Here are some tricks can help you expand your bathroom or powdr room space without moving any walls.

Most of us dream of having a vast, spacious bathroom with a separate tub and shower and two sinks. Whether you live that dream or not, you can make your bathroom live up to its full potential by using these strategies to give it a larger look. 

Go Airy With White On White

One of the easiest ways to give your room a spacious look is to use lots of white — white tile, white paint, a white vanity and so on. This noncolor-color naturally, makes a space look bigger. It also reflects any available light, rather than absorbing it.

White finishes can make any space look bigger, but they’re especially effective in a bathroom. Since a bathroom typically has lots of white fixtures already (the tub, toilet and sink, for example), using white for other surfaces creates a seamless look that makes the space appear as airy as possible.

Note that using lots of white doesn’t mean the space has to lack character. Using different textural elements such as molding, pale stone or tile and fabric accents, as well as the occasional touch of metallics or wood, will retain the seamless look while still giving the eye lots of richness to take in.

Try Tone On Tone

Not a fan of white? You can still get a very big and breezy effect with a tone-on-tone palette in warm beige, soft grays or even faint hues such as powder blue. Choose a beautiful tile, and find a paint color for the remaining walls that picks up on one of the hues within it. The overall effect is still serene and spa-like, without the jarring visual breaks to shrink your perception of the space.

Use A Floating Vanity

In a tight bathroom space, it can be tricky to balance a demand for storage with a desire for space. A floating vanity is a great answer. It gives you lots of room to store daily essentials, but the peek of flooring underneath makes the area feel more open. In a very small space, having a little bit more room to plant your feet can make a big difference.

Less Is More

If you don’t really need maximum storage, consider using a smaller vanity to leave a bit more open space, rather than fitting in the biggest unit you can. Leaving a little negative space will make the area feel roomier. And if your toilet or tub is next to your vanity, you’ll appreciate the extra open space even more.

Go Big With Your Mirror

A large mirror can double the size of your space and, in a bathroom especially. A very large mirror can be a bit expensive. However, compared with the price of tiling that wall, a mirror can actually give you an equally dramatic look at a better value.

Splurge on a large mirror with a beautiful frame, or go wall-to-wall with a custom-sized piece. The effect can be so powerful that you need little else to make the room look perfectly finished. This can be especially effective in slim powder rooms with small walls that don’t take much glass to cover.

Use A Glass Panel

Another great way to expand the look of your space is by replacing a shower curtain with a glass panel or door. The entire square footage of the room will be visible at once for a bigger look, especially when you’re in the shower.

If you prefer more privacy, you can use a frosted or tinted glass panel, which will still allow a lot of light to filter through.

If you’re performing a complete renovation and don’t consider yourself a bath person, try skipping the tub altogether and installing just a shower instead. They are easier to get in and out of, and removing the tub eliminates a lot of bulk that eats up precious room.

Find Your Niche

Sometimes a little extra space can go a long way. Adding an open niche not only steals some empty wall cavity space to use as storage, but it can add a lot of visual depth that makes the walls look farther away than they really are.

Don’t love open shelving? Use that niche space for an inset cabinet and get all that functional storage without having a large object protruding into the room at eye level. This will make the vanity area feel much more open and give you lots of extra elbow room.

Keep in mind that plumbing, studs and other hidden conditions can affect where you can and can’t add a niche, so you should definitely talk to a professional before planning to open any walls.

Apply Bright Lighting

Good lighting is important to making any space look big and open, but in bathrooms, which often don’t have much natural light, it’s especially important. Plus, you need good lighting to do things such as shave or apply makeup effectively. Its importance can’t be overstated.

For these reasons, it’s key to have a good lighting scheme, preferably with multiple light sources at different locations. A grid of ceiling lights, as well as sconces or a contemporary edge-lighted mirror will help you avoid shadowing and make the space feel bright and open.

In a small powder room, or where you can’t add new electrical for lights, try changing your ceiling light to one with multiple bulbs so you have light coming from several directions from one fixture.

