While the more modern homes come with spacious bathrooms, older houses tend to have small sized bathrooms that can look really cramped with their drafty windows and dark surroundings. There are ways in which you can make your bathroom look and feel larger without tearing it away and starting from scratch. Dr Prem Jagyasi shares some design ideas that would make your small bathroom look a lot larger in comparison.
Bold colors
Although dark colors can make a space look smaller, we are talking about bold colors in brighter hues that would both create a focal point of interest in the bathroom and extend its space. Bright hues would help open up an otherwise dark space and make it look spacious. Match these colors with white floors to balance their intensity while maximizing space.
Less Fittings
Adding more fittings and furnishings to an already cramped space would make it much smaller and more difficult to navigate. If you have a very small bathroom, consider keeping only the essential items in it while throwing out everything else. In this case, your bathroom would require a storage cabinet at the most while other items can be kept outside.
Natural light
One of the best ways to make a bathroom (any other room in the house for that matter) look bigger than it actually is would be to allow natural light to enter the room. Consider installing a large window in the bathroom. If installing windows is not an option, try choosing an all-white color scheme which would reflect the natural light which falls on it, thus making the bathroom look brighter and larger instantly.
Glass screens
Having a wall that separates the shower and toilet area could lead to a very small, cramped bathroom space. You can camouflage this by opting for a glass shower screen that removes the visual line of distinction without necessarily compromising on the design quotient. Using glass screens in the bathroom would also allow the space to play with natural light, thus looking more spacious.
Smart storage options
If you have a really small bathroom, a standard storage cabinet would tend to consume more space, making it difficult for you to move around comfortably. This can be taken care of by opting smart storage options like stepped chests that can store all of your essential items without compromising on the available space in the bathroom.
You can also opt for floating shelves and vanities that would leave you with plenty of space underneath these areas. This would automatically enhance the vision of more square footage, thereby making the bathroom look larger and more spacious.
Space saving furnishings
A minimalistic décor look would work well for a small bathroom. If your bathroom is too small to even accommodate a storage cabinet, consider using a smaller item like a ladder to hold the towel and bath essentials. You can free a lot of floor space this way.
Mirrors
Mirrors play with natural light a lot. If your bathroom does not get enough natural light, hang mirrors in strategic places inside the bathroom to capture this light and reflect it in order to brighten up the surroundings. A bright space would automatically look more spacious as well. So consider placing a few large mirrors in the bathroom to achieve this effect.
Built-in accessories
When the kitchen has cabinets built into the wall, why not opt for a built-in flush tank for the toilet in the bathroom. The flush tank usually takes up about nine inches of space in the bathroom. By opting to build the tank into the wall, you can minimize space wastage and leave more space in the center of the room to help you move around comfortably.
Summary
There is no need to worry if you have a small bathroom. Following simple tips and using creative ingenuity can create the illusion of more space in the bathroom.
