8 small bathroom ideas to make your bathroom feel bigger

The bathroom is an important space in the home and one that should bring you peace at the start and end of a day. This is a challenging thing to accomplish if you have a tiny bathroom but thankfully there are some clever small bathroom ideas to help you achieve exactly that.

You don't need to extend your walls to maximise your small space. In many cases, doing so isn't even an option.

Small bathroom design is often about creating an illusion and the strategic use of a bathroom mirror (or two) is a great one to a employ. In particular, a large mirror that you can see your floor in will heighten the sense of space, making it feel much larger that it actually is. It will also help bounce the natural light in the space, creating a bright and airy feel.

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Darkness only compounds the feeling of claustrophobia in a small bathroom so making sure yours is well-lit is crucial. The aforementioned inclusion of mirrors helps to this point significantly but you need to also ensure your overall lighting is sufficient for use, especially in the evenings.

This typically means having your ambient, task and even accent lighting needs satisfied. Ceiling lights, like downlights and pendants, can fill the space while spotlights, wall lights and track lights can help with grooming and cleaning tasks as well as bathroom feature highlights. With the shadowy dark corners eliminated, you'll find your bathroom feeling more open and inviting.

The shower can be a tricky thing to negotiate in a small bedroom with fixed dimensions that take up a reasonable amount of space. The shower really needs to be viewed as an an extension of the space rather than something that cuts into it where a tiny bathroom is concerned.

Glass shower doors and frames are an excellent option that can mitigate the effect of a shower. Where a shower curtain or an opaque screen adds another visual wall in a space, a clear glass shower door does not. It's a simple idea and a simple solution that can be easily embraced.

Traditional swinging doors require a decent amount of space for clearance which is ordinarily fine but when it comes to a small bathroom, there are better options to consider.

Pocket doors or even sliding doors require no space for clearance which frees up more floor area in a bathroom than you might think. By using them, you won't need to keep wall space free like you would with a swinging door, giving you options to use that space in other ways, like for storage, freeing up space where it may be more helpful.

While bathroom storage is important it shouldn't come at the expense of space in a small bathroom. The thought of this might make some recoil but the truth is that large cabinets can do more harm than good when used in the wrong way.

Instead, you are better utilising a range of different storage options to lessen the need for a single large storage solution. Your bathroom vanity, a mirror cabinet, shelving, shower caddies, towel rails and door hooks are numerous alternatives that can work together in unison to provide the storage you need.

Floor tiles are a practical and stylish choice for a bathroom due to their strength, water-tightness and an endless array of designs to choose from. They can also be used to your advantage in a small bathroom when large format tiles are chosen.

The reason is that large floor tiles can help make a small bathroom floor look less busy and more open as a result. With large tiles, there are also fewer grout lines to distract the eye, presenting a cleaner and sleeker appearance. This technique can also be applied to the walls and surrounds where water protection is required with the same principle applied.

The choice of bathroom vanity is an important one when designing a small bathroom where a real impact can be had with a floating vanity. For the uninitiated, a floating vanity is fixed to a wall space instead of to the floor, leaving a gap beneath.

The effect of this is two-fold. First, it frees up a bit of floor space which may not seem like much but every little bit counts. Second, it adds to the illusion of space for the eye, enhancing the all-important sense of spaciousness. The two traits combine wonderfully together making this a must for any small bathroom.

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Clutter is a surefire way to make any room feel cramped. It has also been proven to make you feel anxious, the last feeling you want to experience in a tiny bathroom.

The advice around this is to try and keep disciplined habits when it comes to the number of grooming and cleaning products you have taking up counter space at any one time. If you haven't done an audit of these recently you might be surprised to find what you have out that you have no intention of using.

Be sure to get rid of any of these and put the rest away in storage space that will keep it out of sight. The less you have out, the less busy your bathroom will look and the larger it will feel.

The best small bathroom designs feature most of these clever modern bathroom ideas and, as we said earlier, every little bit of space counts. Whether you bring in new tiles, add brighter light fixtures, or install a floating vanity you'll inevitably create more depth and space to enjoy and make your bathroom more functional at the same time.

(This article was updated on 8th December 2023)