The Sunday News
SMALL bathrooms can be a design and decorating challenge, but with the right combination of fixtures, surfaces, colours, decor and lighting, it’s possible to create the illusion of a much larger space.
In recent years, bathrooms have begun to expand significantly in size — master bathrooms in newer homes can be positively palatial affairs, for example. Older homes tend to feature much smaller bathrooms throughout, and even newer construction often features half baths that can benefit from the decorating tricks that help create the illusion of more space.
One of the first tenets of small bathroom decor is to consider colour and light. Generally speaking, a bathroom — or any space for that matter — will always seem larger if it’s lighter and brighter.
For this reason, be sure to take full advantage of any natural light available in your small bathroom. Make sure any curtains or shades are translucent, and keep windowsills free of any items that would obstruct sunlight from entering the space. Similarly, when choosing paint colours or a colour scheme for the entire space, focus on lighter, livelier hues.
Small bathrooms may seem like a difficult design task to take on but creating a functional and storage-friendly bathroom may be just what your home needs.
Every design element in a small bathroom should have a purpose and be functional in some way or another to create a space-saving sanctuary. Before you dive in, look for space-saving furniture ideas.
Instead of stuffing them in large cabinets, showcase your colorful, textured towels in open shelving. This will add warmth and playful colours to your space and eliminate unwanted large furniture pieces.
Functionality is key for a small bathroom. Small rooms can easily lead to unwanted clutter, so make sure you’re adding only design elements that are functional. Don’t add knick-knacks or objects that don’t serve a purpose.
Store cotton balls and swabs in glass jars on floating shelves, install a hamper under the sink, minimise counter space by storing (rather than displaying) personal products and add stackable baskets underneath cabinets and above washer/dryer units. — hgtv.com
