The key to designing a small bathroom is to make it appear bigger and maximize available space. It may seem tricky at first, but you may be surprised at what you can do with a well-placed light, a cleverly designed wall, or a well-chosen color theme. Read on to find out how to make a small bathroom space work for you.

Lead the eye upwards

Draw attention away from a narrow floor by leading the eye on a vertical path. A simple way to do this is by using a theme of vertical lines - striped wallpaper or a single vertical stripe on the wall should do it. You can also use tall, slim cabinets and mirrors. Extend tiling up to the ceiling instead of cutting them off at eye or shoulder level.  Another good idea is to accent your ceiling, perhaps with a cornice or painting along the edges, while keeping the floor edges bare.

Trick the eye with lights and mirrors

Brighter rooms appear bigger because they blur the perimeter lines that define the room's limits. Use natural light to your advantage – choose windows that let sunlight stream in and spread around the room. If the bathroom is secluded, a skylight should solve the problem. Cabinets and shower screens create visual barriers, so choose a clear, frameless shower screen to create a more seamless look. Mirrors are the oldest trick in the book – place a mirror at one end of a room and it will appear twice as big. They also reflect light and add to the brightness.

Use simple, solid colors

Light colors work best for brightening up a room and creating an illusion of size. Avoid loud or dark colors – stick to whites, neutral colors, or pastels. Keep your walls plain, or if you want something more interesting, a simple stripe or pattern will do. Intricate wallpaper designs seem to draw the walls in and make the room appear cluttered.

Show more floor

Grout lines define a floor's perimeter and highlight the size of the room, so use large tiles or rectified porcelain tiles to minimize grout lines and make them less visible. Also, keep the floor's edges as bare as possible to create an illusion of space. Replace floor cabinets and sinks with wall-mounted or pedestal ones, and hinged doors with sliding ones that create a more seamless look. Avoid fixtures that take up a lot of floor space, such as counters, wide tubs, and vanity tables.

Maximize wall space and storage

Allow enough room to store all your bottles and small items. Put everything in floating or recessed cabinets, preferably with clear fronts to help you find things faster. Move your windows up to free up wall space for storage. You can also use the wall above the toilet for a small exposed shelf.

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