How to Make A Small Bathroom Look Bigger with Tiles (2024)

Ensuring all rooms throughout your home feel spacious can be a tall order in modern households. So it’s no surprise that many people are searching for ways to maximise the space of each room throughout their home.

In this blog, we’ll take you through a few steps you can take to ensure your bathroom feels considerably larger than it actually is, simply by using tiles.

Choose Large Format Floor Tiles

Our top tip for making a small bathroom look bigger with tiles, is to opt for large format floor tiles. Using larger floor tiles is a great way to trick the eye and make a room look bigger than it actually is.

Larger tiles used throughout the bathroom look a lot less ‘busy’ than with smaller tiles, which therefore make the room appear larger; the lack of grout lines also makes the whole space appear more expansive.

If you’re looking to make your bathroom appear even larger, you can go one step further and opt to use a grout that is the same colour as the tiles you’re using. By keeping the colour uniform, you are creating a seamless transition throughout your bathroom.

Check out our full range of large format tiles or extra large tiles for some inspiration.

Use Light Coloured Tiles Throughout

Have you ever noticed that a bathroom which has lighter-coloured tiles throughout appears to be larger than one with darker coloured tiles? If not, you’d be surprised just how much larger a room can feel by simply opting for light-coloured tiles.

Utilising light shades of bathroom wall tiles and bathroom floor tiles will reflect light and will visually open up space. The opposite can be said of darker tones, which will absorb the light and make your bathroom feel considerably smaller. And don’t miss our guide on how to tile a bathroom wall with large tiles.

How to Make A Small Bathroom Look Bigger with Tiles (1)

Install Tiles Diagonally

One of the most important things to remember when looking to make your bathroom appear larger, is that you need to try and keep the room flowing as continuously as possible. Installing your tiles diagonally can help to naturally do this.

Using this technique works best when the bathroom is very small, as having your tiles installed diagonally tricks the eye into thinking the room is longer and wider than it is in reality.

Choose Plain Tiles

If you’re looking to really make the most out of the space you have available in your bathroom, ensuring you choose both plain floor and wall tiles will give the bathroom a feel of being considerably larger than in reality.

The key to making your bathroom appear larger than it actually is, is to steer clear of highly patterned tiles as they will visually ramp up how ‘busy’ the room appears, therefore making it appear more cramped.

When choosing bathroom floor or wall tiles, we’d suggest opting for plain, lighter colours to really enhance that feeling of extra space in your bathroom.

How to Make A Small Bathroom Look Bigger with Tiles (2)

Keep All Main Features The Same Tone and Colour

The final thing to consider is using the same wall and floor tiles throughout the bathroom, this keeps a sense of continuity throughout the room. If you’re looking to maximise the spatial feel of your room, steer clear from having dark floor tiles and light wall tiles (or visa versa) as this will chop up space and will make your bathroom feel considerably smaller.

If you’re looking to add some differing tones or colours to your bathroom, this should be done by introducing some objects with contrasting colours to the tiles. Furnishings like cabinets and light fixtures are fantastic at providing contrasting colours to that of your tiles, whilst not affecting the size of your bathroom.

Other Space Enhancing Tips

Aside from tiles, there are some other great techniques you can utilise to make your bathroom feel bigger. Here’s a few of our favourites:

  • Reflect the Space With Mirrors – A large mirror is a fantastic way to make your bathroom feel much larger than it actually is. A large mirror will reflect any natural light that spills into your room and will give the effect that the room is larger than in reality. If your bathroom doesn’t allow the space for a large mirror, try installing several smaller mirrors around your bathroom artistically to get the same effect.
  • Cut Out Small Accessories – An abundance of accessories scattered around the bathroom is the number one culprit for making a space feel even smaller than it is. Try and store all bathroom accessories in a cupboard if possible, only leave the absolute essentials out on display. You’ll be surprised how spacious your bathroom will feel after doing so.

Thankfully, there are many techniques and steps you can take to make a room feel bigger than it actually is. When it comes to the humble bathroom, making this feel larger than it actually is can be as simple as installing the right types of tiles.

