How To Boujee Up Your Small Bathroom

Fitting out a small bathroom ... how difficult can it be?... is the usual comment. A small space like that won’t take much effort. But a word of caution – maximising minimal square meterage and fitting in all the things you need takes some planning, and a practiced eye. Big thinking, in other words.

Let’s start with Rule 1. Don’t think of your small bathroom as merely a scaled down version of the great spa-like sanctuary ‘cathedrals’ we all dream of. We need to apply some tried and tested design tricks to allow your small bathroom to take on a more spacious feel.

Big Idea #1 Declutter And Simplify.

Nothing creates chaos and clutter quite like a barrage of bottles, tubs and ornaments. Streamline down to the necessities (After all, do you really need both a liquid soap dispenser and a luxury soap in a dish?) If you absolutely, positively have to cling to the clutter, then keep it behind closed doors with smart storage. Then, keep one or two pieces out as design accents ... a small plant, a room diffuser ... displayed on window ledges or floating shelves.

Which brings us to Rule 2.  When floorspace is at a minimum, use the walls.

Floating shelves and Jeeves Heated Towel Rails spring to mind. These sleek, deluxe, functional rails are designed to keep towels toasty and dry, with minimal power usage, and depending upon the model you choose, can also provide hanging storage for several towels. The Jeeves Classic D Polished Stainless Steel Curved Heated Rail, The Jeeves Sorrento, or the Jeeves Torcello, with 15 bars, offers ample towel space, are beautiful storage solutions.

Big Idea #2 Smart Vanities.

These are big players in the space game. Modern designs are compact and create the most of floor space. Wall-hung vanities with basins are your best friends here, so let’s draw your attention to our latest ingenious Spanish vanity – the ultra-stylish Oswaldo Black Wall-Hung Vanity. Deep drawers will hold a multitude of your cosmetics, cleaning products, towels and spare loo rolls.

Big Idea #3 Keep It Fluid. Go With The Flow.

This is one space that won’t give of its best if you select small tiles. Seems counter intuitive, but here’s the reason why. Small tiles mean more grout lines, which break up a space. Larger tiles mean fewer grout lines and give a more seamless effect to open up the room. Rule 3 applies – keep patterns to a minimum and embrace simple, clean lines. If you can’t live without pattern, pick a focal wall to feature a little Patchwork or KitKat... or botanical wallpaper. (The focal wall is the one your eyes see first as you walk in.) Save your pattern stories for a bigger living room.

Big Idea #4 Let There Be Light.

No surprises here. Light opens up the room. Natural light reflects off surfaces, so use it to its best advantage. Windows. Skylights.

And light’s eternal beloved, The Ultimate Reflective Surface, aka The Mirror. Italtile’s carefully curated collection of luxury Affirmations mirrors will all bring luminosity to your small bathroom, but we love the circular Affirmations Oblivion with its LED glow and crystal-clear Pilkington OptiMirror^TM clarity. (Also a perfectly practical solution for a bathroom with no window.) On the topic of glass, remember to use a frameless, clear glass enclosure for your small bathroom shower. Multiple light sources are a hit, too. As are taps, that also do their little bit to reflect the light. Shop our shimmering Tivoli collections. 

Big Idea #5 Favour a Neutral Palette.

Too much colour, contrast, texture and pattern in a small space can cause a sense of claustrophobia and ‘noise’ in what should be a calm and quiet sanctuary. Choose a warm or cool neutral moodboard. Lighter shades – soft taupes, greys, winter whites, teracottas and creams are your allies here. Classic Cararra-style marble looks really work, like our Marvel Calacatta slabs, for floors and walls.

Big Idea #6 Create a Focal Point.

We spoke earlier about one bolder feature/focus wall and, if this is an exciting prospect to you, and you are partial to a little bit of drama, we encourage you to create big magic on a small wall with our Lemooriano Steel Polished Glazed Porcelain Tiles.

Big Idea #7 Take The Corners.

When planning your layout, always let your corners sing if your small bathroom is particularly snug. There are some ingenious designs out there. Corner furniture, corner baths, corner showers and corner storage units are all space savvy.

Big Idea #8 Compact Sanware. Slim silhouettes are the way to go. Full stop. Save on space, not on style, with our exclusive Laufen ranges, all of which are created in collaboration with award-winning international designers. The Laufen Pro S range, for example, bears the design stamp of Peter Wirz and redefines compact European living. Slimmer, ergonomic and refined. We’d also like to point you in the direction of our value-for-money, sustainable Cotto ranges, designed in Thailand ... in particular, the Simply Modish Close Couple WC with Soft-Close Seat. A neatly abbreviated, curved cube that fits snugly into a small space.

In conclusion: Of course, there are plenty of other multi-functional space-savers, like the shower-over-the-bath concept, but our best advice is: if we were you, we’d #justask us. Bring us your dimensions and pics of your space from every angle. Our design-certified sales consultants are there to help you make your small bathroom work in deluxe yet practical ways. All our solutions are sustainable – what we call LiveGreen – so when you design your reno with Italtile, it’ll always be an eco-chic reno. If we need a second opinion, we always speak to interior design maven Melanie Ewing, the CEO of Chapters Interiors.

Let’s collaborate! We’ll show you #howtostyle the most Pinterest-worthy looks and live beautifully in your smaller bathroom.

Ciao!