Most would agree that nothing feels better than relaxing in the shower after a long day at work or after a day full of activities. However, that feeling isn’t really that great when it involves a small and squeezed shower room. Small shower rooms could be as a result of squeezing so many things in a shower room; even essential things such as bath tubs, showers, toilets and sinks. Even when the shower rooms don’t really have so many things squeezed in them, they could still be small following the lesser land allocated to them. Yet, fact remains that everyone with a small shower room wishes that they had a bigger shower room. With a few strategies, they could design their small shower rooms and make them look and even feel bigger. The advantage about these strategies is that they are very cost effective and easy to undertake. This article explains strategies, ranging from the color of the shower room to inclusion of certain important fixtures, that when applied enhances a shower room making it even twice as large.
Ideas to Make Your Shower Feel Bigger
Use Brighter Lighting
Lighting is essential in a shower room for activities such as shaving and applying make-up. However, lighting in a shower room does even much more; it makes the room feel bigger. The more the lighting in a shower room, the more spacious and bigger the shower room appears. Most bathrooms don’t really have much natural lighting, hence additional lighting needs to be provided if they are to be made bigger. The best lighting technique would be that comprised of several light sources at different locations. To avoid shadowing and make the room more open, one could install a grid of ceiling lights or a contemporary edge-lighted mirror. In cases where adding of electrical lights in the shower room is impossible, or the room in discussion is a small powder room, there is the option of changing the ceiling light and installing one with multiple bulbs. This would bring in the effect of having light come from different directions yet from a single element. Such form lighting would help make the room appear bigger.
Use A Lot Of White In The Shower Room
This is one of the easiest ways that can help make a shower feel bigger. Having a shower room dominated by the white color, which includes white tiles, white walls, white sinks and generally whites of every other thing in the shower room, can do wonders in making a shower room appear even more spacious. The white color tends to reflect light rather than absorb it, as does many darker shades, a quality that serves to make a room appear full of light and hence spacious. However, one might think that by using just a single color in the shower room, especially white color, then that would make the room appear dull and lacking life. In such a case, using elements of different textures can help bring character into the white shower room. These elements would include pale stones, fabric accents, moldings and some wood or metallics. Such elements, when included in a shower room designed with lots of white, will help the room have not only the seamless and bigger look, but also make it attractive to the eye and relaxing as well.
Use A Glass Panel Or A Glass Door
Most people include shower curtains in their shower rooms. One thing that these don’t however realize is that shower curtains have the effect of creating visual walls in shower rooms, even when the curtains are open. These visual walls in turn only serve to make the shower room appear smaller and squeezed. In order to counteract this effect and actually make the shower room look bigger, one could consider using glass panels or glass doors in place of shower curtains. By using the glass panel or door, the entire space of the shower room would then be made visible at once, giving it a bigger and fuller look especially while one is in the shower.
Some people use shower curtains because they have a strong sense of privacy. For such kind of people, the glass panels or doors would still work, if they are tinted or frosted. The tinted or frosted glass panels/doors would still allow a lot of light to pass through, just like the non-tinted ones, hence give the shower room the same spacious and bigger feel.
Another option would be performing a complete renovation in the shower room. This would be especially for those who can do away with the bath tubs. The strategy involves just installing a glass shower stall rather than a bath tub. Such a strategy has two major advantages; the glass stall would allow more light and bring a larger feel and removing the bath tub would create more space in the room making it look even bigger. Another added advantage about using a glass shower stall rather than a bath tub is that shower stalls are easier to get in and out of.
Use A Larger Mirror
Using a bigger bathroom mirror would be another perfect way of making a shower room appear bigger. This strategy would be especially effective in the slim powder rooms that are characterized by small walls that require less glass to cover. Using a larger mirror works to double the size of a shower room visually. One can use a large mirror with a beautiful frame or just decide to use a custom sized mirror piece that fits from wall to wall.
The advantage of this strategy is that it saves on costs. It is true that buying a larger mirror would in itself incur quite great costs. However, comparing the cost of getting a larger mirror with the price of tiling a new wall, the price of getting a larger mirror would be the cheapest and most pocket friendly. It is true that tiling the wall would help make a shower feel bigger, but why would one opt for such a costly strategy whereas they had the alternative of just getting a larger mirror, which would serve the same purpose, at an even significantly lesser cost?
Use A Curved Shower Rod
Curved shower rods are a popular sight in luxurious hotels. There is a reason that such big hotels prefer curved shower rods; these have a dramatic effect in making a shower room appear more spacious and classic. This effect is even more noticeable in shower rooms that contain shower curtains.
Normally, shower curtains tend to hang straight down. Therefore, if a shower room has a standard shower rod, this combined with the shower curtains can make a shower room feel small and cramped. This is so since a straight rod causes the shower curtains almost to cling to one’s body whenever they’re taking their shower. This in turn brings about the small and squeezed feel about the shower room.
However, using a curved shower rod can actually make a difference and make a room feel even twice bigger. This is because the curved rods direct the curtains away from someone, such that their body doesn’t cling to the wet curtains. Hence, a curved shower room would create more elbow room and generally more room in the shower.
Final Thoughts On Making Your Shower Seem Bigger
Obviously, everyone dreams of having a bigger shower room, and the good news is that, that dream is not entirely unattainable. With the strategies discussed in this article, everyone could have a bigger shower room with more space. So the next time you are taking a shower and start thinking of how you would be more relaxed in the shower, you would do well to consider the strategies discussed above and enjoy the best shower experience ever.