Ten Ways To Make Your Bathroom Feel Bigger
With all of us spending so much time at home, many are looking for creative ways to make our spaces feel bigger.
This is especially true when it comes to bathrooms. If you live in a flat, or an older house, you’re probably burdened with a boxy bathroom, and the view that you’re stuck with the space you’ve got.
But there’s always a way to maximise a bathroom through clever design! So luckily for those looking to expand, bathroom design expert George Holland from Victorian Plumbing has revealed his top 10 tips to make any bathroom feel bigger.
Go Back to Basics
Break your bathroom down and go back to basics. Ask what you really need in there – a toilet, a shower, and a sink. Anything on top is additional clutter. Be harsh especially if space is lacking. One of the key things to do is remove anything that sits on the floor – towel racks etc – and think about ways to get these up on the walls!
Pro Tip – instead of adding storage solutions outright, think about how you could add them to existing features – could you build around or beneath your basin?
Add Depth with Patterned Wallpaper
It’s a simple but an effective fix – wallpapering one wall in your bathroom is a great way to make the space feel bigger. This is a great option if your bathroom is an awkward shape and you have little to work with, as the pattern will draw the eye away from the room’s actual size. You want some attention-grabbing and dramatic to steal focus, so don’t be afraid to go bold! And look for wallpapers that cope well with damp!
Pro Tip – go for large scale damasks, dramatic florals, and thick stripes in rich colours.
Consider Your Colour Scheme
Small-bathrooms suffer when it comes to natural light – most apartment bathrooms don’t even have windows – and nothing will highlight how dank and dingy a space is than a lack of real light. So it helps to make your room as bright as possible! Think carefully about your colour scheme if you want the room to feel bigger. An easy and effective solution is a white colour scheme warmed up with natural wooden floors and strong black fixtures.
Pro Tip – if white is a bit too boring for you, you can get similar effects with light, bright pastel colours.
Make a Mirror Wall
Mirrors really help exaggerate space, so simply hanging a large mirror in a small bathroom will make it feel far larger. This is one of the easiest and most effective ways to add space. Shape the space you want with different kinds of frames – frameless mirrors will feel luxurious whilst round ones will make a room feel softer. Combining a mirror with a dark or dramatic colour scheme will help too.
Pro Tip – if you can’t fit one big mirror in, put up loads of smaller ones for a similar effect.
Think Tall and Thin
Take advantage of dead-space you wouldn’t usually fill and stretch out your furnishings to save space! Instead of the usual bulky towel racks and rails, look for longer, thinner versions, designed to go up the walls. Invest in ladder shelves, or open shelves in general. This will add a relaxed feel to the space and the bathroom won’t feel so boxy.
Pro Tip – Tall and sleek corner fitting cabinets are ideal for saving room.
Stick to the Walls
Remember that game, ‘the floor is lava?’ Take those principles into your bathroom design! Think of the floor as sacred space, and decorate via the walls. Wall-hung fixtures are one of those clever small bathroom ideas you can use to suggest the space is bigger than it is. Choose minimalist, against-the-wall styles. If it must be in your bathroom, put it on the walls!
Pro Tip – a light bathroom floor will add space by contrasting against wall-hung fixtures
Wall Lights Add Space
Lighting is often forgotten when it comes to bathroom design, and many people rely on the single bulb above them to do the job, but it’s one of the easiest ways to make a room feel bigger. Adding lamps can be difficult – not to mention dangerous – in a wet bathroom, but there are some creative solutions if you get on the walls! These days, there are plenty of great wall-mounted lights for under £50, so invest in one that fits your space.
Pro Tip – a light around a mirror will make a room feel brighter and bigger.
Go Big with Tiles
When it comes to pokey bathrooms, the bigger the tiles the better! Smaller tiles mean more grout lines, which will make the space feel tight and grid-like. Wider tiles will make a bathroom feel bigger, especially if you choose light colours. Go big with tiles to create a real illusion of space.
Pro Tip – if you do want to include smaller, mosaic-style tiles limit them to an area that’s already small such as the shower or an alcove.
Add a Small Storage Vanity
Think about adding a small storage vanity, especially if you’ve exhausted all the under-the-sink potential of your bathroom. You can get some pretty compact storage vanities these days – as narrow as 18” – so shop around until you find one that fits your space. Hiding your products out of sight in drawers will declutter the space. Pro Tip – get something with legs – keeping things off the floor makes the floor feel more spacious.
Opt for a Frameless Shower
Replacing your traditional, bulky shower, with a frameless one is a great way to make space. Not only will a frameless shower physically take up less room, the glass-screen and lack of tray will reduce visual clutter – making the room feel airy and open. Plus, as an added benefit – frameless, walk-in-showers look fantastic, giving any space the feel of a luxurious hotel.
Pro Tip – a walk in shower accompanied by a huge mirror over the sink will do wonders for space.
