walls, and the room suddenly had a mood instead of just a purpose, which made me pause every time I walked in.

Dan noticed it right away and said the room finally felt like it belonged to the rest of the house, and hearing that confirmed what I already felt, which was that this one small decision had done more than any larger renovation we had talked about before.