Ever looked at your tiny bathroom and wondered how you could make it look and feel bigger? Follow these small bathroom ideas to make the most of the space without breaking the bank or carving a window into the wall.
The lack of square footage, limited natural light, and number of fixtures to squeeze in make a small bathroom one of the more challenging spaces to decorate. But when done right, the whole room can seem brighter and more spacious.
These small bathroom ideas go beyond making the most of the available space and prove that bold design elements can be right at home in even the tiniest rooms. Here are the best ways to turn powder rooms, half-baths, and just little tiny (sometimes windowless) bathrooms into less cramped, more enjoyable situations. Your small bath may just be your next favourite room.
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1. Keep Your Colours Light and Bright
A wood floor and vanity give this city bathroom a warm and serene feeling. A soft mint green hue reflects natural light from the window. The space surrounding the freestanding tub makes the room feel more open, as does the lightweight curtain fabric, which allows maximum light to enter.
2. Or Double Down With a Dark Colour Scheme
Wait, what? “Oftentimes I like to paint small bathrooms [typically windowless rooms] a dark colour, like black. It gives depth and creates an illusion of a larger space,” says Jenny Wolf of Jenny Wolf Interiors. “Go with a high-gloss in a super dark color,” advises Fleming James of Oliver Street Designs. The hue will simultaneously impart a big-night-sky effect and also bounce the little light you have around the space. (Doing so will also draw attention to the light fixtures, so you’ll need to choose them thoughtfully – bulbs that bring in plenty of light, shapes you don’t mind being pretty pronounced.)
3. Mirror a Wall
Rather than just hanging one above the vanity, consider mirroring a whole wall of your tiny bathroom. The reflection of light and pattern (and, sometimes, that open door) will do the same good work a window does.
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4. Opt for a Glass Shower Door
If you’re starting your small bathroom design from scratch, consider scrapping the curtain entirely. Glass shower doors in a small bath will help to open up the space and also add to the cool factor.
5. Or Remove Your Shower Door Completely
The slightly more adventurous might even consider no shower door at all (a good drain is wise in that case).
6. Take On Tile
Tile is a durable way to add impact and can be used from floor to ceiling. “For smaller bathroom walls, we like to specify ceramic tiles that are small,” says Suzanne McGrath of the design firm McGrath II. The designer is a fan of using one-by-four and two-by-six floor tiles – which are also less expensive – on bathroom walls.
7. Keep the Floor Clear
Covering the floor with a bathroom vanity or storage containers can create a cramped space, not to mention tripping hazards. A pedestal or floating vanity keeps the floor clear, and installing floating storage will help keep everything you need at arm’s length.
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8. Try a Large-Scale Wall Covering
You might think you need to go for a petite motif, but it’s actually better to go big. “Medium- and large-scale wallpapers and tile patterns can actually make a space feel larger,” James explains. Whether you choose big tiles or an even bigger pattern is up to you; she says they’ll both “give an illusionary scale in tight quarters.”
9. Add a Shower Niche
Another major space saver? A shower niche. If you’re designing a small bathroom, make sure to include a shower niche in your plans.
10. Use a Ledge to Create Space
A narrow ledge in front of the mirror in this GRT Architects-designed bathroom is the perfect perch for a plant, toothbrush, and other essentials.
11. Rethink Your Sink
If you’re designing your tiny bathroom from scratch (or remodelling), a tiny corner sink may be among the most handy simple small bathroom ideas. There’s no rule that says you have to have a full-size standard sink. A corner sink gets the job done just as well – plus it gives you plenty of space and less to clean.
12. Choose Compact Pieces
Hulking vanities and blocky tubs may look at home in a larger bathroom, but they can make a small bathroom feel claustrophobic. Install compact toilets and sinks or consider floating versions to open up the space, like in this 650-square-foot apartment designed by Brett Masterson. If a tub is a must, consider a Japanese soaking tub to add serenity without taking up square footage.
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13. Consider Closed Storage to Stay Organised
Bottles and tubes scattered on the countertops are guaranteed to distract from even the most gorgeous room. Samuel suggests closed bathroom storage, such as a linen closet or vanity with drawers and doors, to keep things tucked away. “Display only your favourite and most frequently used, well-designed products.” In this 323 square foot Italian pad by the founders of SCEG Architetti, the exterior of the vanity can really sing thanks to the lack of clutter.
14. Add Stylish Shelving
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Forget anything basic. Opt for a sleek shelf that fits your decor and gives you extra space (a precious commodity in a small bathroom), like in this bathroom by Fanny Abbes, the creative director of the New Design Project, which employs acrylic shelves that perfectly match the rest of the bathroom feel.
15. Choose a Wall-Mounted Faucet
Not only is a wall-mounted faucet a real space saver, it’s also stylish, modern, and easy to clean.
