Small bathroom design. What color tiles to choose to maximize the space. How to expand the space of a small bathroom How to expand a bathroom with tiles
Maria Soboleva
5 secrets to visually increase the space in the bathroom
Is your bathroom with its very modest footage a source of constant discontent and bad mood? Are you sure there's nothing you can do about it? Nothing like this! Properly selected design of a small bathroom, if desired, will help to visually expand the space, if you apply your creativity and imagination. Try transforming a tiny room commonly referred to as "amenities" into a truly comfortable space. And to help you in this exciting but difficult business, we will share 5 secrets of success.
The role of the color scheme in the design of a small bathroom
Even non-designers know that color plays an important role in the visual perception of a room. It depends on whether your room will look small or spacious. Do you have a task to visually expand the bathroom? Then exclude dark colors immediately, otherwise you will get a cramped closet. Your allies are light colors. Walls, ceiling, even the floor are best decorated in neutral colors. The white tone is alarming (would such a bathroom look too strict, even sterile?). Choose other options: beige, pale blue, sand, milky, light green. Let's share a secret - doors and furniture to match the walls also visually increase the volume. And as for the white color, we note that modern tiles come with an interesting corrugated pattern that enlivens the room well.
The design of a small bathroom also involves the use of several colors in the design: combine white with other tones, but not contrasting, but light. For example, one color for the floor, another for the walls and ceiling (light green and milky, cream and white).
You can lay out horizontal colored stripes along three walls in order to visually expand the room. And if you want to visually increase the height of the bathroom - use vertical stripes. You should not use large panels in the design of a small bathroom - this will reduce the space. But ornaments made of light-colored tiles are quite appropriate and can decorate the room.
What should be the light in the design of a small bathroom
The main secret is simple - there should be a lot of light! In addition to central lighting, take care of local lighting. No darkened corners, otherwise the effect of spaciousness in the bathroom cannot be achieved! Experts advise giving preference to "warm" light, reminiscent of sunlight. Then even your own reflection in the mirror will please you more than with “cold” (white or bluish) lighting.
Illumination above the washbasin is required, it is not bad to place a light source above the bath. Neon lamps or LEDs are suitable for this. Traditional overhead lighting is mounted on the ceiling, spotlights will be relevant here. Properly placing them on the ceiling, you can manually change the direction of the light rays in the right direction. But lighting the bathroom from below may seem to some as an exotic idea and unacceptable at first glance. But, according to some designers, it is quite piquant and quite appropriate in small spaces.
The magic power of mirrors - expand the space
The design of a small bathroom cannot be considered successful if you do not use mirrors - a truly magical means of visually expanding the area. Everyone hangs a mirror over the sink, but you can, and even need to, decorate the walls in this way (the effect of depth is created). But do not place the mirrors opposite each other.
Let's reveal one more design secret - a full-wall mirror will turn your small bathroom into a spacious room, in any case, it will give such a visual effect. Do not forget that the illumination of large mirror surfaces is required (for example, with wall spotlights).
There is another original proposal: a mirrored ceiling.
It will also visually expand the space, especially in combination with a mirror wall. By the way, such a ceiling is not at all pieces of glass, but a ceiling covering with a glossy surface. It can be a polymer film or aluminum panels treated to create a reflection effect. Mirror cabinets will complement the visual effect of space.
Small bathroom furnishing secrets
You will have to work hard on the selection of furniture for your small bathroom. The main rule - for a small bathroom, choose compact items. Built-in cabinets, hanging plumbing and corner shelves, especially transparent ones, free up space. Another interesting solution is niches in the walls, finished with tiles. This is a great place to store various hygiene items.
Instead of a cabinet, you can choose an elegant dressing table, in which a sink is mounted. It has drawers where you store all sorts of things, and looks neater and more compact.
Create the effect of space - such important details
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In the bathroom, just like in the bedroom, we spend a lot of time every day, and, of course, we want our stay to be as comfortable as possible. Alas, Russian layouts most often give us bathrooms ranging from three to six m2. The situation is a little more rosy in modern homes, however, we are still desperately trying to use the cherished squares to the maximum. Today Kvartblog will tell you about five tricks that can visually expand the bathroom a little, if the actual increase is impossible.
More light
The dream of most is to have a spacious bathroom with a window through which natural daylight will pour in. Alas, such luxury is available most often only in private country houses. In apartments, we rely on competent artificial lighting. To make the bathroom seem larger, the light should evenly flood the entire space, and not shine exclusively on the mirror or from above. The principle that lighting needs to be done at different levels also works here: ceiling lights need to be combined with sconces, then a room flooded with light will seem more spacious.
