How to Make Small Bathrooms Look Bigger and Brighter

Natural light and neutral colors are the top ways to make small bathrooms look bigger, brighter, and airier. However, if you’re considering a bathroom remodel, you have so many more options. 

Best of all, they don’t require a full overhaul. Keep your bathroom small, but adjust the design and materials to enjoy a more spacious feel. 

Reasons to love your small bathroom

A large, luxury bathroom isn’t always in the cards–and that’s not a bad thing. Small bathrooms allow us to get creative with design. They also come with some built-in benefits that make us appreciate their compact size.

• Small bathrooms are more energy efficient, saving you a little money every month.
• They’re easier and faster to clean. Not only do you spend less time cleaning, but a small bathroom is more likely to get a regular, thorough clean.
• There’s a reduced likelihood of clutter. Clever storage, minimalist motifs, and more calming themes can take center stage.
• It’s less expensive to update a small bathroom. From stone countertops to expert tilework, you can afford top-quality materials when you need smaller quantities.

Design choices that make small bathrooms feel more spacious

Truly making a small bathroom look and feel larger requires more than a bucket of white paint. Even dramatic, jewel-box style bathrooms leverage a few of these tricks to feel larger.

Take advantage of tile

Smooth, uniform tilework can make bathrooms look larger, particularly if you choose large-format tiles. Smaller tiles on walls can help achieve the same when creating vertical patterns.

Tile is also a solid, more sanitary choice over materials like drywall. They help bathrooms smell cleaner, which is an underrated way to make a small room feel more spacious.

Go glass

Cut out the curtains and choose glass shower enclosures. You’ll extend the line of sight to include the depth and dimension of the shower. 

The visible shower is also the best place to plan out your most interesting tilework. Using smaller patterns, mosaics, and more can make the bathroom look larger and more intentionally styled. 

Floor to ceiling

Identify how your current ceiling differs from the walls. Texture, trim, material, color, anything that’s putting a cap on your space. 

Refinishing, retiling, or painting your ceiling to create a seamless match with the walls can make a bathroom’s vertical space look practically unlimited when done well. 

Free up floors with a floating vanity

Simple pedestal sinks are very space-efficient. However, floating vanities give counter space and storage without swallowing the floor.

Simply seeing more floorspace creates breathing room. Still, you can choose smaller consoles and cabinets and give under-sink flooring a purpose. Wastebaskets, slippers, a scale, or anything else that may sit on the floor finds a home here. 

Built-in shower shelving

Stop subtracting space with caddies and external shelving fixed to shower walls. Built-in shelving adds more depth and lets you keep every square inch.

It’s also the perfect place to add some visual interest, such as with accent tiling. Going all-white or totally neutral does make small bathrooms look bigger, but you still need chances to add style and dimension.

Smaller scale and slimline fixtures

Scaling back on the size of fixtures in half-baths and guest baths makes the room feel bigger without sacrificing function. 

Think small pedestal sinks, slimmer toilets, and clean, minimal faucets and hardware. This frees up space for décor, puts the focus on great tilework–anything but emphasizing the compact size of the room itself. 

Multiple mirrors

The oldest trick in the book? Maybe, but reflective surfaces do create the illusion of greater space. Add in brilliant lighting, and you’ve got a bigger, brighter bathroom.

Consider adding a full-length mirror in addition to the vanity mirror, doubling the size of the vanity mirror, and more. They come with the fringe benefit of being easy to clean, adding polish to the room’s appearance in minutes.

Banish long rods and big shelves

Simple hooks and other light storage solutions are sufficient for towels. Large, bulky shelves and rods that go on for a few feet are eating up space. 

In general, avoid storing the majority of your linens in a tiny bathroom. A hall or bedroom closet can keep what’s not in the current rotation.

Go all-out on lighting

Recessed ceiling lights, interesting sconces, trendy LED-lit mirrors, a statement pendant–choose at least two that set the mood. 

Layered lighting is useful in every room, but it’s especially awesome at creating pockets of brightness or ambiance in tight spaces.

Get more bathroom design inspiration from The Designery 

The Designery does it all, from design and planning to procuring premier materials and performing professional installation. But the real first step of your small bathroom remodel is inspiration. 

Get more bright ideas and start dreaming up a better (but not necessarily bigger) bathroom:

• Learn what to expect with a bathroom remodel.
• Stay up to date on the latest trends in bathroom tile.

Get a mix of pro and DIY ideas to make your bathroom a calming summertime oasis.