Create Long Lines

Whether your bathroom is a typical rectangle or more oddly shaped, you can usually find one wall or area that’s a bit longer than others to emphasize. Adding a shelf, a band of tile, a molding chair rail or another long element (even a simple stripe of paint) can help emphasize the longest line in your room and draw the eye to the widest point.

Visually Push The Walls Apart

If your bathroom is already very long and tunnel-shaped, rather than emphasize the length even more, consider working against the length and visually stretching the width instead.

Go Vertical

If your bathroom has small square footage, rather than try to make it look bigger horizontally, the smartest approach is to embrace the height as the largest dimension and emphasize that feature instead.

Using vertical elements as simple as a tall, thin mirror and a bold accent color on a skinny wall can enhance the height of a space and make the room feel big and breezy. Add some delicate lights and a little black and white tile, and you’ve got lots to keep the eye moving from flooring to ceiling.

Keep A Low Profile

Want to add some personality or drama to your bathroom without visually shrinking the space? Just look down. Try adding drama to elements with a lower profile, such as the vanity or the floor tile, while keeping the elements around your eyeline more simple and open. This approach gives the room lots of character while still maintaining a sense of openness. In fact, having a dark or vibrant color near floor level can sometimes make the upper half of the room feel even more open and airy by contrast.

As we have all been spending so much more time in our homes; here are some ways to improve health, wellness and comfort through home design and style.

Air Quality

There are plenty of ways to set up a house for good air quality, whether it’s designing spaces to create cross breezes or installing air purifiers. Another is adding a living walls, which adds a pleasing natural element while helping to purify the air. For example, horticultural therapy lowers blood pressure and heart rate. Tending to gardens, houseplants and fresh flowers at home can help to promote wellness.

Incorporating plants into home design also establishes a link with nature to create healthy indoor environments. In addition to plants, the use of natural materials can help establish these links. Create the feeling of a favourite outdoor place through artwork, colour and materials in your home. Choose colours that evokes a mood and enhances comfort.

Lighting

Using lighting to promote wellness means incorporating natural light and creating a pleasing ambiance with artificial light. Today’s LED lighting options can change colour in a way that helps change mood. Controllable and adjustable lights can work with our natural circadian rhythms. This results in a more productive day as well as a good night’s sleep. For example, in the evening, amber light can promote calmness. While the natural light pouring in through a skylight or window can help wake a person up in the morning and prepare them to face the day.

Comfort And Movement In Space

This includes creating floor and furniture plans that make it easy to flow through a space. This means removing any obstacles, and leaving enough space between furnishings to pass through.

Comfort also means achieving an uncluttered feeling in a space. This doesn’t have to mean a strict minimalist style, but it does mean curating favorite books, knickknacks, photos and other mementos and maintaining a clean and airy feel by finding proper places for them. Comfort also includes individual pieces of furniture. For example, even if the current work-from-home situation doesn’t last, a proper ergonomic chair is a worthy investment.

Thermal Well-Being

Maintaining a comfortable temperature is another key element of promoting wellness in design. Technology can be a big help with this, whether it involves a smart thermostat or heated floors. Homes with a tight envelope also promote thermal comfort. Windows or doors that aren’t drafty allow for greater control over heating and cooling systems.

Achieve thermal comfort on a smaller scale by placing things like throw blankets and warm slippers where needed.

Auditory Comfort

This refers to finding a quiet refuge at home. While the average house may not have space for a dedicated meditation or quiet room, any place of relaxation will do. It can be as simple as a favorite reading chair in a bedroom.

Music also plays a part. Match your music to the mood you want to evoke. The soothing sound of water splashing in a fountain is another example of acoustical comfort.

Put Work Away

When it’s time for unwinding, put work away. If a desk is in the bedroom, put papers and electronic devices away when the workday is over.

Think About Scents 

Engaging any of the five senses can affect mood. Adding pleasing scents such as fresh eucalyptus or lavender will enhance the way you experience your home.

