Light and bright: Use light colors to visually expand the space
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One of the easiest ways to make a small bathroom feel bigger is to use a lot of light colours. Starting with the wall colour is a great place to introduce more light. Using white paint, for example, can make the bathroom feel bigger and make it more airy. Although if your bathroom tiling is dark, this can result in a contrasting effect, which can make the space appear closed in and cause it to feel claustrophobic, highlighting how small your bathroom is even more. Go for a low colour contrast for a roomy feel.
Try to avoid dark colours as they tend to absorb all of the light, resulting in a small room appearing narrow. Victoria + Albert Baths agree, recommending to "...avoid dark walls with lighter tiles as this will give the illusion of a cut off space, making the room appear smaller. Opt for lighter colours, such as white, pastels or grays, which are light reflecting and give the illusion of a grander area. If you choose white, be sure to have some visual impact with a feature item at the end room to draw the eye, elongate the area and avoid leaving the room looking too sterile". As well, keep the ceiling the same colour as the walls to help optimise the effect of a more spacious room.
Maximise natural light
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Letting natural light into the bathroom is one of the best ways to create the feeling of a larger floor space. Natural light represents openness and helps reduce the feeling of being confined. Ideally, natural light can be achieved by extending the window to take up a larger proportion of your bathroom. This way, sunlight can freely enter the room and illuminate the entire space.
If you're concerned about privacy, rather than installing bulky curtains "instead invest in frosted glass windows or sheer curtains to gently let the light in without jeopardising your privacy. Consider investing in blinds that retract into the window surrounds - these are discreet and won't bulk out the space in your bathroom," suggests Victoria + Albert Baths. Additionally, scattered LED lights in the ceiling will be more effective in evenly spreading light in your bathroom than having one light source in the centre.
Choose furniture with extra storage
Making use of every inch of floor space is essential in a small bathroom. Storage becomes somewhat of a challenge in tiny bathrooms due to the lack of space. The trick is to be smart and get multipurpose accessories. Moreover, adding cabinets and shelves above the sink or toilet is a great use of unused vertical space.
In a small bathroom space, it can be quite difficult to meet the balance between right storage with a need to keep the room airy and spacey. A floating vanity or cabinet can come to the rescue. That space can give you room to store the bathroom essentials but also give a peek of flooring underneath and help to make the area feel more open. In a very small area, having a little bit more room to plant your feet can make a big difference.
Minimalism: Clever design tricks for a small bathroom
Minimalism is especially important for small bathrooms. An overcrowded basin and shower area is bound to make your space smaller than it already is. For this reason, keep it simple and only keep what is necessary. A great idea is to purchase streamlined containers for your shampoo, conditioner, body wash and soap, this helps you stick to only the essentials.
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Strategic mirror placement: Visually double the space
Mirrors are the number one accessory to make an area appear larger than it really is. Installing a large mirror above the basin or bath is an ideal way to add dimension to a small bathroom. Another idea is to install a long mirrored wall behind the bathroom door so that when the room is closed, you don't feel enclosed and the room feels bigger.
Try to place the mirror adjacent to a window to fully take advantage of dispersing the natural light. When planning out your bathroom design, if possible, try not to reflect the toilet or towel rack. If you're not sure if you're allowed to drill a nail into the wall or stick on heavy duty adhesive hooks, opt for professional help from bathroom renovators who can rearrange the space and make it look better than before.
Extend floor tiles up the wall for a seamless look
It is common practice to tile the bathroom floor with different colours and patterns. However, making sections out of an already small space can make it look even smaller. A great trick is to extend floor tiles up one entire wall; this draws the eye upwards, tricking the mind to see a larger space. Large format tiles can also help with this.
Create long lines with wall to wall open shelving
Most bathrooms are rectangular in shape, so you can easily find one wall to wall area that's a bit longer than others to emphasise. Look into open shelving options and some empty wall cavity space to use as storage which can help add a lot of visual space that makes the walls look farther away than they really are. This is just one of many small bathroom ideas to make your bathroom look bigger.
Recessed walls: Save space with clever design features
When the overall space is limited, even the slightest bit of occupied space can cause it to look untidy and cramped. Products and appliances stored on top of benches are killers when it comes to small bathrooms. The simple trick here is recessed walls... "a built in shaver cabinet can often be recessed into your wall, giving you streamlined storage and the perfect height and position where you need it most" Josh Mammoliti the Managing Director of The Blue Space points out.
Proper lighting fixtures offer good lighting for a small bathroom
The right lighting fixtures can transform any place into something spectacular, and this is tried and tested. With small bathrooms, the ideal is to place lights behind the mirror and in recessed walls. Avoid hanging lights and protruded fixtures as this takes up some of the already limited space.
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Lose heavy shower curtains and use clear glass panels
Shower curtains cut off a space and make it appear smaller. Unless you absolutely require one, we say ditch it. If you're after privacy, you can install (like the bathroom window) sheer curtains or frosted glass onto clear glass shower screens instead.
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Go frameless on shower doors
Another easy trick to make your bathroom appear bigger is to expand the look of your space by replacing a shower curtain with a glass shower door. The entire square footage of the room will be visible at once for a bigger look, especially when you're in the shower. Frameless glass showers can create the illusion of more space due to being transparent. They can divide a space without closing it in, making them the ultimate addition to any small bathroom.
Leigh Jacobs, Director of Frameless Impressions, explains that "going frameless on shower doors not only looks great, it saves the homeowner money in the long-term through added durability, and are easier to clean than old framed styles or curtains." Don't try to do it yourself, know which tradies to hire for your bathroom renovation.
Reduce unnecessary clutter
Our main philosophy for bathroom decorations is less is more. Clearing unnecessary clutter from your bathroom is the simplest and cheapest thing you can do to make your room feel bigger. A good place to start is by installing multi-functional storage units; including wall hung units with shelving or cabinets with drawers. Investing in a large stainless steel towel rack is another option for ensuring your space is kept neat and tidy.
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