How to make a tiny bathroom feel bigger
Keep it clean and simple for the best effect
Q: I have a small, long bathroom I’d like to renovate. There is no room to expand. My place is so tiny that the bathroom door will hit you when you are standing in the hall. Is there anything I need to know to help make the bathroom feel bigger? A: The trick to making a space bigger, especially a bathroom, is to make it feel bright and airy. The way to achieve this is to steer clear of busy tile patterns and to keep clutter contained.
Powder rooms are different. Many of us like powder rooms to feel cosy, like you’ve walked into a jewelry box, making patterned wallpaper and opulent fixtures A-OK. Any place where you bathe, however, you will want to feel clean and fresh.
A couple of years ago, I worked on photographer Virginia Macdonald’s bathroom, which sounds similar to yours. Though we did use loads of tile in the space, there was low colour contrast between the marble penny-round floor tile, white subway tile and marble countertop.
Our only pop of colour was in the shower curtain, which was custom-made by Fine Interiors by Susan (fineinteriorsbysusan.com).
There are plenty of pretty shower curtains on the market, but having one custom-made allows you to pick a pattern and colour that works with the rest of your home. Plus, in many cases it is the largest decorative element in the space and should be fantastic.
Wherever possible, opt for clean and classic fixtures. We chose art deco-inspired fixtures from Kohler (kohler.ca) to mesh with the bones of the home as well as the 1930s subway tile.
Even our cabinetry hardware is almost invisible. Giant pulls would have distracted from the simplicity of the Shaker cabinets, but pedestrian knobs would have ruined the bathroom.
I realize this sounds a bit dramatic, but the quickest way to cheapen classic cabinetry is to add hardware that looks über-contemporary, as though it came from the set of Star Trek. Splurge on great hardware. You can take it with you when you move, or use it on a china cabinet down the road. Du Verre (duverre.com) is my source for knockout hardware, and Gingers (gingers.com) has a wide selection of luxury hardware.
We replaced Virginia’s original two-door vanity with a custom narrow one that takes advantage of length of the bathroom. A large vanity that takes up valuable floor space may seem like a risky move, but extra storage and counter space is far more valuable than floor space.
Even though the job was small, Caledonia Marble (caledoniamarble.com) measured and templated the vanity top and installed the petite undermount sink and fixtures into one large piece of marble.
Unless you are meticulous when it comes to finishing details, I would leave countertop installation to the professionals. With every reno, something will go awry. In our case, the tile was installed before the counter. Tile is a finishing detail and should be installed last.
I had a mild breakdown when this happened, but Caledonia Marble made the necessary adjustments. Even if you look closely, you wouldn’t know that a little disaster had been averted.
P.S.— A pocket door or one door divided into two mini doors will save guests from being hit when standing in the hall.