Small Bathroom, Big Upgrade: 12 Designer Moves That Make a Tiny Space Feel Bigger
- Ellyn Murphy
- Jun 19
- 8 min read
Most small bathrooms don’t actually have a size problem, they have a visual clutter problem.
You don’t need to tear down walls or spend a fortune shifting plumbing to fix a tight layout. Yu just need to get a little creative.
After 15 years designing renovations, here are my top 12 tips for making any space look bigger. They're listed in the order I'd apply them in a real renovation, starting with the ones that make the biggest difference.
1.) Build Up, Not Out
Most people spread storage horizontally (ex: using a wider vanity, longer counter), but vertical is the way to get real space.
Tall cabinetry running 84-96 inches high, vertical wall niches inside the shower, or floor-to-ceiling tile lines all draw the eye up.
When storage moves up instead of out, the floor stays visible, and visible flooring is what helps make a space look more put together.
Design tip: If a full vanity replacement isn't in the budget, add a tall narrow cabinet (12–18 inches wide) above the toilet or beside the vanity. Pottery Barn and West Elm both carry slim bathroom storage towers worth looking at.
2.) Mount The Faucet
A wall-mounted faucet is a great way to reduce clutter and keep the vanity surface clean.
A deck-mounted faucet adds 2-4 inches of countertop clutter at the back of the sink.
Removing that gives you back usable counter surface and visually slims the entire vanity.
In a 30-inch vanity, that's a 10-13% reduction in visual mass at the most cluttered point of the room.
One caveat: wall-mounted faucets require behind-the-wall plumbing rough-in. Plan this before demo, not after. Retrofitting a wall-mount faucet into a bathroom that wasn't roughed in for one is one of the most common surprise costs I see.
3.) Float What You Can
Floating fixtures create a lighter, more high-end hotel bathrooms feel - even in tight layouts.
Floating vanities are easier and almost always worth it. Plus, they're easier to install than most people think.
Good places to shop for floating vanities at a range of prices: West Elm, Joss & Main, and Ferguson
Floating toilets are another way to bring this in, but they require in-wall carriers and can add $400–$1,200 to plumbing rough-in - so plan that before the demo.
Design tip: If you go the floating route, keep the area underneath clear. An open vanity base exposing cleaning supplies goes against everything you just worked for.
4.) Introduce Monochromatic Colors
A tight, disciplined color palette - whether very light or very dark - makes a small bathroom feel larger than a mix of competing tones.
An all-white or all-cream bathroom bounces light and lets surfaces recede.
An all-dark bathroom (deep navy, charcoal, black) creates a night-sky depth effect that removes visible boundaries.
Both work.
What doesn't work is three or four medium-contrast moments competing for attention in the same small room.
The rule I use with clients: in a bathroom under 50 square feet, use no more than three distinct materials across all surfaces. More than that and the room starts to feel chopped up. If you want contrast, pick one bold accent like an emerald feature wall or a dramatic floor tile, then keep everything else subtle around it.
5.) Use Frameless Showers, Not Framed
Heavy shower frames, thick trims, or curtains visually divide the room.
Frameless glass keeps full sight-lines intact and lets the eye wander the entire footprint at once.
When boundaries feel transparent, the room feels larger.
A frameless 3/8" tempered glass panel functions exactly like a framed enclosure, but with no visual disruption.
Note on costs: frameless glass runs 2–3× more than framed ($800–$2,500 vs. $300–$800). In a small bathroom, this is one of the few upgrades that changes how the room feels, not just how it looks. If budget allows for one shower upgrade, this is it.
Can't swing frameless right now? Swap an opaque shower curtain for a simple clear one. Not as clean, but the same principle; the more you can see, the larger the room looks.
6.) Oversize Your Mirror
An oversized mirror makes the entire room feel bigger and brighter.
Place it opposite a window or sconce to increase brightness and softens darker corners.
Sizing rule: in a small bathroom, the mirror should be at least 70% of the vanity width. Anything smaller shrinks the wall around it. And remember: a single mirror running the full width of the vanity, or longer, is more ideal two separate mirrors over a double sink.
Backlit mirrors are particularly effective in small spaces because they eliminate the shadow zones that make bathrooms feel closed in.
Good options for backlit mirrors can be found at at CB2, Pottery Barn, and West Elm.
Design tip: Short on storage? A mirrored medicine cabinet gives you both the depth illusion and hidden storage behind the glass. It's the most space-efficient purchase in a small bathroom.
7. Choose Texture Over Clutter
Luxury in a small bathroom comes from the quality and layering of materials, not pattern.
Stone, warm wood, ribbed ceramic, brushed metal all add dimension and richness.
The key is layering textures within a tight tonal family: pebble accent wall, ribbed vanity front, and a herringbone shower floor can all exist in the same bathroom as long as they share a palette.
What doesn't work is bold texture across competing colors.
Remember - texture invites the eye in, and color contrast pushes it back out.
8. Tile Continuously From Floor to Shower
Large-format tile, or continuous tile running from the floor into the shower walls, minimizes grout lines and visual breaks. Instead of multiple surfaces competing for attention, you get one cohesive plane that reads as a single larger surface.
