Make Your Tiny Bathroom Seem Roomier with These Tips

While stark minimalist spaces may be falling out of favor, many of today’s hottest looks are basically minimalism with a little extra. For example, the “clean girl” aesthetic features uncluttered surfaces combined with natural elements and cute storage. Minimizing clutter and the sheer number of items housed in a tiny bathroom can only help. To avoid the pitfalls of excessive minimalism, include warmer touches like metallics in the gold family, live plants, and plush towels. However, don’t be afraid to wage an all out battle against cluttered surfaces, overflowing storage bins, and the like. In fact, when you take items out, there really is more space in the little bathroom.

Often the bathtub or shower stall is hidden behind a shower curtain, making both the room and the stall feel quite compact. Try replacing the curtain with an enclosure that is:

• Built from clear or ultra-clear glass
• Frameless
• Space efficient – maybe a rolling door system or a simple splash guard

By trading in an opaque curtain for a clear barrier, you create continuity between the two areas and make the most of all your small bathroom’s square footage.

Pale colors can also help make a room feel less confining. Walls that are neutral or a pale pastel can work in harmony with a glass shower to make a tight space feel more airy and open. Be sure to choose paint designated for use in a bathroom, where it may be subject to humid conditions and water droplets. You can further enhance this effect by using the same pale shade on the walls, ceiling, and trim alike.

You have a few different options for creating the illusion of space in a small bathroom. To make the ceilings seem higher, you can:

• Have the shower glass installed all the way up to the ceiling.
• Place rods for the curtains well above the windows.
• If you are wallpapering, choose a vertically oriented pattern.

You can also make the space seem wider from side to side. Covering one wall with mirror glass optically doubles the room’s depth. It can also help to choose a wall mounted vanity and toilet, with designs that don’t reach too far out from the wall.

Lighting that is too bright will make a small bathroom overpowering, and lighting that is too dim will make it dreary. However, lighting suited to the size of the room will optimize its charms. If you provide a few different light sources, this can also make the space feel bigger. For example, in addition to the main ceiling light, you could add a lamp to the vanity counter or put LED lights on the cabinet toe-kick. Finally, you could maximize the natural light from the window by having frosted replacement glass put in to remove the need for window treatments.