Despite the best of efforts, keeping a small bathroom feeling fresh and spacious can be an ongoing challenge. Small bathrooms become quickly cluttered and can feel claustrophobic and messy after just one day of cleaning.
Fortunately, it turns out that creating extra space in your bathroom doesn’t require a full renovation. Anyone can easily uplift and expand their small bathroom space by following these six useful décor and structural tips.
Keep Things Bright and Light
One of the simplest and easiest things to remember when trying to create more space in your bathroom is to keep things bright and light. Natural light in particular can increase a person’s sense of spaciousness and warmth, giving room for them to breathe and relax.
Some ways to achieve more light in your bathroom is through the following:
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- Bigger windows—This may be an obvious tip but enlarging your bathroom windows means a much higher percentage of natural light. If you can’t afford to install bigger windows, make the effort to keep the ones you have squeaky clean for extra light exposure.
- Install a backlit mirror—Adding a strip of warm LED lights around the back of your vanity mirror will add a pleasant and inviting glow.
- Install a skylight—These contemporary ceiling windows allow for maximum natural light to enter, while giving you an interesting perspective of the sky. Rain or shine, you can’t go wrong with a well-placed skylight.
- Change your bulbs—Swap out your light bulbs for the brightest wattage you can find.
- Add new lights—If your bathroom only has overhead lighting, consider adding a few wall mounted lights. By adding light at every level you’ll reduce the chance of dark shadows.
Get Reflective
Since their inception, the clever placement of mirrors is one popular way many people have elongated and expanded rooms of all kinds. Mirrors can create the illusion of space in small areas, and they reflect any light that hits them. This makes them the perfect addition to any bathroom that cramps your style.
You can either go for one large mirror that fills up a large space on your wall or get creative and hang various smaller-sized mirrors for a more artistic flair. If you have two large walls, hang a mirror on each. Just ensure they are not directly opposite each other. This will give the impression of the walls being closer together.
Using high-gloss paint can further add a light-bouncing surface that reflects any illumination that hits it. Matte paint has the opposite effect, so avoid it wherever possible.
Nip Tuck
If you feel like going the extra mile, there are several major ways to open up a small bathroom space that are clever, modern, and comfortable.
- Remove your shower door—Having an open shower may seem adventurous, but they can be so much more spacious than the traditional cubicle. Just make sure you install a decent drain!
- Consider a pocket door—These easily concealable sliding doors minimise occupied space, freeing up an entire wall.
- Built-in cabinets—Utilising wall space for extra storage can make a huge space difference in your bathroom. Random items and products that were previously laid bare can be tidily tucked away in a well-made built-in cabinet.
- Swap out your toilet—If you don’t have a close coupled toilet, invest in one. These all in one toilets take up far less space than separate toilets, pipes and cisterns. Cisterns can be concealed in the wall too, for an extra feeling of roominess.
Simplify Storage
Finding unique and clever ways to conceal your bathroom necessities can be a game-changer. There are loads of ways to do this, and some of them include:
- Shower niche—Carving out a little space in your shower wall means less clutter at your feet when you rinse off.
- Towel bar—Avoid dirty, damp mounds of old towels by adding a nifty towel bar to your wall. Your towels will dry faster, and they’ll be out of the way.
- Sink cabinet—If you don’t already have a cabinet under your bathroom sink, making this change will transform how you store your products. The space below a sink is otherwise wasted unless utilised as a storage container.
- Bathroom bins—A bin may seem like it does the opposite of free up space in a bathroom. But having a small one nearby will mean less clutter in your cupboards and a stronger inclination to throw things away when you no longer need them.
- Shelves—Adding a simple shelf (fixed or floating) to your wall will free up counter space while introducing a multi-level aspect to your bathroom. Easy to DIY and extremely affordable, too!
Use Patterns Wisely
Using simple but elegant patterns to uplift your bathroom can give any small space a roomier, more modern feel.
- Small tiles—If you want to create the feeling of more space, small tiles are the way to go. They are better suited to small rooms and can be used from ceiling to floor for a contemporary wrap-around feel.
- Patterned towels, shower curtains and mats—If you want to create a subtle but classy aspect to your bathroom, using a simple, quiet pattern across various fabrics can quickly (and affordably) do the job.
When it comes to patterns in your bathroom, the key is to not over-complicate. Bathrooms already tend to accumulate random household debris, and a loud, colourful pattern may only perpetuate the sense of claustrophobia.
Cut Out Clutter
The simplest and most straightforward way to generate more space in your bathroom begins with a major decluttering project. Spend a day sorting through your old shampoo bottles and expired sunscreen to eliminate space wastage and breathe new life into your bathroom.
Once your space has been successfully de-cluttered, prevent re-cluttering it by reducing the number of single-use plastics you buy (toothbrushes, bottles, etc.) and switching them out for reusable products or containers that can be refilled multiple times.
Even if your budget isn’t very big, it costs only a little time and energy to de-clutter. At the end of the day, clean and tidy is the best way for a bathroom to be.
Wrapping It Up
Even a tiny en-suite can feel bigger if you make some small changes. Use our tips as inspiration, do some research into different bathroom layouts and work out what best suits your space. Don’t be afraid to try different things or rearrangements to determine how you can maximise the space with minimal effort. Small doesn’t have to mean cramped!