Three things I spec consistently in small bathrooms:
Large-format tile (12×24 inches or bigger) - fewer grout lines means fewer visual breaks. Available at TileBar, Floor & Decor, and The Tile Shop.
Tone-matched grout - two shades darker than the tile reads as a single surface from across the room.
Continuous tile from floor into shower - the same flooring tile continued into the shower instead of switching materials at the threshold.
9.) Add a Shower Niche
If you have a plastic caddy hanging off the shower head, this is the upgrade I'd prioritize over almost any other decorative purchase.
A tiled shower niche, like a brass or recessed shelf built into the wall, eliminates clutter in the shower, gives you built-in storage, and is an opportunity to add a designer-level detail.
Low cost, high impact.
In new construction or a gut renovation, niches cost almost nada to add before the walls close.
Pre-formed niche inserts like Tile Redi's shower niches, available through Ferguson, make this an easy add for any contractor to install before tiling.
In a retrofit, opening a wall is involved - but it's still one of the highest-return tricks in a small shower.
10.) Paint the Ceiling
Most people leave bathroom ceilings white.
But it's a great opportunity to make the room feel taller and more cohesive.
Painting the ceiling the same color as the walls, or one shade darker, removes the visual boundary between wall and ceiling.
In a moody, dark bathroom it completes the immersive effect.
In a light bathroom, a tone-on-tone ceiling avoids the boxed-in feeling of a white line cutting across a colored room.
All you need is a quart of paint.
11.) Update Your Lighting Game
Most small bathrooms have one overhead fixture and a basic vanity bar light, which aren't ideal for that space size.
Layered lighting is how you eliminate the shadow zones that make small bathrooms feel closed in.
For example - vanity lighting at face height, ambient overhead, and a light source behind or inside the mirror.
Recessed lighting inside the shower, specifically, makes the shower feel like part of the room instead of a dark corner.
Sconces flanking the mirror (rather than a bar above it) cast light more evenly across the face and reduce harsh shadows.
Chrome and polished finishes reflect light; matte black and oil-rubbed bronze absorb it.
Keep that difference in mind when specifying fixtures in a small bathroom and you'll be golden.
Here are some places to shop for this: Lumens, Ferguson, Wayfair, Rejuvenation, Schoolhouse
12.) Remove Counter to Almost Nothing
A soap pump, one small plant or tray.
Everything else like vitamin bottles, skincare, and hair and makeup should be tucked away in a drawer, a cabinet, or off the counter entirely.
Remember, the countertop is not storage.
An organizer under the sink typically creates enough space to clear the counter entirely.
Good organizers can be found at The Container Store, Target, and Lowe's.
If you don't have enough drawer space to move things off the counter, that's a storage problem worth solving before buying more decor.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the smallest bathroom layout worth renovating?
A bathroom as small as 30 square feet (roughly 5' × 6') can be fully renovated with all three fixtures: toilet, sink, and shower.
Below that, you're looking at a powder room or half-bath layout.
The key in any small bathroom is choosing fixtures sized for the footprint: 24-inch vanities, 32" × 32" showers, and wall-mounted toilets all exist for exactly this reason.
How much does it cost to renovate a small bathroom in 2026?
A full small bathroom renovation typically runs $15,000-$35,000 depending on materials, location, and how much plumbing or electrical work is required.
Cosmetic refreshes (paint, fixtures, hardware, lighting) without moving plumbing usually fall in the $3,000-$8,000 range.
Should I use small or large tile in a small bathroom?
Large-format tile (12×24 or bigger) is almost always recommended.
Fewer grout lines mean fewer visual breaks, which makes the surface look larger.
The common advice to use small tile in small spaces is outdated because it creates a mosaic effect that fragments the room.
The one exception: a small-format mosaic used as a single accent (shower floor, niche interior) within a larger-format surround.
Sources for large-format tile: TileBar, Floor & Decor, and The Tile Shop.
Are floating vanities good for small bathrooms?
Yes. Floating vanities are one of the most effective small bathroom upgrades.
They expose floor area underneath, which makes the room feel larger, and they introduce a lighter, more modern silhouette.
Ready to redesign your small bathroom?
Browse design plans built specifically for small bathrooms. Every plan is a complete, ready-to-shop bathroom design, with the tile, vanity, plumbing fixtures, lighting, mirror, paint color, and more all selected and sourced for you.
About Prefixe Design
Prefixe Design, founded by Ellyn Murphy, creates bathroom design plans for homeowners who want a designer bathroom, without the stress of a full renovation. Plans span a range of styles - neutral, coastal, statement, and more.
Every plan is delivered as an instant-access digital PDF and includes:
✓ Full bathroom renders (3D visualization) so you know exactly what you're building before you commit
✓ Complete material palette: tile, vanity, plumbing fixtures, lighting, mirror, paint, and finishes, all selected and shoppable
✓ Direct sourcing links for every product, with material costs provided upfront
✓ A 20-minute consultation call with Ellyn after purchase
✓ Designer-curated by Ellyn Murphy, NYC interior designer featured on HGTV & DIY Network
✓ Out-of-stock guarantee - if a product becomes unavailable, you get a comparable designer-approved swap within 1–2 business days