Notice how the niches are highlighted in the photo below.
Color matters
Light walls and floors are almost an axiom for small bathrooms. Pay attention to Scandinavian apartments, which are approximately equal in area to Russian ones: the Swedes exploit the color of snow with unprecedented zeal, diluting it with bright accents in the form of colored towels, bath curtains and posters on the door.
A well-known fact: dark walls cause an oppressive feeling even in spacious areas, to say nothing of small rooms. In addition to what has been said: on a dark tile, drops of water are especially visible, which harden and leave streaks.
The optimal color scheme for the bathroom: a light base (white, beige, pastel) and contrasting accents, perhaps one accent wall or colored cabinets.
Small space - small tiles
The size of a tile and how it is placed is just as important as its color. It’s worth remembering right away that the smaller the space, the smaller the tile should be. Of course, laying it out is more troublesome, but small and mosaic tiles can create a sense of perspective on the wall. And too large tiles will give guests the illusion that the wall is so small that only 10 tiles fit on it. By the way, tiles with a small repeating pattern also work to increase space, as two designers we visited proved to us. Alena Shtark designed in Moroccan style, and - in Arabic.
Through the Looking Glass
Mirrors visually increase the space in any room, and in a small bathroom it’s a sin not to use this effect. You should not be limited to a small mirror above the sink. Hang a mirror up to the ceiling, as Anya did in her odnushka on Dubrovka, or choose cabinets with a mirror surface (you will have organized storage and additional space for self-admiration). There is only one minus: mirrors need constant care. In the bathroom, they will definitely not be able to escape from accidental splashes, so you will have to wipe the mirrors more often than in other rooms.
Less e things in plain sight: hidden storage
In small spaces, you can not let the room become overgrown with too many things. Of course, the bathroom has a lot of things that we use every day: toothbrushes, creams (for girls, they can be in the dozens: from face creams to highly specialized jars for dry skin on the elbows or something else), towels and so on. We advise you to try not to litter the open spaces at the sink, but to group things as much as possible and put them away in hidden cabinets. Minimalism will create the illusion of a large and uncluttered space.
Ecology of life. Interior design: In modern apartments, a small bathroom is quite common. What to do if you have planned a bathroom renovation and at the same time want to introduce a lot of practical and functional details?
In modern apartments, a small bathroom is quite common. What to do if you have planned a bathroom renovation and at the same time want to introduce a lot of practical and functional details?
It is possible to make a bathroom stylish even with the most limited dimensions. First of all, you need to draw up a plan for redevelopment of the bathroom. Think over all the planning ideas, starting with the design of the room itself, its color scheme. After all, the color palette really helps to change the look of the room. So light, warm and smoky shades allow you to visually expand and enlarge the room.
A large number of mirrors, which can be either hung on the walls or built into the surface of the furniture, also make the room visually larger. No less attention should be paid to the choice of lighting for a small bathroom. It is important to maximize the use of natural light. If there are no windows in the bathroom, then small bright lamps will come to the rescue. They will make the room bright and spacious.
Of great importance is also the choice of wall and floor tiles. For a small bathroom area, it is advised to choose medium-sized tiles and muted colors. This again allows you to visually increase the size of the room.
Furniture for a small bathroom must be selected according to its size. Small glass and plastic objects will look good. Small shelves are suitable for decoration and storage of small items.
Plumbing for the bathroom you need to choose one that does not take up much space. Now there are various options for reduced sinks, toilets, showers, which take up much less space than conventional ones. And small decor elements will help complete the image of a spacious and bright bathroom, where it will always be cozy and comfortable.
Every person living in a small apartment has a dream - to have a spacious bathroom in which all the items necessary for its comfortable use would be located. The original interior, conducive to relaxation, would allow you to relax, sitting after taking a fragrant bath in a cozy armchair, and the view from the window helped to improve your mood.
However, having paid tribute to the dreamy mood, one inevitably has to return to reality, and in it there is a bathroom, the entire area of \u200b\u200bwhich does not reach three square meters. Only a bathtub and a washbasin can fit in such an area, and its only decoration is a mirrored cabinet, which contains the most necessary cosmetics for every day and shelves for detergents attached under the sink. It seems that it is impossible to come up with any interesting solution for creating an original interior design in such a small room - it remains to accept the bathroom as it is, according to the designers' idea.
Do not be discouraged - fantasize!
