Make your bathroom look bigger the easy way!

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Spa & Bad-Design, Design by Torsten Müller Design by Torsten Müller Eclectic style bathroom
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It can be the sore point of any family home but a small bathroom doesn't have to be thought of in negative terms, especially when there are some simple tricks to make it appear and feel much bigger. 

By using clever lighting techniques, choosing colours carefully and seeking to complement the available space, rather than fight against it, you could find that your small bathroom is more than large enough for you and your whole family.

Take a look at our tips for making your bathroom look bigger and see if any could work in your home.

Choose a light wall colour

You don't have to opt for white walls in order to ensure your bathroom looks as big as possible, but something light and cool in tone will certainly help.

This gorgeous room, created by MRS, has everything that any family bathroom could need, plus storage, character and space. The pastel blue walls are kept cool thanks to the white floor tiles with colour coordinating patterns and the plain white suite items help to lift the room and reflect the light, expanding the size before our eyes. Add to this the ingenious idea of using a frameless clear glass shower screen and this room is grasping and taking ownership of every square millimetre. Clever stuff!

Lay neutral floor tiles

When you need to make your bathroom seem a little more expansive than it actually is, a great tip is to lay neutral coloured floor tiles. Making the floor and by proxy, the rest of the room, feel larger, a plain and pale floor covering reflects light and helps to make other items the main focus.

In this example, the bath is really drawing all of the attention and despite the fact that it is taking up a huge proportion of the floorspace, you don't realise until you take a good look. A light floor, coupled with darker features, such as the side of the tub, work wonders for tricking the eye and altering perspective!

Double the space with mirrors

A tried and tested method for making rooms appear larger than they are, mirrors are still a fantastic addition to a smaller bathroom and though this example is enormous, we think it demonstrates what we mean! 

Even a tiny room could benefit from a full mirrored wall, which would have the effect of making the space look double in size, without having to knock any walls out! Add some pale coloured wall tiles and bright lighting and all of a sudden, what was once a diminutive and purely perfunctory space has been transformed into a light and airy relaxation zone.

Choose small basins

When your bathroom is small, it stands to reason that so should your fixtures and furniture be, but it is surprising how many people seek to cram as many full size items in as possible. All this does is minimise available floor space, makes the room feel cluttered and actually has a claustrophobic impact!

To increase the perceived size of your space, we suggest scaling back the size of your suite pieces, for example, your sinks! These lovely little examples look divine and lose none of their functionality, as width has been replaced with height! Wonderfully deep, you will be able to perform all ablutions here, without feeling cramped or as if you have compromised too far, so don't just automatically reach for the standard sizes!

Use clever lighting

Lighting plays a key role in making rooms feel bigger or smaller. If you want a cosy space, you seek to use low wattage, amber lighting that is a little darker than normal and for an airy vibe you need bright, luminous strip lighting, or something that gives the same effect.

We think this bathroom looks amazing and not just because it looks like something from Tron Legacy! The clever recessed installations help to make the lighting do it's job, without encroaching on any of the valuable space and the bright blue tone adds vast amounts of perceived space to this room. Clever and cool!

For more bathroom design inspiration take a look at this Ideabook: Modern Bathroom Design.

Would you use any of these techniques in your home? Tell us below!

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