Decorating a bathroom can be intimidating enough but decorating a bathroom in a way that makes an often times small room seem bigger can be a downright challenge. Whether you’re living in your first apartment or you just bought your first home and need some tips to expand the walls of your bathroom, these tips will help you get the most space for your buck out of your bathroom.
1. Repurpose existing furniture
It can be hard to work with limited storage space in a small bathroom and it can be tempting to install plenty of shelving or use multiple bulky storage pieces to accommodate. Before crowding the room even more, however, you should try repurposing an old dresser as a vanity. You will have plenty of storage space and you won’t break the bank.
2. Get creative with mirrors
Mirrors are a great addition to any small room because they create an optical illusion of added space. Adding one or two (or three) to your bathroom in strategic positions can help blend the room and create the perception of more space.
3. Get comfy in a tub
With most modern bathrooms offering showers, the old-fashioned tub seems to have gone out of style. Unfortunately, showers can often take up a lot of space and break up the continuity of a room by hogging one or more corners. Replacing your shower space with a tub can not only add space to the room, but it adds character as well.
4. Make a bold statement
The bathroom is often on of the rooms that receive the least attention when it comes to design and décor. Look at this as an opportunity to stand out and add a bold accent piece or statement to this often overlooked room. It can be an antique sign with a bold font or a wild piece of art you snagged at a garage sale. Anything that you can hang on the wall works well because it won’t impede on the already-limited space.
5. Feature a wall
The biggest piece of advice for making a small bathroom appear larger is to promote continuity in the design of the room. But using one wall as a focus point can also add depth. You may choose to paint one wall of a room a different color or only use tile on that wall and pain the others. By calling out this one side of the room with a special design, you draw people’s eyes there and alter the depth perception.
6. Open the blinds
The more light you let flood into your small bathroom, the more the walls of the room will seem to expand. While your first instinct might be to cover all windows with dark or heavy blinds or curtains, you should opt for something light and airy. Find the right balance between privacy and letting the light flow in.
7. Maximize storage
With a small bathroom, you often have to get creative with your storage options. Check out local garage or estate sales for vintage drawers that will fit beneath your bathroom vanity or that you can tuck into a corner without taking up too much space. Even simple paper trays that are typically used in an office can be stacked and used to store small toiletries and the like.
8. It’s all about the door
Yes, you can actually use the bathroom door to add space to the room. Install a traditional French door and replace the glass with mirrors to create an expanded look and feel to the room. If you’re feeling particularly bold, sub a heavy drape in for a door to give the room an airier feel and to be less closed off.
Decorating and designing a bathroom doesn’t have to be all work – it can be fun, too. Get creative with the materials you have to work with and get outside of your comfort zone to try new things. It doesn’t matter if you use all or just some of these tips; they’re sure to make your small bathroom appear bigger – and even give it a touch of style!
I love the idea of featuring a wall. Its simple and chic and does really make a big impact. I need to think about how to make this happen in my bathroom!
I could use these tips. My bathroom upstairs is pretty small. Switching to a French door is a great idea.
This has actually come at the perfect time! We are moving house ad the bathroom is noticeably smaller than our old one so I wasn’t sure what to do with it! now I have some great tips.
very useful tips! Decorating bathroom is always a challenge especially when the bathroom is smaller. You nailed it.
These are all such great tips! One of our bathrooms is really, really small and these tips will come in handy.
One of the room that actually is not easy to decorate is bathroom, especially if the size is small. These are great tips, and I agree use the Frecnh door gives a bigger look to the bathroom.
I think the color of the small space makes a big difference too. I always try to paint light colors in small spaces. Your mirror tip is spot on too. Decorative mirrors work wonders for tiny spaces.
All our bathrooms need some help honestly. The powered room now needs a paint update and my master and the kids’ bathroom needs a complete overhaul.
I’ve always found that painting the walls a light color helps with making any room feel bigger. We’re in the midst of touching up our upstairs bathroom.
I love the idea of keeping it simple. Bathrooms can be such small spaces to begin with!
Mirrors! I never think about using mirrors in the bathroom, besides the one over the sink. That is a great idea.
I really like these tips! It’s a cool idea to focus on using mirrors in a creative way. They can definitely add some much needed space.
Small bathrooms are the worst. These are all great tips! My powder room totally needs an overhaul.
We are getting read to redo an entire house and I super needed these tips. The bathrooms are tiny in the house.
We have a really small bathroom in our house and I would love to use some of these to see what we can do to upgrade it and make it look better.
I love the idea of using mirrors to make a room seem bigger. It TOTALLY works. We use lots of mirrors in our little apartments!!!!
Such great tips! I remember when I had this little 200 square foot bachelor apartment with the tiniest bathroom and how creative I had to be to make it look bigger and have more space! I also love decorating my bathroom – it’s amazing what a fun shower curtain and towels can do for adding some personality!
I have a very small bathroom in my apartment and was just talking about how hard it is to deal with storage. These tips are great.
I love decorating. I love your thoughts about the bathroom. I always want my powder room to have special things in it for my guests.
this is awesome! we are in a process of moving out and definitely need some tips staging.
Mirrors are one of my favorite ways to spruce up a room! Check out thrift stores for great prices, you can always change up the frames for a custom look, too!
I have a very small bathroom upstairs that needs some love. I’ll have to use some of these tips for sure.
My master bathroom is so small, so we painted it a light color to make it look more open. I agree about opening the blinds. The natural light makes it feel more airy and roomy.
Love these tips! We just redid two of the bathrooms earlier this year and I wish I had seen these before then lol!
I am a firm believer that less is more. I have a house with very little storage, so I really have to keep everything to a minimum.
The mirrors is a great tip. I first came across it on some design show and have used it in small spaces around the house. It really does help!
I think these are great tips. I think when we have small spaces that it is best to utilize it in any way we can!
Our powder room follows many things that you stated here. Big mirror, beautiful color, large art in one wall… love this space!
These tips will come in handy when I move back to NYC. The bathrooms are so tiny there and it can be hard to make the most of the tiny space.
My bathroom is one of the biggest drawbacks in my home, because it is so small. However, these are really helpful tips!
I agree with you. I love the floors and definitely, by tiling the long way makes the room feel and look larger. Breaking up the wall with moulding keeps the eyes moving. Great post.
Two of our bathrooms are windowless(we live in a townhouse). Any good suggestions for those kind of bathrooms?