Small bathrooms made bigger

Does your bathroom feel small and cramped? Here are 10 tips to help you make the most of your small space, without breaking any walls.

1. Go white - colored sinks, tubs and toilets can have a dramatic affect in a bathroom, but they also make the area feel smaller. When your bathroom fittings are white you create a uniform and spacious feel. Doses of color can be used in rugs, towels and lighting.
2. The door war - When possible trade out your standard door for a sliding door or panel. It's a great way to save interior space in your bathroom.
3. Light it up - Lighting is an important factor in any sized bathroom, but when the space is small it becomes a necessity not only for practical reasons but also because it helps make the space seem larger. Consider having both a ceiling light and wall mounted lighting.
4. Class with glass - You can visually enlarge your bathroom by replacing wood shelves with glass ones. You can take this a step further and remove a wall hanging cupboard and replace it with shelves.
   
5. Love your curves - Square sink units take up space and create sharp angles. Curved sinks and furniture take up less physical area and are safer to get around.
6. Up on a pedestal - Pedestal sinks can be a great replacement for a vanity. However, you will loose precious storage space, so consider shelves or stacking boxes to hold your essentials.
7. Be like Switzerland - Neutral colors (pastels, soft beiges and whites) reflect light and can make a room feel larger. Painting walls, doors and trim the same color will keep visual consistency so they all flow into one another.
   
8. Up we go - Create a visual illusion of a higher ceiling by using a vertical stripe, a wallpaper boarder at ceiling height or installing a molding 15 cm down from the ceiling.
9. Mirror, Mirror - Mirrors visually double the space in a room. Traditionally they hang above the sink, but why not consider extending that mirror to cover the whole wall or a floor to ceiling mirror adjacent. Another way to create space using a reflective surface is to replace your shower curtain with a glass panel.
10. Clutter be-gone - In a small bathroom, clutter is your enemy. Keep counter tops cleared off and store only what you use on a regular basis in your bathroom. If you don't have built in storage, avoid having several different boxes and baskets to hold your necessities or try hiding your storage behind a curtain or screen.

I hope these tips offer you fresh ideas for a room that is oftentimes overlooked.