How Your Home Can Help You Feel Good

* Think about the goal of feeling good as soon as you walk in your home.

* Consider how you want your home to look, feel, smell and sound.

* Remove, fix or put away things that are bothering you, particularly dust-collecting clutter.

* Make small changes to enhance your mood —

                    light a favorite candle;

                    experiment with different furniture arrangements until it feels right;

                    locate your desk under a window with a favorite view;

                    place a speaker where you want to listen to your favorite music;

                    pot a grocery store basil plant and put it in the kitchen;

                    cozy up a place of respite with a throw blanket;

                    change out a lightbulb that’s not warm enough;

                    put your lights on dimmers.

If you don’t have the space or budget for a separate shower and bath, you’ve probably decided on a combined shower-bath. But should you go with a shower curtain, or choose a glass shower door to enclose it? Some of us might like the softer look of fabric that can be changed at will, while others might love the no-nonsense efficiency of a sheer pane of glass.

Here are the benefits of shower curtains and glass doors.

Shower Curtains

Soften Surfaces

Fabric can soften the overall aesthetic of a bathroom. Make sure your curtain — or at least the outer fabric section — can be washed at home, so any hint of mildew or staining can be nipped in the bud.

Add Personality 

Shower curtains can instantly inject a blast of color, print and personality with the minimum of fuss, expense and effort. And even better, when you’re tired of the look, the curtain can be replaced with one in a different style.

Be bold with color in the bathroom and remember, you don’t have to stick with top-to-bottom white for a fresh feel.

Change A Tub Into A Shower-Tub

Claw-foot tubs baths with a shower above can be difficult to pull off — particularly when it comes to dealing with water spills and splashes. Glass panels are generally a no-no where curves and awkwardly shaped tubs are concerned, unless you go for something custom, so your best bet is to install a robust ceiling-mounted rail and finish with a heavy-duty, waterproof shower curtain that can be swept all the way around the inside the tub.

Prettify The Room

The No. 1 reason people choose a shower curtain is simple: to prettify the room and makes you want to stay there all day.

Can Make A Design Modern 

May people think shower curtains are a thumbs down for the modern bathroom. Think again.

Glass Doors and Panels

Gives Full Enclosure 

There’s no fear of water escaping from the bath, as sliding doors fully enclose the tub. Sliding panels of glass are also a good option where space is at a premium, as they don’t need to hinge or pivot outward.

Helps Utilize Tricky Spaces 

A bath can be placed rather neatly in an unused alcove or nook in a converted attic, but how to cope with the sloping ceilings if you want a shower too?

One option is a custom shower panel, which can accommodate tricky recesses and angles as well as nonstandard heights. You might pay extra for this item, but for a neat, splash-proof solution, it’s worth considering.

Expands The Space

A fixed panel of frameless glass looks the part in any style of bathroom. This is the best option if your bathroom is compact and a curtain or glass doors with hardware would break up the space and visually shrink your room.

Keep It Simple 

If you have a lot going on in terms of decor in the rest of the bathroom then perhaps plain no-frills glass is the best solution.

Look for glass that has been finished with a special coating so dirt and limescale won’t accumulate and make it hard to keep clean. It might bump up the overall price of the screen, but it will save you cleaning time.

Gives You Options

With a shower curtain, you have one style of entry — you pull the curtain to one side to step in and then pull it closed. With glass enclosures, you have a choice of several types of entry. Besides a fixed panel of glass with an opening on one side, you can choose among various door types — sliding, hinged and folding.

While design trends come and go a must-have item in most homes, is your television. But this item doesn’t have to be an eyesore. With a little bit of creativity, you can hide your TV and transform your room into a multifunctional space that doesn’t compromise on style.

Hide It Behind a Map or Picture

Would you guess a flatscreen or a console setup is hiding behind a map? Look for a pull down map or pull down art to transform your TV room. The result: clean, stylish and functional. 

