While it would be nice to have a large, spacious bathroom, in some circumstances you just have to work with the space you have available. Decorating and designing around a small bathroom space can be difficult, however there are a few tried and true methods that you can employ to make your small bathroom look and feel larger.

Light Colors Make a Bathroom Feel Spacious

Chances are, you already know of this design rule: Painting a room with light colors can make a room look larger than it really is by reflecting more natural and artificial light. Light colors also have an additional benefit in that they will make your bathroom look cleaner. Light blues and whites are an extremely popular combination for use in a bathroom, but you could also branch out and use greys, greens, creams, or any other light color.

Minimize Contrast

Tying in with the rule of thumb for using lighter colors, you can also make a bathroom appear larger by keeping everything within a similar range of hue and value. For example, don’t have a light colored ceiling and dark colored walls, or vice versa. The same applies for any surface in your bathroom- walls, ceiling, trim, tile, counter, etc. There are a few exceptions to this rule, however, if you do want some contrast: limit any dark colors to a feature that stands out from the wall, such as a light fixture, open shelves, or a low cabinet. This will provide you with a nice pop of contrast, while visually giving the illusion that those objects are receding back into the wall.

Blend Bathroom Tile Color and Wall Color

In bathrooms that feature tile in the shower or bathtub area, many people make the mistake of using tile colors that are radically different from the rest of the walls in the bathroom. Making this mistake visually divides up the room, and can make it feel drastically smaller. Create flow and unify your space by matching your tile color and wall color.