How to make bathrooms look bigger?

Radhika Seth, founder of Sequoia London Limited shares some design tips on how to make bathrooms appear bigger than they are. 

Bathrooms are generally the smallest rooms in the house so we are always looking for ways in which they can be made to look more spacious. Some focussed decisions on materials, forms, and lighting early in the design process can instantly help to enhance the space of your bathrooms. 

Materials chosen for a bathroom design can determine how light and dark a bathroom will feel. Reflective materials such as marble, mirrors, glass, and metallic finishes bounce light around the bathroom to help brighten up the space. 

Mirrors 

Wall to wall or floor to ceiling mirrors fill a space in the bathroom to make it appear bigger than it is. These mirrors act like a window which allow for more light to filter into the room. Before installing large mirrors be sure to see what will being reflected in the mirrors. A reflection of a plain wall won’t help to create the illusion of a larger looking bathroom. 

Stone 

Installing stone from floor to ceiling makes a bathroom look like it has more of a high end finish.  

Keeping all features of the bathroom in the same colour tonally allows for a seamless look throughout the entire space so choosing a grout that’s the same colour as the stone helps to give a more unified look. Using the least number of cuts possible in the stone makes the bathroom look less busy and allows for a more streamlined bathroom design.  

Organic Forms 

Choosing organic forms for the shapes of bathroom fixtures and stone cut-outs not only create a space saving solution but also offer a softer overall look for bathrooms. Curved forms also enhance ergonomics allowing us to manoeuvre the space more easily and efficiently. 

Lighting 

Many of our daily routines involve using the bathroom; therefore, good lighting is crucial in this space. The way in which lighting bounces off surfaces in a bathroom aid in making the space look bigger. However, most bathrooms have limited natural light so lighting fixtures can be installed in clever ways to create the same effect. These light installations can also double up as a standout feature for the bathroom. Pendant or wall lights on either side of the mirror above the vanity unit is the ideal spot for light fixtures. Backlit mirrors are a good alternative solution if the bathroom doesn’t have the space for lights on either side of the vanity unit. Be careful not to have too many lights in a bathroom (especially if there are numerous reflective surfaces) as they shouldn’t take away from creating a subtle ambience.  

Hidden Storage Solutions 

Storage is always required in bathrooms but is often overlooked during the initial design phase. This can then result in free standing storage solutions which begin to take up the square footage of a bathroom. An easy solution is to combine storage areas within bathroom fixtures such as building a vanity unit under basins or incorporating cabinets behind vanity mirrors. 

Wall hung and floating storage solutions are better options to make a bathroom look bigger as the more floor area you can see the larger a space looks.