Ditch These 5 Things to Make Your Bathroom Feel Bigger
We’ve plundered Houzz pro designs to bring you the most common things experts do away with for a spacious bathroom
In our vast catalogue of House and Room Tours, we’ve covered a lot of beautiful, and very different, bathrooms. But what do even the small ones all have (or rather not have) that helps to make them to look roomy, airy and clean?
Read on to see if these strategic omissions – from floor-standing furniture to deck-mounted taps – could transform your bathroom plans.
Also in this series: Ditch These 7 Things to Make Your Living Room Feel Bigger
Read on to see if these strategic omissions – from floor-standing furniture to deck-mounted taps – could transform your bathroom plans.
Also in this series: Ditch These 7 Things to Make Your Living Room Feel Bigger
2. The vanity unit
It can almost be a reflex to include a vanity unit in a bathroom – think of the storage! – but first consider: do you really need one?
Going vanity-free could significantly boost the sense of space in your washroom, because it will allow you to see more of the wall and floor, rather than effectively boxing off a chunk of the room.
While vanity units can make for a lovely storage feature, if your bathroom is feeling cramped, it’s worth looking at other options. Could you fit in a cupboard up high, or is there an alcove above a back-to-wall loo that you could shelve and cover with doors? Even a cupboard on the landing outside for things you don’t need every day might be worth exploring.
In this compact bathroom by York House Designs, storage has been recessed into the wall opposite, behind a mirrored cabinet. Go bespoke and you can get something large created that won’t impinge on the space.
Tour the whole of this small bathroom.
It can almost be a reflex to include a vanity unit in a bathroom – think of the storage! – but first consider: do you really need one?
Going vanity-free could significantly boost the sense of space in your washroom, because it will allow you to see more of the wall and floor, rather than effectively boxing off a chunk of the room.
While vanity units can make for a lovely storage feature, if your bathroom is feeling cramped, it’s worth looking at other options. Could you fit in a cupboard up high, or is there an alcove above a back-to-wall loo that you could shelve and cover with doors? Even a cupboard on the landing outside for things you don’t need every day might be worth exploring.
In this compact bathroom by York House Designs, storage has been recessed into the wall opposite, behind a mirrored cabinet. Go bespoke and you can get something large created that won’t impinge on the space.
Tour the whole of this small bathroom.
3. Floor-standing furniture
Designer Julian Driussi at Northern Rivers Bathroom Renovations was briefed to update this bathroom without changing its layout. Originally, there was a big, blocky vanity unit filling the whole length of this space. By shrinking and raising the unit, he’s transformed this part of the room.
Not only can you now see the floor beneath it (which tricks the eye into seeing a larger room), there’s also a gap between the bath and the unit. Both moves give the different elements in the room space to breathe – and make it easier to clean the room.
Wall-hung loos are also worth considering to this end.
Learn more about this budget makeover.
Ready to renovate? Find reviewed bathroom designers in your area on Houzz.
Designer Julian Driussi at Northern Rivers Bathroom Renovations was briefed to update this bathroom without changing its layout. Originally, there was a big, blocky vanity unit filling the whole length of this space. By shrinking and raising the unit, he’s transformed this part of the room.
Not only can you now see the floor beneath it (which tricks the eye into seeing a larger room), there’s also a gap between the bath and the unit. Both moves give the different elements in the room space to breathe – and make it easier to clean the room.
Wall-hung loos are also worth considering to this end.
Learn more about this budget makeover.
Ready to renovate? Find reviewed bathroom designers in your area on Houzz.
4. Full-height dividing walls
Quite a few of the bathroom projects on Houzz feature this clever idea – a dividing wall that’s half solid and half glass, which boosts space and light yet allows division where needed.
In our tours, designers often say they don’t like a direct view of the loo from the door. In some cases, you might be able to tuck it behind the door, but often an existing layout won’t allow for that. So this is a great way to hide your toilet without breaking up the room.
In this scheme, designer Natalia Avalos replaced the top half of an existing partition wall with toughened glass. Now, as you enter the room, you get all the light from the window at the far end and a sightline all the way to the back wall, which visually enlarges the space.
Take a look around the whole of this dated bathroom.
Quite a few of the bathroom projects on Houzz feature this clever idea – a dividing wall that’s half solid and half glass, which boosts space and light yet allows division where needed.
In our tours, designers often say they don’t like a direct view of the loo from the door. In some cases, you might be able to tuck it behind the door, but often an existing layout won’t allow for that. So this is a great way to hide your toilet without breaking up the room.
In this scheme, designer Natalia Avalos replaced the top half of an existing partition wall with toughened glass. Now, as you enter the room, you get all the light from the window at the far end and a sightline all the way to the back wall, which visually enlarges the space.
Take a look around the whole of this dated bathroom.
5. Flush walls
There’s almost always scope to carve out a shallow shelf in at least one bathroom wall, creating an extra surface without encroaching on the space. The result? A room that doesn’t feel cluttered and seems larger as a result.
Just like wall-mounting something to free up floor space, a niche can keep both practical and decorative items off more accessible or in-use surfaces – and take away the need for a caddy that’s constantly falling off its suckers or cluttering up your shower controls.
Niches are great in showers and above baths for stashing shampoo and frequently used bottles. In this example by Heiser Designs, the niche has been backed with contrasting tiles to create a feature.
Explore the rest of this renovation.
Tell us…
What would you edit out to achieve a more spacious-feeling bathroom? Share your favourite ideas.
There’s almost always scope to carve out a shallow shelf in at least one bathroom wall, creating an extra surface without encroaching on the space. The result? A room that doesn’t feel cluttered and seems larger as a result.
Just like wall-mounting something to free up floor space, a niche can keep both practical and decorative items off more accessible or in-use surfaces – and take away the need for a caddy that’s constantly falling off its suckers or cluttering up your shower controls.
Niches are great in showers and above baths for stashing shampoo and frequently used bottles. In this example by Heiser Designs, the niche has been backed with contrasting tiles to create a feature.
Explore the rest of this renovation.
Tell us…
What would you edit out to achieve a more spacious-feeling bathroom? Share your favourite ideas.
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A deck-mounted tap is one that’s fitted onto a horizontal surface – in this context, a basin. They can also be fitted to baths or kitchen sinks.
Deck-mounted taps can look lovely, particularly on vintage-style basins, or may work well for a particular kind of tap or in larger rooms, but many Houzz designers, such as HTG Designs with this project, opt to wall-mount taps.
Why? It keeps things neat and gives the basin more space to breathe, which can make the whole room feel calmer and clearer, as basins tend to be focal points.
You’ll also have the option to use the space for a nice soap dish or dispenser or a small spray of flowers or foliage without things feeling cramped or cluttered.
See more of this bathroom.