A small bathroom can be frustrating. It feels closed in, even claustrophobic. Many older homes have small bathrooms, and secondary bathrooms in more modern homes are often small.
However, if you can’t literally move the walls, you can make a small bathroom appear bigger. Often, it isn’t the actual size of a room but how our eye sees it that makes it feel small. Here are six tips:
Light: A small bathroom is no place for mood lighting. The more light, the better. Consider using recessed lighting as either the primary light source or as a way to augment your principal lighting.
Color: In a small room, light or pastel colors are best for communicating a sense of space. Solid colors may be attractive but they can make a small space feel confining.
Mirrors: A great way to make a smaller room feel larger is through the use of mirrors. Whether you use several smaller mirrors or one large one, this is key for creating the feeling of roominess.
Shower: Consider putting in an open shower. Their popularity is growing as people look for spaciousness and a feeling of luxury. There is no door or curtain with an open shower, just space!
Storage: Consider storing those items not used daily in a storage or linen closet outside the bathroom rather than in the bathroom itself. The less space taken up by cupboards or other storage units in the bathroom, the more space you have to enhance its feeling of size.
Sink: The bathroom sink usually takes up a good amount of space or at least seems that way to the eye. You can help eliminate that with a pedestal or wall-mounted sink.
To generalize, the way to make a small bathroom big is to 1) think in terms of light (the lights themselves and the room’s color) and, 2) minimalism, as in “less is more” – no clutter, no space unnecessarily used.
You may find yourself pleasantly surprised by how large your small bathroom feels when you employ some of these tips.