Modern designers say that putting in a small area is a great opportunity to be creative when developing an original design. Their correctness is confirmed by many photos in magazines dedicated to interior design. Design projects for bathrooms with a minimum area occupy a place of honor in such magazines, because only a very talented master of his craft can decorate such a room, giving it originality. Therefore, the best option for creating a comfortable bathroom in a room with a small area is to contact a professional.
In order to explain to him what he would like to see in his bathroom, you can show your favorite photos from magazines. After creating the project, the client will only have to purchase the necessary materials and sanitary equipment and order the builders to execute the project developed by the designer. This way of obtaining the original design of the bathroom is the easiest, but it requires considerable financial costs, which are far from accessible to everyone.
The second method is time-consuming, not acceptable by every apartment owner, but in the end it gives a good result when investing not too much money, especially with minimal building skills. This method is often resorted to by owners of small-sized housing with separate toilet and bathroom, combining them into a single room.
At the same time, using small-sized plumbing, as well as changing its location, you can noticeably transform the interior of the room, getting a very significant savings in space in it. Designers also have such projects, so before starting such work, even at the planning stage, you can get acquainted with the photo of already implemented projects.
They show that such a redevelopment allows, when using a corner bathtub attached to the toilet wall, a washbasin, partly located above the bathtub, to get so much free space that not only a washing machine can comfortably fit there, but also a narrow pencil case. If there are no small children in the family for whom a bathtub is still necessary, then the bathtub can be changed to a shower cabin, choosing a model that does not have a back wall to save space. This will save a few more precious centimeters.
Radical changes
For those who do not consider it possible for themselves to combine a bathroom and a bathroom, but at the same time want to economically use the space of a small bathroom, a radical solution to the problem is possible. However, it should be noted that it is acceptable only in the absence of small children. Although children grow up, a small bathroom does not have such an opportunity.
Designers offer to get rid of the bathroom, not to purchase a shower cabin, but to use a shower panel mounted on the wall. Drainage of water is arranged directly in the floor. and so that the spray from the shower does not scatter throughout the room, a sliding partition made of durable glass is mounted. published
A meter to the right, one and a half to the left - unfortunately, thousands of tenants still have to put up with such a layout of bathrooms. And this tightness sometimes delivers not only physical, but also purely psychological inconvenience. Therefore, even professional designers are constantly on the lookout for new techniques to visually enlarge the bathroom. The main task is to eliminate the effect of the "stone bag", but at the same time maintain the maximum ergonomics of the room, so that all the necessary devices and objects are at "arm's length".
There are a lot of ways in which you can visually expand a small bathroom. Firstly, a lot depends on the color combinations and on the selection of lighting. Secondly, it is convenient to model the space in the bathroom with the help of mirrors - after all, they must be there. Thirdly, comfortable furniture will do its job, which by default will fall into “its” place and will not “absorb” extra square meters.
So, let's take a closer look at the popular ways to visually expand the bathroom.
Colors and paints: insidious and magical
The darker the color, the more it "hides" the space or volume. The lighter, the more successfully it works in the opposite direction, that is, it increases and pushes apart. This rule is well known to any designer.
Critical Options:
bright and saturated colors - red, orange, raspberry and others; dark and gloomy tones; contrasting combinations - for example, a bathroom in black and white will look good only if there is enough space in it. The same can be said about other contrasts.
wall decoration
The most economical material for wall decoration in a small bathroom is plastic panels that are mounted end-to-end and create the illusion of a holistic, even coating. Ceramic tiles are also appropriate, preferably medium-sized. Too small or large tiled masonry can provoke optical disproportions in space due to too clear grouting at the seams.
monophonic texture; smooth matte or glossy finish; horizontal or vertical stripes as a decor or a masonry reception (the former help to visually expand the room, the latter help to stretch it vertically). Of course, you need to give preference to either the first or the second, depending on the specific tasks.
Critical Options:
Ceiling finish
In small bathrooms, it is not uncommon for a feeling of crampedness to arise due to a ceiling that is too low. In fact, it is impossible to raise it above its level, but visually - please. Fashion trends and advanced technologies will come to the rescue.
suspended ceilings with a shiny surface. On the one hand, when installing them, you will have to “steal” a few more centimeters of height from a cramped space. On the other hand, the result will be a very attractive sight - you yourself will stop noticing that in fact the ceiling is low; stretch ceilings with a glossy surface - ideally they should be white; mirrored ceilings - they can be treated differently, but they noticeably increase small rooms, especially in height.