If your TV is above a fireplace mantle, another option is to lean a mirror, or a framed picture on the wall in front of your TV for a layered look. The fireplace mantle is a focal point, and its visual esthetic is lessened by having the television front and centre; hiding it behind a stylish mirror or piece of art is a great way to improve the look of your space.  

Splurge On The Ultimate Flatscreen 

While this option isn’t cheap, it’s worth considering if a new flat screen is in the budget. Doubling as a TV and a piece of art, new televisions can display digital artwork when not being used for watching. Similar to a framed picture, these television models mount completely flat against the wall, hiding brackets and other hardware. 

Make Your TV Part Of  A Gallery Wall 

Instead of drawing attention away from your TV, this option embraces your TV as part of the main focal point in a room. To build a gallery wall around your TV, use tape to outline your TV and console before moving it out of the way. Next, lay out your artwork on the floor, use a piece of paper, cardboard or tape outline to represent the TV and play around with how different colours and frame sizes fit together. When you’re happy with the layout, use tape to outline where each picture will go on the wall before hanging your pieces. 

Paint The TV Wall A Darker Colour 

Clean and neutral walls are in style, but hanging a big, black TV in the centre of your white wall is sure to be an eyesore. To help draw attention away from your TV, consider painting an accent wall in a darker colour that won’t contrast as much with your television. Without the need for any hardware or holes in the wall, this is a quick fix budget-friendly option.  

Opt For No TV With A Screen And Projector

If your TV is mainly reserved for movie nights or sporting events, consider opting for a screen and projector instead of a traditional television. With this option, you can quickly set up a big screen TV experience that can be packed away when it’s not being used. Screens and projectors are available in a range of options depending on your budget and the size of your room.

Hide It Behind Barn Doors 

Hide your TV and transform the look of your room by installing sliding barn doors. Big box retailers have sliding barn doors in a range of colours and costs. For a true rustic or vintage look, try searching your local online marketplaces for used barn doors that will fit your space.

Top design looks among professionals and retailers for Fall 2020, include prominent metallic accents, thick winter white upholstery, luxe textures such as faux shagreen, and desert-inspired color palettes.

Heavy Metal Influence

Whether vintage brass, antiqued bronze, blackened steel, chiseled iron or polished chrome, prominent metal accents are adding patinaed style to all sorts of furniture. Metals are showing up on furniture feet; upholstery nails; industrial rivets; and console, cabinet, sofa and chair bases. 

Bold metal accents are popping up in combination with other trends, such as the intersection of metals and the ongoing nature-inspired trend. The combination is appearing on furniture, lighting and accessories.

Channel-Tufted Upholstery

In keeping with the recent popularity of Art Deco-inspired style, designs are showing glamorous channel-tufted upholstery on beds, sofas and chairs. Channel tufting can be vertical or horizontal and it gives furniture a plush look.

Other trends spotted are reflected in strong cylindrical shapes, prominent metal accents and the desert-inspired colors.

Pleated Upholstery

Like channel tufting, the pleated upholstered look features strong, straight lines. The difference is that the pleated look is flatter and has folds at the edges. Pleated leather upholstery gives a modern spin to chairs and sofas. 

Caned Furniture

Caning has been around for centuries, yet it still looks great on modern and contemporary pieces. Fresh takes on caning add light-colored wood, interesting texture and a peek-a-boo sensibility to beds, chairs and cabinetry.

The light texture of caning mixed with white bedding can add a breezy, tropical island vibe to a bedroom.

Plush Winter White Upholstery

Last fall, white wool bouclé upholstery popped up in quite a few spaces. Slubbed and plush winter white textiles follow suit this year, often accented by metal finishes.

Faux Shagreen

Interesting natural textures have been trending for several years, and each year a few specific ones dominate. This year, the luxe texture of faux shagreen is a standout, wrapping tables, desks, consoles and credenzas. Real shagreen is a rawhide usually taken from a stingray or shark, but the cruelty-free imitation is today’s material of choice.