How to Make A Small Bathroom Look Bigger with Tiles (2024)

FAQs

What color tiles make a small bathroom look bigger? ›

Choosing lighter colours for your bathroom tiles, such as white, cream or even a light grey, will help make your small bathroom look that much bigger, thanks to the tiles reflecting more light than darker coloured tiles would.

Do big tiles look good in a small bathroom? ›

Using larger floor tiles is a great way to trick the eye and make a room look bigger than it actually is. Larger tiles used throughout the bathroom look a lot less 'busy' than with smaller tiles, which therefore make the room appear larger; the lack of grout lines also makes the whole space appear more expansive.

What tile pattern makes a room look bigger? ›

Diagonal and Diamond Arrangement

Not only do diagonal or diamond tile patterns help create a statement feature wall, but they will also help break up any harsh lines. As the boundaries and harsh-lines are less defined, this subtle arrangement tricks the eye into perceiving the space to appear much bigger than it is!

What size tile is best for a very small bathroom? ›

Whilst there are lots of differing opinions on the subject, small spaces including bathrooms can actually really benefit from larger tiles. 60 x 60 and 30 x 60 tiles or similar sizes for walls and floors are incredibly popular choices and can look stunning.

What tile pattern is best for a small bathroom? ›

Similar to a diagonal pattern, chevron stripes are a type of tile pattern that can truly elongate your bathroom, ultimately adding a sense of depth to space. Eliminate any excess visual clutter by pairing subtle chevron stripes with stark white floors and fixtures.

Should you tile all walls in a small bathroom? ›

One of the most common questions when it comes to decorating the bathroom is: “Should the walls be fully tiled or half tiled?” The answer is that there is no “right” way. It's not a matter of full-tiled being better than half-tiled. Rather, both are different but equally good ways to decorate your bathroom walls.

Should I use dark or light tile in a small bathroom? ›

The dark coloured bathroom tiles grounds the floor, which makes the room feel smaller. To avoid such a feel, we recommend to use light coloured tiles for the floor if using dark coloured tiles for the walls. This contrast will create a horizon to make the dimensions of the room seem larger.

What is the best flooring for a small bathroom? ›

Small Bathroom Makeover on a Budget

Linoleum floors are a great choice for a room where your flooring needs to be water resistant. Standard vinyl flooring is a great option for many who are looking for budget bathroom flooring ideas.

Do shiny tiles make a room look bigger? ›

Allowing natural light into a space opens up the interior, and gloss tiles can help with just that. The smooth and shiny finish of gloss tiles, such as those from our Marmi and Bookmatch collections, reflect light of their surface. As the light bounces from tile to tile, the room appears brighter and larger.

What color makes a small bathroom look bigger? ›

Go all-white. All-white bathroom designs never go out of style. They also have the added advantage of making the room look bigger as white reflects light better than any other colour. As most bathroom fixtures tend to be white, this also creates a more seamless, unbroken look throughout the space.

What flooring makes a small bathroom look bigger? ›

Finally, our advice is to use a horizontal floor tile pattern to widen your floor space. Horizontal floor tiles are successful in making the room look less cramped, and making your small bathroom appear that much larger.

What is the best color tile for a small bathroom? ›

Go For Light When Space Is Tight

Most people go for light hues such as white, cream and light grey although many small bathrooms still look fantastic with darker shades. Neutral colours help keep the tone of a room calm and clean which really helps in smaller rooms.

What is a good color to paint a small bathroom to make it look bigger? ›

According to basic design principles, light colors such as white, crème, pastel blue, gray or yellow are all recommended colors to paint a small bathroom in order to visually expand a room, while dark colors such as a deep red, green or brown, will make a room feel smaller.

What color looks best in a small bathroom? ›

Stay away from using dark colors for paint and instead use cool, light grays and blues or warm neutrals, like Elusive Blue or Stargazer. These colors are best because they are light and make the room look bigger. They also reflect light, making the room look brighter.

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