Critical Options:
Plumbing
It is clear that you cannot put a large and comfortable bath in a small bathroom, and here it is not even a matter of visual problems, but of an elementary lack of space. But still, I want plumbing to be convenient.
Critical Options:
square-shaped bathtubs, including sitting ones, - they still won’t provide you with a comfortable bath; models of toilet bowls with installations; use of bath sides instead of shelves - you should not place shampoo bottles, jars of scrubs, etc. on them.
Furniture
Many owners of cramped bathrooms are hesitant to include pieces of furniture in their interior, believing that by doing so they will only aggravate the situation. In fact, well-chosen furniture helps to organize the space.
Critical Options:
various cabinets, including under the sink - you can do without this piece of furniture, and use the place under the washbasin to install a washing machine; closed cabinets and shelves - it is better to replace them with models without doors.
Small bathrooms with just a bathtub, a sink, and a small piece of free space for one person - this is the sad reality of standard apartments. Dreams of expanding the bathroom often remain dreams, but still, there is a way to win free centimeters even in the smallest areas. Take the advice of resourceful designers, and find out.
Wall decoration
When choosing the color of tiles for bathroom walls, remember:
- the success of the attempt to visually expand the space of the room largely depends on the design of the walls;
- Only light shades can visually enlarge a room, while dark ones reduce it.
From this it follows that it is more expedient to choose light-colored ceramic tiles. By the way, if you decorate the walls with mosaic tiles, the effect will be much better.
Ceiling decoration
The ceiling in a small room can, figuratively speaking, "crush" if it is designed incorrectly. You can visually "raise" the ceiling in unusual ways. For example, make it a mirror image. If this idea does not seem attractive and practical to you, decorate the ceiling with small spotlights - this will make the bathroom very bright, such lighting will not irritate and tire, which is very important when you take a bath. A good option would be a ceiling painted like a starry sky. In general, rely entirely on your own imagination, and then you will not want to leave the bathroom for as long as possible!
Plumbing
In small rooms, you should especially carefully consider the location of all objects. After all, a reasonable arrangement of furniture and details will allow you to get additional precious centimeters. Fortunately, progress helps restless hostesses in the age-old question of how to equip a small bathroom, and modern plumbing is especially pleasing - instead of the usual huge sink with a clumsy long faucet, you can purchase and install a miniature neat sink that takes up half the space. Your bathroom will become even more spacious if you get rid of the bath itself, which occupies a good half of the room. Instead, you can install a compact shower.
Cabinets and shelves
Decorate the walls and ceiling correctly, install new mini plumbing, replace the bathtub with a shower cabin - and now your former tiny bathroom has changed and visually become much more spacious. However, this is not all, because it still has to be filled with numerous details.
But first you have to critically examine everything that your bathroom used to be filled with. Even in a more spacious room, you should try not to clutter up valuable centimeters with unnecessary things, otherwise all your efforts will come to naught, and in place of the free meters won with a fight, you will get a dump of unnecessary things. To prevent this from happening, follow these tips:
- First, leave in sight everything only the most necessary - what you use every day. Let the rest wait in the wings in specially designated lockers. By the way, a little trick about bathroom cabinets: make a few open shelves on the wall a little higher than you are used to. There you can store all the things that are not particularly in demand. Open shelves do not visually "eat up" the space - unlike closed cabinets, which are usually hung at eye level. A compact closed cabinet will look good under your small sink. You can hide household chemicals in it.
- Second, if possible, install the washing machine outside the bathroom, such as in the kitchen.
- Thirdly, use the space above the toilet - it is usually not used, but this is a very convenient place to hang an additional locker.
Doors in the bathroom
Doors are a great place for a variety of hooks and hangers, thanks to which you can free up a few more centimeters for the desired space. However, this does not mean that it is necessary to turn the door into a bulky hanger. Everything should be in moderation, because you need to think not only about functionality, but also about maintaining an “airy” style.
How to visually enlarge a bathroom with light
As mentioned above, spotlights on the ceiling will illuminate the bathroom very well - and this is excellent, since the abundance of light plays into our hands and visually enlarges the space. If, nevertheless, this lighting option does not suit you, install several small lamps: above the bathroom, above the sink, and above the mirror. By the way, if your bathroom has a lot of mirrors, they will reflect the light and the room will seem even more spacious.
So, if you carefully follow all these tips, you will end up with a completely new room. Your bathroom will become another dimension, allowing you to completely relax, shutting yourself off from everyday life and problems.
