By: Kim Meehan

Unless your bathroom is as huge as a palatial Turkish bath, small bathroom remodeling can be a challenge indeed. For starters, you need to consider functionality above everything else. A bathroom where you can hardly move to bathe or do normal functions is as acceptable as using the bushes to do your business. Also, you need to consider aesthetics as well. After all, who wants to “go” in a bathroom that looks like it is a portal to the underworld? Seriously speaking though, if you are considering putting a good amount of your savings into improving this particular space, here are a couple of small bathroom remodeling tips that can make this area look great, feel larger, and serve your needs better.

1. Use oversized tiles for your floors. Oversized tiles can help make your small bathroom space look really big. Although the popular advice is to go for light colored ones, you might want to experiment with hues that are in more colorful and deeper shades. If you prefer really dark colored tiles, you may want to go for marbled look. This works well since the “marble veins” help break up the monotonous colors of the tiles.

2. When it comes to small bathroom remodeling, walls really need to be in lighter shades. These do not have to be necessarily in the different shades of white. You can go for pale blue, a tinge of yellow, or a hint of rose – whatever suits your fancy. If you want to paper your walls, you should try to keep the designs to the smallest and almost indistinct colors. This way, the bathroom space does not feel overcrowded.

3. Remove all standing cabinets in the space, and have a contractor install hanging cabinets instead. This helps open up the floor space more. Make sure though that the hanging cabinets are high enough to clear normal head height, but accessible enough for the person to use without mounting on any step or furniture. One of the best recommendable tips on small bathroom remodeling is to actually bring some of the cabinets outside the small bathroom space. This removes most of the clutter you normally find within the bathroom, and you can avail of the most cubic area as possible. If the outside space permits it, you can transform a hallway cabinet into your “bathroom” cabinet, where you can stock you bathroom supplies, towels and whatnots.

4. Bathroom sinks can be an issue. Some people simply love huge vanity sinks while others prefer the dainty looking ones. You are at liberty to choose what you want. However, for people who prefer a more solid looking vanity bathroom sink, you might want to maximize that space to its full potential. Choose the models with storage spaces underneath. Make sure that the “basin” for your actual sink is small enough that you have the rest of the surface usable for installing small items like soap holders, your shaving paraphernalia or even your oral hygiene materials. If you want the dainty and slim pedestal sinks, try to choose the ones that have a relatively larger basin rims. This gives you the surface area to place some of your essentials in.