One of the most important rooms in your house is the bathroom. While it may not be the most glamorous, it’s by far one of the most-used and depended-upon rooms, and deserves some special attention… especially if it’s one of the smallest rooms in your house.
We’d all love to have spacious, open bathrooms in our homes, but sometimes that’s simply not an option. So how do you make this important space as inviting as possible? We’ve got the answer: Choose the right tile.
Renovating a bathroom can be an exciting yet daunting project. Here at CT Construction, we value innovation and resourcefulness, and we never turn away from a challenge. This is why we’re here to share with you some tried-and-true tips for transforming your paltry powder room into a lavishly large lavatory— using tile!
1. CHOOSE LIGHTER COLORS.
You don’t have to be a seasoned interior designer to know that lighter colors make a room feel more open, while dark colors can make inhabitants feel boxed in. Find a light-colored tile that goes with the motif of your bathroom. In fact, if you’re remodeling your entire bathroom, it’s a good idea to err toward lighter colors in general to boost the effect.
2. GO BIG OR GO TINY— JUST NOT IN BETWEEN.
Tile size can make or break the roominess of your space. Surprisingly enough, tiling the floor of your bathroom with large tiles can be a breath of fresh air. Because large tiles take up more space, grout lines become fewer and farther between. An abundance of easily-distinguishable grout lines can be visually displeasing in a small space, making it seem smaller than it is in reality.
Now, while this might sound counterintuitive, choosing very tiny or “mosaic” tile can, in fact, have the same opening effect as large tile. Because mosaic (usually only 1” in size) tiles are so plentiful, they can “trick” the brain into thinking there’s more space than there actually is.
The problem lies in the gray area: tiles that are medium in size are easily countable, and provide just enough grout lines to create a confining, visual chaos. If you want your small bathroom to feel open and airy, go big or go tiny, just stay out of the middle.
3. DEFINITELY GO FOR DIAGONAL.
By laying your tiles in a diagonal pattern, you can trick the eye into thinking the room is larger than it actually is. It prevents the tile pattern itself from being contained in the floorspace, suggesting it continues past the confines of the room. This takes some forethought and experience to pull off, but is worth it in the long run.
4. BLEND COLORS TO AVOID TRANSITIONS.
Your best bet when trying to open up the feeling of a small bathroom is to eliminate as many “transitions” as possible. The word “transition” in this case simply refers to the stopping and starting of textures and colors. For example, a clear glass shower, tiled with the same tile as the rest of the bathroom floor, eliminates a transition that would have otherwise broken up the room into confining sections.
Our team here at CT Construction is equipped with the experience to implement any of the above design choices into your bathroom, as well as the aesthetic intuition to ensure that they complement your entire home. For any questions or to set up an appointment, please call us at 888.343.9650.