Be it your apartment's sole bathroom or a spare pocket-sized powder bath, a space without a window can easily feel like a claustrophobic cave.
According to The Spruce, Elizabeth Burch of Elizabeth Burch Interiors has an adept skill for making any space feel bright and breezy, and she's got a few pointers on how to intentionally open up space and reflect light in these common problem spaces.
READ: Eliminate bathroom mould and mildew: Effective removal techniques
Choose a wallpaper with a large pattern and neutral background
Darker colors absorb light, and lighter colors reflect it. One way to take advantage of all the light available to you is to opt for a light-colored wall treatment. However, this doesn't mean you're just limited to white or off-white paint.
According to Burch, wallpaper can add intrigue to a windowless bathroom without making it feel busy, dark, or enclosed. She notes that the key is to select wallpaper with a large pattern and a white or neutral cream background. "You would think you would want a smaller pattern, but I find that using a larger pattern works to expand the space," she says.
Install your shower curtain and backsplash all the way to the ceiling
"I like to install shower curtains all the way to the ceiling rather than just stopping at where you would typically place a rod because it gives your ceiling the effect of being taller," Burch says. And if you have a shower door instead of a shower curtain, she says you can achieve a similar effect by installing your backsplash all the way to the ceiling.
The same rule for your wall treatments also applies to these features. Choosing a light-colored backsplash or shower curtain will help you harness more light into a windowless bathroom.
Remove a bulky vanity to eliminate visual weight
If changing out your vanity is an option for you, Burch says it might be worth it since it can positively affect how open the space feels. If you have a dark, oversized vanity that is taking up quite a bit of space, she recommends going with a less-bulky option like a pedestal sink or a small floating vanity.
READ: Refresh and rejuvenate your bathroom
Opt for a tall bathroom mirror to reflect light and space
A mirror is certainly no replacement for a window. However, swapping out a small mirror for a larger one can do wonders for expanding the space. You can also reap even more benefits out of a large mirror with some strategic light placement.
Store your toiletries out of sight
Bright-colored bottles of lotions and potions can add unwanted clutter to a small bathroom that's already struggling. If you make the switch from a vanity to a pedestal sink, you'll need to come up with a new storage solution for all of your toiletries. Instead of adding another piece of furniture to your bathroom, you can either store the majority of your products on a shelf immediately right outside your bathroom in a hallway or opt for a medicine cabinet.
Home-Dzine shares three unique ways to make a bedroom and bathroom appear bigger:
1. Make walls appear higher
Using walls as an optical illusion is often done in a room with low ceilings. Hanging a curtain rail higher, installing floor-to-ceiling cabinets, or painting vertical stripes on a wall or walls all lead the eye upwards to visually lift a low ceiling. These same tricks can be used to make any small room feel bigger than it is. It is also a trick frequently used in tiny courtyards or tight spaces to make the space feel bigger.
Vertical stripes work well in any room that you want to make visually larger or the ceiling higher. Consider using vinyl wallpaper in a tight bathroom or a compact entrance hall. Vertical stripes in bold contrasts will not fool the eye into thinking the space is larger but will also provide an eye-catching feature.
2. Use streamlined furniture
Everyone knows how much space a piece of furniture can hog. Pieces such as bedside tables in the bedroom, a seating bench in a bathroom, or even a cabinet or chest of drawers in a room. Large pieces of furniture take up large areas of floor space - floor space that could be put to far better use to make a small room feel less cramped.
Furniture that is streamlined in its dimensions will take up far less space and still be practical. Think narrow, tall bedside cabinets and cupboards, a slim chest of drawers or a wardrobe. And if you cannot buy what you need, take up DIY and discover how easy it is to make custom furniture for your home.
Storage is essential in every room, more so in a bedroom or bathroom, so it makes sense to opt for storage that will not take up a lot of floor space but will still provide plenty of storage space. Tall and narrow is the perfect solution, even if a bedside cabinet is slightly higher than the bed. And a tall, narrow bathroom storage cabinet will still give you enough storage, plus, if you DIY it, you can combine drawers, shelves and closed cupboard storage.
READ: Make a small bathroom appear bigger with these tips
3. Emphasize profiles and details
If you are not into vertical stripes either painted or wallpaper, there are other ways to work around this. Think about a bedroom, for example, the bed is a central feature in a bedroom and adding onto this is easy. Look for a headboard that has a higher profile than one that sits just above the bed or use a wall gallery to build up the height above a headboard. Either one of these will lead the eye upwards rather than focusing on the size of the room.
There are many ways to introduce elements that will add interest to a small room which also helps to make the space appear larger than it is. Think wall panels with moulding detail in tall panels that will draw the eye and add character and architectural detailing.
Mirror panels placed on either side of the bed or headboard are another easy way to give height to a bedroom and it is also excellent for bouncing light around the room, adding visual interest, and making a small bedroom look bigger.
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