Many homes in Denver have long narrow bathrooms with a single sink, toilet, and shower tub combination. Homeowners in Colorado may believe that these common long, narrow baths have limited ability to shine and become the pride and joy not only of their homes but also the entire neighborhood. Nothing could be further from the truth. Because we have designed hundreds of baths, we know how to make smaller spaces appear larger and also more functional and beautiful.
Optical Illusions
A key to making a small bath appear larger is to create focal points that attract the eye to highlight the length of the room instead of its narrow width. Focal points can be created using a bright patterned tile on the floor and or tub/shower wall, use of cool, light bright colors, think of beiges, creams, peach, eggshell, etc. or at the opposite end of the spectrum dark-colored high gloss paints that serve to bounce light off the walls and focus the eye on the faucet, light fixtures, mirrors or even shelving.
Another technique to make smaller spaces appear larger is to mirror a wall, backlight a wall mirror or use multiple mirrors in the space. Another design technique to open a narrow space is to specify wall mounted vanities and toilets and use light colors with lots of textural elements.
New technology advancements enable homeowners (in name of service territory) to eliminate the need for a shower enclosure. Using linear drains that are sloped in one direction not only eliminates the need for an enclosure, you can also part ways with the shower door and shower curtain to create an open floor plan bath similar in benefits to an open floor plan kitchen.
Tile can be a small bathroom’s best friend. In smaller baths, we recommend using smaller tiles on bathroom walls and floors and often specify using the same tile for walls and floors to open up the space. Additional opportunities to make smaller baths appear larger include:
- Adding niches in the shower/tub area.
- Specifying corner sinks
- Includes storage solutions in the vanity
- Add shelves
- Wall mount the faucet
- Add windows or a skylight
- Use the area underneath a wall mounted sink for storage
Need additional ideas on how you can convert a long narrow bath into the favorite room in your home? Give us a call (303) 300-4400 in Denver or (303) 688-8279 in Castle Rock Colorado or click here to schedule a consultation.
