How to make a small bathroom look bigger

Having a large bathroom is oftenseen as a luxury. Barriers to freeing up extra room include the need for fitting in a shower, toilet, and sink.

Most of us have this dream of having a spacious bathroom with a vast tub, 2 sinks and a cozy chaise at a corner. Well, whether it's your dream or not, everybody could use a bigger space and liven the place up with a few strategic illusions. From employing clever tricks for the placement of essential fixtures to choosing the right colour platelet, there’s hope after all. Here are our 8 tricks to expand your bathroom without having to knock down any walls - 

1. Try to keep contrasting to a minimum

One of the easiest way to make the space look bigger is to use a lot of light colours. Light walls can look great. Using colours such as white, cream, pastel can give the room a more roomy and airy feel. Although if your bathroom tiling is dark, this can result in a contrasting effect which can feel like the space has been clogged up and make it claustrophobic; highlighting how small your bathroom is even more. Go for a low colour contrast for a roomy feel.

2. New textures

Note that only making everything white is not the only to make the room airy and appear bigger. Using various different textures such as different materials of tiles, molding, fabric accents with a wooden stand can add an element of contrast. This will retain the seamless look while still giving the eye lots of richness to take in. That aesthetic of warm beige, soft grays or even faint hues such as blue will help give the room more character. Our painters can help you with that. 

3. Use mirrors to your advantage

A mirror becomes especially useful when the ceiling is quite low, creating the illusion of a larger space. One of the most effective ways to make your bathroom feel more open is installing a large mirror, placed directly above the sink. 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 rearranging the space and make it look better than before. 

4. 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 panel or 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.” Dont try to do it yourself, know which tradies to hire for your bathroom renovation.

5. Go for plenty of natural light

Lighting is of utmost importance when designing your bathroom. Making use of natural lighting, even on grey days, can create a greater sense of space by filling the room with light. A strategically placed window or skylight can illuminate your washroom and save on energy costs throughout the day. Cleaning windows is easy and inexpensive.

6. Invest in a floating cabinet

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 makes the area feel more open. In a very small space, having a little bit more room to plant your feet can make a big difference.

7. Create long lines

Most bathrooms are rectangular in shape, so you can easily find one wall or area that’s a bit longer than others to emphasize. Look into open shelving options and some empty wall cavity space to use as storage which can help add a lot of visual depth that makes the walls look farther away than they really are. This is just one of many ways to make your bathroom look bigger.

8. 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.

Convinced you need to renovate your space and need help with your bathroom renovation project? Compare quotes from trusted bathroom renovators today.