16. Get Creative With Storage
In cramped rooms, any open space is an opportunity. If there’s a niche, add open shelves to make use of that dead space, just as designer Madelon Oudshoorn Spaargaren did in her Amsterdam home.
17. Add a Ladder for Towels
We love this country-chic small bathroom that gets creative with a ladder. It can hang more towels than a bar, and it gives the bathroom a unique feel. If you don’t have enough space for a ladder that stands alone, choose one that is made to sit above a toilet.
18. Pare Down Your Bottles
Let’s be honest: We usually don’t need all those toiletry bottles. Streamlining your grooming products will give you more space, so do a Marie Kondo and pare down your shampoo collection. Or, at the very least, store the products you don’t use daily somewhere other than your counters or bathtub ledges. Getting rid of any clutter will make your small bathroom seem much bigger.
19. Install a Skylight
This is one of the more ambitious small bathroom designs, but it will make a major impact. Installing a skylight will open up your entire bathroom and significantly brighten the space.
20. Try an Interesting Tile Pattern
No matter what colour bathroom tile you go for, arranging them in an interesting pattern can up the visual interest. The options are practically endless: This Paris apartment features a zigzag herringbone design with a bright white grout against the dark tile.
21. Pick Natural Accent Colours For a White Bathroom
If you want your bathroom to be calming no matter how cramped it is, use a natural colour palette and don’t worry about painting the walls. Despite the bright flooring in her own apartment, architect Corey Kingston paired a terracotta curtain and bathmat with wicker baskets for storage. If you’re set on subway tile, natural colors pair well with them too.
22. Go for Unusual Shapes
Architect Vincent Appel paired a round floating sink with a Gio Ponti mirror in a 300-square-foot apartment’s minimalist bathroom. Without creating chaos in the small space, these two pieces added plenty of personality.
23. Use Brass Hardware
Brass hardware and fixtures can add an unexpected, refined look to any bathroom – no full renovation needed. Though the difference is slight, this Margaret Costello-designed bathroom still looks luxurious thanks to its impactful fixtures.
24. Get A Mirror with Built-In Storage
The best small space pieces are multifunctional, and a mirror that also offers storage can be a life saver. The medicine cabinet is the gold standard, but if that feels a little too retro, try a mirror with shelves, like this one in a New York City apartment designed by Project AZ.
25. Use the Space Above the Toilet
Whether you use it for storage or for eye-catching decoration, do not leave the space above the toilet empty.
26. Skip the Full Towel Rack
If your extra-small bathroom doesn’t have storage space, don’t force it! Skip a full towel rack and add either a hook for shower time or a small rack for a hand towel, as in this Noz Nozawa-designed space.
27. Simplify It
When dealing with a powder room, keep things as simple as possible. There’s no need to add storage space if you don’t have much to store, and your space will be all the more pleasing for it! We should all take the note from this Chicago home designed by Wendy Labrum.
28. Add a Fun Pendant Light
In bathroom design the focus often lands on sconce lighting, but a fun pendant light can serve as an impactful focal point, no matter the square footage of your bathroom. For proof, just take a glimpse at this Jake Arnold-designed bathroom’s rattan pendant.
29. Mirror Multiple Walls
Adding multiple mirrors to a space not only makes it feel bigger, it also has the potential to create a memorable fun house-like vibe in the bathroom. Wouldn’t you want to take a selfie in this space designed by homeowner Chris Aswad?
30. Match Your Hardware Finishes
Tying everything together in your bathroom can be satisfying even if it may not make the space feel larger, exactly. In bathrooms that feature a glass shower door or wall, like this Dumbo loft’s, tie the shower in with the rest of the space by matching the finishes of the sink, light fixtures, and towel rod.
31. Add Shallow Shelves for Trinkets
If you don’t want to dedicate counter space to items that are purely for decorative purposes, shallow floating shelves will take up a small footprint in your space but still allow for much more personality than a cramped vanity ever could. Photographer Coke Bartrina’s filled his simple shelves with small plants.
32. Go for Terrazzo
As far as we’re concerned, terrazzo is timeless – just look at Matthew Stewart’s gorgeous terrazzo-lined bathroom! With the mesmerising pattern enveloping the room, it’ll be hard to stress about lack of space.
33. Add a Gallery Wall
Though it might not be the first place to spring to mind for your art collection, a gallery wall is sure to add a stately air to even the tiniest of bathrooms. Going for all black and white prints ups the classiness factor, as the bathroom at designer Peter Sandel’s own studio apartment proves.
More home makeover ideas from the AD archive:
- 8 Best Quiet Luxury Interiors For your Next Home Makeover Inspo
- Feng Shui for Bedrooms: 9 Golden Rules for a Peaceful Sleep
- 7 Golden Rules for Creating Colourful Interiors at Home Like an Expert
- 10 Tasteful Terracotta Bedroom Ideas to Transform Your Space
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