Tips to Renovate a Small Bathroom Smartly

Renovating any bathroom presents many challenges, but none more than a small bathroom. While the idea of renovating a small bathroom in Perth may seem exciting at first, once you start planning, you will see that it’s not simply a matter of updating the tiles and vanity. True, you could take this approach, but chances are, you won’t be taking advantage of having a blank canvas to play with, and this can lead to many rookie design fails.

Ross’s Discount Home Centre is one of the largest suppliers of bathroom renovation products in Perth. As such, we meet and offer recommendations to Perth homeowners looking to renovate their bathrooms daily. We not only have expert knowledge of our products, but we understand how they can be applied to achieve maximum results. And when you’re working in a small space, this makes a big difference.

If you’re looking to renovate a small bathroom, be sure to read and consider each of the following tips to help maximise space and improve the functionality of your bathroom. With a few simple insights, you can be well on your way to creating a stunning new bathroom that puts the old one to shame.

Make it light and bright

When renovating a small bathroom, you should have two main goals: make it appear larger and maximise space wherever possible. One of the best ways to make any small space appear larger is by making it light and bright, using a light colour pallet (white is ideal), and maximising natural light.

It’s no coincidence that most bathrooms are white. It’s for this very reason. White reflects the light, which makes walls recede, helping a small space appear bigger. Thus, choosing white tiles – white wall tiles especially is a savvy design decision for small bathrooms.

Ross’s Discount Home Center has a massive range of white tiles starting from a low $20/m3.

In addition to choosing white tiles, other ways to make a small bathroom light and bright include installing a skylight, maximising the size of your windows, or making the external wall glass to maximise natural light.

Go large with your mirror

Following on from the previous tip, another way to increase natural light, making a small bathroom appear larger, is to go big with your mirror selection. The larger the mirror, the more light reflected.

You can also go a step further in your space-saving mission and opt for a large mirrored shaving cabinet that provides important storage space in addition to its light-reflecting properties.

We have a wide range of mirrors, everything from round mirrors and oval mirrors to framed mirrors, frameless mirrors and even mirror cabinets. So, you’re sure to find the shape, style, and, more importantly, size to help you make your bathroom appear larger and brighter.

Create strategic storage solutions

One sure way to make a small bathroom even smaller is to introduce furniture for storage. When space is at a minimum, retaining as much of it as possible is essential, yet storage in a bathroom is also essential. So, how do you solve this issue? By creating strategic space-saving storage solutions. I mentioned above utilising the corner of a bathroom for corner storage units, but there are many other ways to make storage in a small bathroom without sacrificing space.

Some of the smartest options include creating recessed shelves and shower niches in wall cavities, choosing mirrored shaving cabinets over standard mirrors, selecting wall shelves instead of furniture, hanging towel racks over the toilet rather than on a blank wall, placing storage baskets under a wall-hung vanity, and installing storage caddies on the back of the bathroom door.

Choose your vanity wisely

While a large vanity is an ideal storage solution, they’re not ideal for small bathrooms. They can easily take up as much room as a bath, and if it came down to having a large vanity or a bath, I know what I would choose… And, when it comes time to sell your home, most buyers will also rather have a bath.

Thus, it pays to choose a space-saving option when choosing a vanity. There are a few choices to consider, namely a wall-hung basin, a pedestal basin, or, for maximum space savings, a corner basin.

Pedestal basins, corner basins, and wall-hung basins are void of a vanity unit and comprise only the basin. This format allows for more floor space, therefore maximising existing space. If a vanity unit is a must, a compact wall-hung vanity is the best choice. It retains floor space below, making the area appear larger than it is, which is also a great place to store storage baskets.

Choosing a compact wall-hung vanity such as our Asha Vanity Unit or, better yet, a wall-hung basin with a built-in towel holder and soap dish is also a smart choice for small bathrooms. It means you can do away with needing a larger vanity and a towel rack. Perfect examples of wall-hung basins include our Cube Wall Basin Left-Hand Bowl, Gemelli Compact, Quado Compact, and Bailey Wall Basin Left-Hand Bowl.

View our entire vanity range.

Utilise the corners

Unless used for a corner shower screen or corner bath, a corner of a bathroom is often wasted space, and you can’t afford to have wasted space in a small bathroom. Thus, taking advantage of corner space is a great way to maximise space.

Corners are great for corner storage units, but my personal preference is a corner wall basin such as our Milano Corner basin (pictured above). Positioning the basin in the corner of the room opens up available wall space to fit that bath you didn’t think you had room for, which can be a massive incentive to future buyers.

This tip also lends to the shower. If you are not creating a shower niche in the wall cavity, you will need to place your shampoo, conditioner and soap somewhere. Corner-designed shower shelves and baskets are the perfect solution.

