As expert Exeter bathroom fitters, we know that the bathroom is one of the most important rooms in your home. You might never have considered it, but think about it now. Where is the one place you can feel truly alone? Where do you unwind with a shower after a long day? Where do you spruce yourself up for a special evening? If you stop and think about it, it’s quite surprising just how much time we spend in our bathrooms.
However, many building planners think of this space only as an afterthought, and it ends up being rather small and cramped as a result. That’s why, for those people who have a small bathroom in Exeter, we thought we’d prepare a list of top ten tips from our bathroom fitters on how to make the most out of a small bathroom space.
As our customers should already know, there’s no job too big or too small for the team at Cowley’s. We pride ourselves on providing premium Exeter building services and across Devon to our customers in the area, and so we know first-hand that houses come in many different shapes and sizes. To help our customers with small bathrooms create that same relaxing space that many of us enjoy, we’ve laid out our favourite tips and tricks for living with small bathrooms below.
One great way you might not think of is to choose floating cabinets when getting your bathroom fitted. It’s easily underestimated, but the amount of floor space that standing cabinets take up, by comparison, can make the bathroom feel much more cramped and uncomfortable.
Time and time again our professional bathroom fitters in Exeter have seen only a single tiny mirror above the basin in a small bathroom. We often hear the same rationale as well – “I only need to see my own face, why would I need a bigger one?”
The truth is that mirrors serve a much greater reflective purpose than showing off our eye bags and blocked pores. They reflect light. If your bathroom feels dingy and poorly lit, even with the blinds up, then you might be surprised to see how much a mirror can improve things. By reflecting natural light around the room, the space can feel much more open and airy. Not only that, by reflecting more of the surrounding space, the whole room can feel larger as well.
When our Devon builders are hired as bathroom fitters, we find many are tempted to think that there are corners and areas of the room for which nothing can be done. This is a particularly common problem in top floor bathrooms, where they’re often competing with the roof for space and end up with a slanted and difficult shaped ceiling as a result.
However, just because the space is awkward doesn’t mean using it has to be. If that tedious roof slant means one side of the bathroom isn’t tall enough for a shower, why not opt for a freestanding bath instead? With a bath/shower tap, you can transform what could’ve been an unpleasant shower every morning into a luxurious way to start the day.
While it can be easy to reach for extra cabinets when you need additional storage in the bathroom, there are many other space-saving options available to maximise your room. Simply opting for bathroom shelving rather than cabinets can drastically improve the amount of space you have to move around in.
Not only that, choosing towel rails for your newly fitted bathroom rather than radiators can also save a considerable amount of room; some hooks on which to place a hanging wash kit can keep your basin free of the usual clutter.
There is a limit on how many different themes and styles you can pack into a tiny space, but by no means does that mean your bathroom fitting has to be drab and monochrome. Getting creative with your tile style can make the bathroom feel much more like your own and homier as a consequence.
If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas for the exciting new look of your bathroom, we’ve already prepared an article on our top 5 tiling ideas for kitchens and bathrooms to help get you started.
One clever trick is to paint halfway up the bathroom wall with a darker shade to draw the eye lower and give the impression the bathroom is taller than it really is. This can be particularly effective in the roof-slanted ceiling bathrooms that we mentioned earlier. By painting the flat section of the wall in a darker colour and then the slanting section in a brighter one, you can turn this awkward feature to your advantage.
One more colour trick you can do with your bathroom fitting is to create a statement wall with one bright colour – be it using tiles, wallpaper, or simply paint. Not only is this a fun way to add some personal flair to your bathroom design, but can also help the bathroom feel much deeper as a result. There’s a reason we listed this as one of our top 8 ways to improve your bathroom in 2021.
If you’re tight on room for your washbasin, having your facet fixings wall-mounted during your Exeter bathroom fitting can be a great way to free up space for a proper sink. Pipework can also be concealed behind the wall this way, meaning there’s no need for a large basin pedestal. This gives you much more floor space and also allows you to exercise much more freedom with your choice of washbasin as well.
When you’re tight on bathroom space, one of the worst things you can do is limit the little room you have with bulky furniture. Investing in freestanding items can allow you to move them around at a moment’s notice and free up space in different areas of the bathroom as and when you require.
In addition, by opting for taller tiered items rather than broader furniture, you can reduce their total footprint and therefore the space they take up considerably.
One of the best ways to get the most from the bathroom fitting of a small bathroom is to work with the space rather than against it. Take a look and understand the space for what it really is, and then start thinking of what you can and can’t include.
There are many clever space-saving tricks and colour illusions you can use to help your bathroom feel much larger than it is, but ultimately, the most effective way to maximise space in your small bathroom is to keep things minimal. Only put in the cabinets you need. Choose an appropriately sized bath. Store your dressing gown in the cupboard down the hall. Keeping as many things as possible out of a small bathroom can make all the difference between a serene retreat and a cramped room to be avoided at all costs.
If you’re interested in getting a new look for your bathroom and require a trusted bathroom fitter in Exeter, call Cowley’s! Our experienced Devon builders can make your dream bathroom a reality, no matter the size & space you have to work with.
If you’d like to learn more about our bathroom fitting services, or would like to discuss your latest building project, please contact us on 01392 460783 or by email at mail@cowleysexeter.co.uk. One of our professional team members will be happy to discuss your needs.
