Unless you live in a giant custom-built home with a bathroom the size of most people’s bedrooms, you have probably longed for a larger bathroom. While you can’t actually make your bathroom any bigger short of doing a full home remodel, there are a number of great ways to make even the smallest bathroom appear much larger than it is. The truth is, you may have more space than you think you do. You may just need to take better advantage of it. With the right layout, color and lighting you can transform your small bathroom into a luxurious, cozy retreat without adding any square footage. Here are 4 tips to help make your small bathroom look and feel much larger.

1. Declutter to Regain Space

Not only will a clean, neat bathroom appear larger, but taking everything out of it that isn’t absolutely essential will also literally create more space. While it is of course handy and convenient to hang used towels in the bathroom between baths or showers, if you have a large family and a small bathroom, you might consider getting over-the-door hooks for family members to take their towels into their rooms instead.

Laundry hampers, free-standing towel racks and extra storage shelves are also big space-takers that don’t actually need to be in the bathroom at all. If you have a linen closet or shelves already built into your bathroom, consider downsizing until everything fits in there. Otherwise, only keep in the bathroom what you genuinely need to use every day.

2. Use Light Colors

Dark colors will close a space in, but pale, softer colors will open a space up. If you love dark or bold colors, use a light color on the walls and decorate with bold, bright or dark accessories. Light flooring and tiling will also help open up your bathroom and make it appear larger than it is. If you really must have a bright splash of color in your bathroom, you can also paint a small portion of the wall in a bold or dark color and frame the rest of the bathroom in a brilliant white or light neutral color.

Wild patterns will also close the space in and make it seem more miniscule. Matching your flooring, tiles and paint colors as closely as possible with create less transition, which can also make your space appear much larger than it actually is.

3. Open Up The Space With Lighting

Good lighting is critical to make any space look larger and more open. If your bathroom has good natural light, you can use this to your advantage. If it doesn’t, it’s even more critical to create good light. In addition, you also want good light in the bath to assist in tasks like shaving, tweezing or applying makeup.

Installing overhead lighting as well as task lighting can help make your bathroom look more spacious. If you can’t add new electrical for lights, you can change out your plain ceiling light to one with multiple bulbs. By adjusting the angle of different bulbs, you can even create a dramatic effect in your bathroom. If you use multiple lights in a small bathroom, however, you want to be sure to put them on a dimmer so the light doesn’t actually overpower the space.

4. Use Mirrors to Reflect Light and Space

While it may seem like a small mirror would work best in a small space, in reality the opposite is true. Mirrors will actually help open up the space, so using a large mirror in a small space will help create the illusion of a larger space. Maximizing your space in a small bathroom is critical, so you want your mirror to go all the way to the ceiling. You can even have a mirror custom cut to fill the entire wall behind your sink. Another, more creative way to maximize your space, however, is to use several mirrors arranged artistically to fill the space without using one giant mirror.

Behind the sink is also not the only great place for mirrors. If you have a window, placing a mirror on the opposite wall can create the illusion of having two windows. In addition, the mirror will reflect the natural light coming from the window and magnify it. Floor to ceiling mirrors in a bathroom can also help create the illusion of a much larger space and even help you check your appearance from head-to-toe before leaving in the morning.

Final Word

While you may not be able to change the actual size of your bathroom, there are a number of things you can still do to make it appear much bigger than it actually is. Keeping it clean, neat, tidy and organized as well as taking full advantage of light will go a long way towards helping you forget just how small your bathroom really is.