The Before-
Dark, textured walls and a small, distressed mirror made it hard for the sunlight to shine through the window and bounce off the walls. A bamboo window shade also blocked light, making the already small room seem smaller......
The After-
The original sink and vanity were lower then what is now standard (this house was built in 1936), so we had a custom vanity built. I then searched for a lighter stone to be made into a counter top and had a curved back splash cut to add detail and height. Because the room is as small as it is, I had to search for the perfect sink to fit into our new vanity. I chose a wall-mounted faucet so we weren't completely jam packed. The polished nickel finish is gorgeous with the blue walls and the sunshine bounces off of it.
I found fantastic hexagonal shaped nickel door pulls and a pair of nickel sconces that coordinated with our hardware.
Finally, an oversized mirror allows the light to reflect into the room and it appears larger than it did.
Steps to consider:
1. How much natural light is there?
This bath has one small window, so using a lighter color on the walls makes it appear larger. If there is a lot of natural light, you can consider a darker wall
2. What are your window coverings?
We used a lined fabric for a roman panel that provides privacy but also allows the natural light to shine through
3. What additional lighting will you have?
Consider the wattage on your ceiling or wall lights....you do not want anything too bright but you also don't want anything too soft. 60 watts per lamp is good
4. How can you maximize the light?
Consider an over-sized mirror like we used here to really let the light reflect back into the room
With the right materials, it's easy to make the room appear larger!