How to Save Space in Your Small Bathroom

It's not impossible to design a small bathroom, but it is a unique challenge. You can turn a small, messy room into a useful, open, and even luxurious retreat with some smart planning and product choices. The best way to make the most of your space is to use a "less is more" approach and use visual tricks and vertical storage in smart ways.

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Trick for Making the Room Look Bigger

Making things look bigger is the first step in saving space. This means making the room seem bigger than it really is.

Mirror Magic: Put up the biggest mirror you can find. An old but still useful trick is to put a big, unframed mirror across the whole width of the vanity wall. It reflects light and the wall across from it, which makes the room look twice as deep right away. A mirrored medicine cabinet can give you both storage and a place to see yourself.

Light and Bright: Use light colors on the walls, floor, and shower area. Whites, light grays, and soft pastels reflect light and make shadows less noticeable, which makes the walls look bigger. Use bright colors only as accents in towels or art.

Choose a curbless or walk-in shower with a clear glass enclosure instead of a heavy curtain or framed door. The clear glass lets light flow freely, and the flooring that goes from the main bathroom to the shower space without any breaks makes the room look bigger.

Choosing the Right Fixtures

To make the most of your floor space, it's important to pick the right size and type of fixtures. In a small bathroom, every inch counts.

Floating Fixtures: When you can, pick toilets and vanities that are mounted on the wall (floating). You can make the room look bigger by raising these fixtures off the floor. This makes more floor space visible. This also makes it much easier to clean the floor.

For compact sinks, choose a vanity that isn't very deep. A standard vanity can be 21 inches deep, but you should look for models that are 18 inches deep or less. A pedestal sink or a corner sink might be the best choice for really small spaces, even if it means giving up storage space under the sink.

Sliding Doors: If you have the room, replace your bathroom door with a pocket door or a sliding barn door. A standard hinged door needs about nine square feet of space to swing open. This space is completely wasted but necessary for everyday use. Without the swing, this space can be used for shelves or a hamper.

Minimalist, sleek tapware

Choosing the right tapware can help make a small space feel sleek and uncluttered. A small vanity can be too much for big or fancy taps.

This is where simple design features really shine. Look for brands like Nero Tapware that focus on clean lines and modern finishes. A wall-mounted basin mixer is a great way to save space. Because the tap is attached to the wall, you get valuable counter space on the vanity top that would have been taken up by a deck-mounted tap. The simple look of slimline tapware, especially in a stylish finish like brushed nickel or chrome, keeps the area from feeling heavy or cluttered. You can keep the look of your bathroom unified and open by choosing a set of minimalist taps for both the basin and the shower.

Vertical and Hidden Ways to Store Things

You have to build up when there isn't much floor space.

Storage Over the Toilet: Put up thin shelves or a special cabinet above the toilet. People don't use this space very often, but it's a great place to keep extra towels or decorative items.

Recessed Niches: When you do a small remodel, make recessed storage niches in the space between the studs in the wall. A deep hole in the shower wall can hold bottles without sticking out, and a shallow niche above the vanity is a nice place for small decorative items.

Open shelving: Instead of a closed cabinet, use a few floating shelves. They don't have as much "hidden" storage, but they look lighter and make the room feel less boxy. Put things in pretty containers or baskets to keep them neat on the shelves.

You can make a small bathroom that feels big, organized, and truly relaxing by using visual expansion techniques, choosing space-saving fixtures, using sleek Nero Tapware to keep the counter space clear, and taking advantage of vertical storage.