Applying small bathroom design ideas and clever home staging to a tiny bath can make it appear bigger and more appealing to home buyers. Just because your bathroom is small doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice on storage and style!
Most home buyers consider a fully functioning bathroom at the top of their list of needs when looking for a house.
Bathroom renovations are second to kitchen remodels as the most expensive room to renovate, and the fact is, most buyers would rather buy a move-in ready home.
A small powder room is acceptable, but what if that's your only bathroom? This puts you at a disadvantage when competing in the real estate market.
Small bathrooms feel cramped, cluttered, and are often dysfunctional which may cause many buyers to walk away no matter how great the rest of the house may be. See small bathroom storage solutions.
Interior designers say that the eye travels more quickly through a small space. Eliminating objects that stop the flow of the eye; clutter, sharp contrasts in color, dark heavy draperies, bulky furniture, and so on, can seem to visually expand the size of a small room.
Color is one of the keys to successful decorating— it helps to visually raise and lower ceilings, stretch or shrink space, and can even make unsightly objects, like a jutting radiator, look less visible.
Color also has the ability to effect our moods, which is something to consider when your have a house for sale. The great thing about making color changes is that paint is so affordable!-- a few cans of the perfect paint color can quickly and drastically improve your home decor.
Most people respond positively to light, neutral colors. When you have a house for sale, your goal is to make small spaces appear more spacious. A few basic color rules:
Yes, I realize that it's popular to paint small powder rooms in dark colors. The purpose is to make the room feel cozy. But this won't do if it's your only bathroom.
The monochromatic, or low-contrast color scheme is the most successful color palette for small rooms, because it visually expands the size of any room. This is the one of the best small bathroom design ideas that you can apply!
A monochromatic color scheme creates harmony, visual cohesion, sophistication, and a sense of relaxation in any room.
This design style mixes light to dark color variations of one hue in different shades, tints, tones and textures, and is typically accented with white, in window trim, molding and the ceiling.
Any color can be used in monochromatic room design, but for home staging purposes, stick to using varying shades of white, beige, or grey.
Jazz up a monochromatic look by incorporating variations in tones and textures. Accessorize with glass, objects from nature, like wood, metal, and greenery.
One of the best small bathroom design ideas is to paint everything in one color!
If walls are broken up with doorways, poorly placed windows, nooks, or a slanted ceiling, make them less conspicuous by painting them the same color as the walls.
Electrical outlets and switch plates are also a distraction to the eye if they contrast too much with the wall color. Make an ugly radiator blend into the background by painting it the same color as the walls. This will allow them to blend in by not interrupting the flow of the eye.
A wide vertical pattern or stripes on a wall can visually "raise" a low ceiling. Don't do on every wall, though, as the combined effect can "shrink" the room.
A dark wall against a white ceiling can make a small room feel enclosed.
When walls and ceilings are the same light color, it's harder for your eye to tell where they meet, so the room feels larger. Continue light tones on the floor as well for a more expansive feel.
Low ceilings feel higher when painted a cool light color, like white or a pale blue.
A high ceiling can be visually lowered by painting it darker than the walls.
For low ceilings, hang window curtains higher than the top of the window. This gives the illusion of a higher ceiling.
The more flooring you can see, the bigger a space will seem, as sight lines are extended. For home viewings, remove the garbage can, laundry hamper and anything else taking up precious floor space.
Light colored flooring will make a small bath seem more open.
Continue light colored bath/shower wall tiling onto the floor to prevent a visual interruption.
A floor with wide stripes can visually elongate a small room. Or a long rug striped rug will accomplish the same effect.
Too many small rugs in a small bathroom will look cluttered.
TASTE SPECIFIC: Your specific taste may not appeal to very many people. When selling your home, your goal is to target as many buyers as possible. For instance, because neutral colors appeal to most people, it's a good plan to use them.
Although solid bathroom cabinets provide more storage, they can visually take up space. See small bathroom storage solutions. Revealing more floor space will make a small space appear larger.
Swap out traditional bathroom cabinets with a console, or open-leg furniture-style. They still offer storage, yet allow you to see deeper into the room. Use pretty baskets to store towels, cosmetics and toiletries. (Note: changing out solid bathroom cabinets for an open style may require some flooring work.)
Use fewer pieces of furniture instead of a lot of small pieces that crowd the room.
One of the best small bathroom design ideas is to use furniture with glass or lucite tops and open legs to extend sight lines.
Replace cabinet door fronts with CLEAR glass. Your eye will be pulled into the cabinets to the back, making the room feel deeper. This staging trick only works if you keep the insides neat.
If storage isn’t an issue, swap out bathroom cabinets with a pedestal or wall mounted sink. Both styles can be squeezed into a smaller space, like a corner, freeing up more floor space. You must weigh the risk of sacrificing storage against esthetics, though.
More good small bathroom design ideas to open up floor space are to install a wall-hung vanity and toilet.
Another option is an open-leg style sink with built-in towel bars, using no precious wall space.
Under mount sink basins take up less space on a countertop then top-mounted bowl style basins. Oval-shaped basins take up less room than square ones. If you install a bowl style basin, opt for a see-through version to extend sight lines.
A corner sink, with or without a vanity will make the most of limited space.
Mirrors are one of a home stager’s favorite interior decorating objects, because they can visually enlarge a room by adding depth and light.
Mirrors give the impression of extending space by duplicating it.
Hang a mirror opposite a window or lighting fixture to scatter and bounce light around the room.
Or position two mirrors opposite each other— this will make it look like another room exists in the small space.
If you are selling your home, don't hang a collage of small mirrors because it can look cluttered.
Big NoNo! Don't glue a huge floor to ceiling mirror on the wall! While this is an effective way to make a room look larger, most home buyers don’t like them and will only be thinking of all the work it will take to remove it.
Other small bathroom design ideas include using reflective surfaces; like glass tile, sleek cabinets, surfaces that will illuminate your bathroom by amplifying the natural and artificial light.
Select shiny bathroom fixtures for their reflective qualities. Make sure they all match—stick to one type of metal finish in a small bathroom.
Fixtures should be kept simple and compact in a tiny bathroom.
Store necessities in glass or reflective containers—they will look light and airy.
No matter their size or style, windows enlarge the feel of a room if natural light is allowed to flow in. If privacy is not an issue, simply leave windows bare.
Keep window treatments the same color as the walls to avoid contrast to the space.
Avoid complicated, fussy details such as ruffles, lace, and bows. Stay away from wild multi-colored curtains, as well.
Use a valance, window blinds or shades—aim for a clean contemporary look.
One of the best small bathroom design ideas for low ceilings is to install curtain rods higher than the window frame, even up to the ceiling.
Create the illusion of wider windows by extending the curtain rods well beyond the width of the window, wide enough so that curtain panels don't block any light when fully open.
If you don't do anything else, do this!
A clean, tidy bathroom always looks larger and more spacious than a cluttered, dirty one.
Home buyers don’t want to see other people’s personal things; drippy wet towels, soggy soap, toothbrushes, and so on.
Real Estate surveys have shown that personal items are a huge buyer turnoff. Plus, it makes it hard for them to visualize themselves in your home.
Hide all daily essentials by stashing them inside a linen closet, bathroom cabinets, inside pretty boxes and baskets displayed on open shelving, or my favorite trick, plastic boxes that slide under a bed.
Return from small bathroom design ideas to home page