9 Tips for Making a Small Bathroom Feel Larger During a Remodel
Home & Garden Insider
9 Tips for Making a Small Bathroom Feel Larger During a Remodel
Transforming a cramped bathroom into a spacious oasis is an art backed by expert knowledge. This article unveils proven strategies from industry professionals to visually expand your small bathroom during a remodel. From clever lighting techniques to smart material choices, these tips will help you create the illusion of a larger, more inviting space.
- Enhance Space with Layered Lighting
- Install Floating Vanity with Underlighting
- Add Strategically Placed Mirrors
- Use Continuous Flooring for Visual Expansion
- Maximize Reflection with Oversized Mirrors
- Install Large Tiles Diagonally
- Choose High LRV Colors
- Scale Down Furniture for Spaciousness
- Opt for Large Format Tiles
Enhance Space with Layered Lighting
Lighting, lighting, lighting! It is the most effective tool to make a small bathroom feel larger. Proper lighting eliminates harsh shadows and brightens corners, instantly making the space feel more open and inviting. I always recommend layered lighting—ambient, task, and accent—to add depth, warmth, and dimension. This is something that has to be carefully thought of during the remodeling phase. Do you want to add sconces on each side of the mirror or above, or add an unexpected pendant? In small spaces, every lighting choice matters. It's one of the simplest, yet most transformative, ways to visually expand a small bathroom.
Install Floating Vanity with Underlighting
As a luxury home remodeler and builder, I've transformed countless smaller bathrooms into spaces that feel surprisingly spacious. One of my most effective strategies is using a floating vanity with strategic lighting.
A wall-mounted vanity with 6-8 inches of visible floor space underneath creates the illusion of a larger floor area. When paired with LED underlighting, it adds both functionality and depth. The visual trick works because your eye registers the entire floor footprint, rather than stopping at a cabinet base. This tactic is great because it can feel and be luxurious as well. In the age of smart technology, it is possible to add basic underlighting or opt for something a bit more advanced, like underlighting that has a motion sensor.
In a recent project, we installed a sleek floating vanity with warm underlighting in a smaller bathroom. The client was amazed at how much larger the room felt, despite not changing the square footage. The underlighting served triple duty: creating visual interest, providing gentle nighttime illumination, and making the floor space appear to extend further.
This approach works especially well when combined with large-format floor tiles (try 12x24 or larger) with minimal grout lines and a curb-free shower with a clear glass enclosure. These elements create an uninterrupted visual flow that dramatically enhances the sense of space.
Add Strategically Placed Mirrors
If your bathroom is feeling cramped, the best thing to do is to add a mirror. You might be able to add a larger one above the vanity, perhaps filling the entire width and height. If you feel this might make the room look dated, you can add a simple picture frame around it, which I've done for many clients and they love it. And if you have room, you can add a full-length mirror on another wall.
Another thing you can do, though it costs considerably more, is to replace a shower curtain with clear glass doors. Even frosted glass should be replaced with clear glass to make the room feel larger. Curtains are the same as a solid barrier, so clear glass will expand the shower space into the room.
Use Continuous Flooring for Visual Expansion
Use the same flooring throughout the entire space. When you run a single flooring type from wall to wall--without transitions--you erase visual breaks that shrink a room. In small bathrooms, this strategy works better than most design choices. It gives the illusion of a continuous surface and draws the eye across the full area without interruption. Wider planks and lighter colors amplify this effect.
I've seen homeowners try bold tile patterns or heavy grout lines to "add personality," but those choices fragment the space. Instead, match the flooring tone with the wall paint or paneling. Light oak, soft gray, or whitewashed finishes reflect more light and keep the room open. You don't need to go full white, but you do need to stay consistent. If you're adding a shower, extend the flooring visually into that space--even if you're using tile there. Pick a look that complements the main floor and continues the same direction.
Keep fixtures and vanities off the floor when possible. Wall-mounted vanities open up floor visibility and expose more of that continuous run, which makes the entire room feel bigger. Pair this with simple trim work and low-profile baseboards. Avoid heavy visual borders. Every square inch matters in a small bathroom. Make your flooring do double duty by being both functional and expansive. When the room feels connected from the ground up, the whole space works harder for you.
Maximize Reflection with Oversized Mirrors
Use larger mirrors to make small bathrooms feel bigger. Mirrors instantly create the illusion of more space by reflecting light, color, and movement throughout the room. In a compact bathroom, adding a full-length mirror or an oversized wall mirror can make the ceilings feel taller and the walls seem wider—without changing the actual footprint.
We use this exact strategy in our home remodeling projects for clients, and it always makes a noticeable difference. What once felt cramped becomes open and inviting—all from one simple design move.
If you're remodeling a small bathroom, a larger mirror can completely transform how the space feels without major construction.
Install Large Tiles Diagonally
When renovating small bathrooms, we always recommend using large-format tiles or luxury vinyl planks installed diagonally to create visual expansion. I recently worked with a client in Sunnyvale who was amazed at how their tiny 5'x7' bathroom appeared significantly larger after we installed 12"x24" porcelain tiles in a diagonal pattern with minimal grout lines. The continuous visual flow without interruption tricks the eye into perceiving more space. For maximum effect, carry the same flooring from the bathroom floor into the shower area with proper waterproofing—this removes visual barriers and creates a seamless, spacious appearance that transforms even the smallest bathrooms.
Choose High LRV Colors
When remodeling a small bathroom, paint color selection is one of the most powerful ways to make the space feel larger. Focus on choosing high LRV (Light Reflectance Value) colors. LRV measures how much light a color reflects versus absorbs on a scale from 0 to 100—the higher the number, the more light it bounces back into the room. Light colors like soft whites, pale grays, and muted beiges typically have a high LRV, helping to visually open up tight spaces. In a small bathroom, maximizing reflected light makes the walls feel farther apart and the ceiling feel taller, all without moving a single wall. It's one of the simplest and most effective visual tricks you can use during a remodel.
Scale Down Furniture for Spaciousness
I would advise ensuring that you don't use furniture that is too large in scale for your space. This is a common mistake many people make; they use the biggest models, which crowds the space and suffocates it. Choose your furniture to scale, which means smaller, slimmer, and shorter pieces for a smaller space.
If necessary, make concessions - if you don't absolutely need a bathtub, opt for just a shower. This frees up floor space and makes use of vertical space, which can make your bathroom look taller. Of course, white paint and a large mirror are also fail-safe options when it comes to making a space seem roomier with minimal effort and expense.
Opt for Large Format Tiles
One of the best tips for making a small bathroom feel larger during a remodel is to use large-format tiles on the walls and floor. Visually, large tiles eliminate clutter for the eye by reducing contrasting grout lines.
This makes the space feel less busy and more open. As an added bonus, vertical layouts can create the illusion of height in dated or cramped spaces. This trick can be further enhanced through the use of a floating vanity to achieve visual continuity under the cabinet, by opting for a frameless glass shower enclosure to reduce the use of hardware, and through a well-placed mirror.
