3 Narrow New Bathrooms With Space-Saving Tricks
Remodeling pros share colors, materials and features that add style while visually expanding a tight space
A long and narrow bathroom is common in many homes. But having a bathroom with such proportions doesn’t mean you can’t get the look of an open space. Remodeling pros know a few tricks to visually expand a narrow layout. Here, pros share how playing with color, tile and other features can create a light and airy look in a relatively confined space.
2. Bright and Balanced
Designers: Sashya Thind (interior design) and Acorn Deck House (architecture)
Location: Stratford, Connecticut
Size: 54 square feet (5 square meters); 6 by 9 feet
Homeowners’ request. “This bathroom serves the children’s level of the home, and the homeowners needed to make the space inviting and functional,” designer Sashya Thind says. “This was part of a new-construction home, and we had the ability to integrate all the features we designed.”
Space-saving tricks. A skylight and large windows bring in light, which is enhanced by the white finishes, visually expanding the space. “Benjamin Moore’s White Dove is our go-to white paint that always works especially well in the New England light,” Thind says. “In small spaces, carrying materials through is crucial to elongate the eye and make it feel larger than it is. Here, the floor tile is seen again in the shower floor.”
Other special features. A white oak vanity adds warmth and balance. Terrazzo tile flooring creates visual texture.
Designer tip. “Decorative lighting can draw your eye,” Thind says. “In this case I curated a fixture that highlights the pitched ceiling.”
Shop from a curated collection of popular bathroom vanities
Designers: Sashya Thind (interior design) and Acorn Deck House (architecture)
Location: Stratford, Connecticut
Size: 54 square feet (5 square meters); 6 by 9 feet
Homeowners’ request. “This bathroom serves the children’s level of the home, and the homeowners needed to make the space inviting and functional,” designer Sashya Thind says. “This was part of a new-construction home, and we had the ability to integrate all the features we designed.”
Space-saving tricks. A skylight and large windows bring in light, which is enhanced by the white finishes, visually expanding the space. “Benjamin Moore’s White Dove is our go-to white paint that always works especially well in the New England light,” Thind says. “In small spaces, carrying materials through is crucial to elongate the eye and make it feel larger than it is. Here, the floor tile is seen again in the shower floor.”
Other special features. A white oak vanity adds warmth and balance. Terrazzo tile flooring creates visual texture.
Designer tip. “Decorative lighting can draw your eye,” Thind says. “In this case I curated a fixture that highlights the pitched ceiling.”
Shop from a curated collection of popular bathroom vanities
3. Heightened and Hip
Designer: Flex Architecture
General contractor: MMD Construction
Location: Encinitas, California
Size: 75 square feet (7 square meters); 6½ by 11½ feet
Homeowners’ request. Open up the space to create better flow and design a clean look with modern flair.
Space-saving tricks. Neutral tones for the walls and shower tile help make the room look more spacious. A frameless glass panel keeps sightlines open, allowing the eye to travel the length of the room uninterrupted. Skinny rectangular tile in a vertical stacked pattern adds height. Black hexagonal floor tile gives the room depth. An open vanity base keeps things light and airy.
Designer tip. A shower window brings in natural light and helps prevent humidity.
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Designer: Flex Architecture
General contractor: MMD Construction
Location: Encinitas, California
Size: 75 square feet (7 square meters); 6½ by 11½ feet
Homeowners’ request. Open up the space to create better flow and design a clean look with modern flair.
Space-saving tricks. Neutral tones for the walls and shower tile help make the room look more spacious. A frameless glass panel keeps sightlines open, allowing the eye to travel the length of the room uninterrupted. Skinny rectangular tile in a vertical stacked pattern adds height. Black hexagonal floor tile gives the room depth. An open vanity base keeps things light and airy.
Designer tip. A shower window brings in natural light and helps prevent humidity.
More on Houzz
Read more bathroom stories
Browse bathroom photos
Find a bathroom designer
Shop for your bathroom
Designer: Emily Moss Designs
Location: Holmes Beach, Florida
Size: 94½ square feet (8.8 square meters); 7 by 13½ feet
Homeowners’ request. “This bathroom was designed for our clients’ son’s bedroom,” designer Emily Moss says. “Our clients trusted our vision completely to create a boy’s bathroom that was a fusion of coastal, industrial, fun and playful but also mature enough for him to grow up in.”
Space-saving tricks. A curbless shower entry and outer floor color that continues into the shower are both great solutions for a narrow space since there’s no abrupt border where the shower begins, Moss says. “Another way to make the room seem larger is by utilizing a darker-color tile on one shower wall. Contrary to popular belief, utilizing darker colors does not always make rooms feel smaller but actually can have the opposite effect in making a room feel more spacious.”
Other special features. Deep blue vanity (Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore). Concrete sink. Marble-look quartz countertop (Brittanicca by Cambria). Soft gray walls (Ammonite by Farrow & Ball).
Designer tip. Carry the out-floor into the shower even if it means you have to use a different size tile. The continuous color on the floor tricks the eye into seeing a bigger, seamless space. Don’t be afraid to be bold with color. Also, an oversize mirror can help make a room feel larger.
“Uh-oh” moment. “The round window in the shower proposed a problem for the tile installer due to the unique shape, size and pattern of the tile. To combat this we decided to trim out the window using Azek composite trim.”
Shower tile: Boomerang in Charcoal, Voguebay; sink: Native Trails; sconce: Single Industrial Simple Sconce, Shades of Light; countertop: Brittanicca quartz by Cambria; project photos: NativeHouse Photography
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