So, your tiny, dark bathroom makes you feel like the walls are closing in every time you use it, and you need it fixed. The right coat of paint can help disguise or distract from the dimensions and the darkness of that closet-like space. These four suggestions will help you transform your water closet (the British equivalent) into a liveable (albeit still tiny) space.
1. Soft and Neutral
Gray is very big right now, and for good reason. Gray is soothing, elegant and adult. In a space like your tiny bathroom, gray says: “who cares how small this place is? I look fabulous.” Plan to combine your coating of gray paint with mature bathroom accessories: white porcelain soap dispenser, a small hand-carved statue from a recent international vacation and maybe dried flowers hanging upside down near the door. For added style, consider installing a medium-wide baseboard and crown molding, painted white to ensure that your bathroom looks clean and crisp and totally sophisticated.
2. Bold and Rich
If you’re figuring that your small, dark bathroom will be pretty much small and dark no matter what, distract from the problem by painting the walls a deep, rich color that defies the challenges this little space faces. Deep nautical blue, tree-bark brown and rich, academic red are all vibrant, exciting colors that will say, “I’m proud of my size and I don’t care who knows it.” And to keep the eyes moving around the space, choose accessories and trim in a color that stands in stark contrast with the walls–crisp white or cream is best.
3. Wide Horizontal Stripes
Go big top! Wide horizontal stripes can help make your bathroom look wider than it really is. Keep the stripes neutral or soft in color (unless you actually want your bathroom to look like a carnival). Think, beige and cream or gray-blue and white.
When painting the stripes, paint them carefully and keep the lines straight. With the walls so close to the toilet and other fixtures in the room, every little mistake you make will be obvious and visible. For some guidance on this process, check out this video online:
4. What Not To Do
Here’s what you shouldn’t do:
- Paint the room stark white. You would think that white would help make the space seem larger, but you’d be wrong. In the absence of natural light, white takes on an institutional, glaring, claustrophobic quality. To understand, think about your doctor’s office and how close those walls feel when you’re on the exam table. This is what flat white does to walls in an enclosed windowless space.
- Go matchy-matchy. Don’t overwhelm your tiny space with perfectly matched walls and accessories. The effect in a small space is much more intense and nauseating than in a larger room.
Tashman Home Center
Want more ideas? Feeling lost? Stop by Tashman Home Center in West Hollywood and check our amazing selection of Life Paints, perfect for any indoor painting project. We’ll help you choose the paint or perfectly match your paint with our Color Designer PLUS software. We’ll also make sure that you have all the supplies you need to make your tiny, dark bathroom more vibrant and beautiful.