Consider a shower panel over a shower

Although most showers today feature a minimalistic design, they can still look bulk and make a small bathroom seem even smaller if not selected smartly. Those with a shower base are the worst culprit of this offence.

Rather than choose a traditional shower, opt for a contemporary walk-in shower panel. The frameless design of shower panels ensures an unobstructed view of your bathroom, reducing the risk of creating visual blocks that make a bathroom appear smaller.

Shower panels come in various designs and configurations, from a single panel to a supported enclosure, which is evident in the range available at Ross’s Discount Home Centre.

Choose a sliding door shower

If you prefer a traditional shower over a shower panel, or a shower panel isn’t suitable for your design, there are other considerations to ensure you choose the best shower for your space.

The biggest mistake you can make when choosing a shower for a small bathroom is to choose a shower with a door that swings or pivots out into the bathroom. It means you won’t be able to utilise the space around the door opening, reducing the space for anyone else using the bathroom when the door opens.

A far better option would be to choose a shower with a sliding door that takes up no additional space. You can choose a traditional sliding door shower or a quadrant shower for corner installation. A bifold door shower that opens in is also an option.

When it comes to buying showers for small bathrooms in Perth, you’ll find none better than Ross’s Discount Home Centre’s Range. We are exclusive stockists for Lakes Bathrooms Australia, which produces some of the highest-quality showers in the world. A lifetime warranty backs them, and they all come with an AllClear glass coating as standard.

Combine your shower and bath

If one of the main reasons for renovating your bathroom was to fit in a bath, then the best way to achieve this goal is to opt for a combined shower and bath. While this option may have been a little “daggy” in the past, especially with the use of shower curtains, that isn’t the case today.

Both baths and shower curtains have been elevated to new style heights to provide a smart solution to this age-old dilemma. Baths no longer need to be tiled into a bath hub, and shower curtains have been replaced with very slick-looking bath screens.

You’ll find the perfect bath and bath screen at Ross’s Discount Home Centre. Lakes Bathrooms Australia manufactures our bath screens, and like their shower screens, they come with a lifetime warranty and AllClear glass coating as standard.

Lay wall tiles vertically

Although, up to now, it may seem like renovating a small bathroom smartly zaps all the fun out of the design, but that isn’t the case! White tiles will make the room appear bigger and brighter, but that doesn’t mean you have to be pedestrian about it. You can still choose modern white (and light) wall tiles, but if you do, consider laying them vertically rather than horizontally.

You’ve probably heard “horizontal stripes make a person look fat”. The same applies to small bathrooms; instead of making a bathroom look “fat”, it appears small. The good news is, like wearing stripes, vertical stripes work oppositely.

Installing subway, Kit Kat or thin tiles vertically can add height to a small bathroom, visually opening up the room to make the ceiling look higher than it really is.

Today’s abundance of tile designs means there’s no shortage of choice when it comes to thin bathroom tiles. You’ll find hundreds of options at Ross’s Discount Home Centre, available at the most competitive prices in Perth.

Below is just a sample of some possible options. Tiles in the Luxe, Fade, and Finger Mosaic range are available in various light colours for those wanting to stay away from an all-white bathroom.

Simple walls, fun floors

Just because it’s wise to choose a plain white or light tile on your walls, it doesn’t mean you have to go boring on your flooring! You can really let your personality shine in your choice of bathroom floor tiles.

There really is no limitation to design options and choices. You can choose dark floors to contrast with white walls, and complement the walls with a patterned tile in the same tones; the sky’s the limit.

When it comes to bathroom floor tiles in Perth, you’ll find a great range at Ross’s Discount Home Centre. We have patterned tiles, fun tiles, wood-look likes, stone-look tiles, terrazzo-look tiles, and feature tiles that will help you create the small bathroom of your dreams.

Conclusion

Renovating a small bathroom presents the perfect opportunity to evaluate the existing design and improve on it to maximise space, storage, and functionality along with its design. There are many areas to look at to achieve such improvements.

The best tips I can offer you are making the bathroom light and bright by choosing light tiles and maximising natural space, choosing the largest mirror you can find to increase natural light further, and creating strategic store solutions in unused spaces.

You can also select a wall-hung vanity, wall-hung basin, or pedestal basin over a traditional vanity or consider a corner basin to utilise a dead corner of the room.

For the shower, consider a shower panel over a traditional shower. However, if you prefer a traditional shower, choose one with a sliding door or a pivot door over a swing door. And if you want a bath and a shower, combine the two with a corner freestanding bath and a sophisticated bath screen.

In terms of tiles, opt for thin tiles that can be laid in a vertical pattern over horizontal to make the ceiling appear higher than it is and have fun with your floor tile; the sky’s the limit in terms of design options.