If you live an apartment with a small kitchen, odds are you might be dealing with a small bathroom as well. In New York, that’s obviously extremely common. But just like with the kitchen, my years in the remodeling industry have given me valuable insight into ways my team at NYKB | Kitchen & Bath can help you turn your small bathroom into a beautiful space that meets all of your needs. Here are a few ideas on how to do that…
Make everything “LIGHT.” This starts with the obvious choice of bringing as much physical “light” to the bathroom as possible. Natural light is preferable. Man made light can also work well, especially if you recess the lighting in order to preserve more air space. LED’s are the perfect way to give a small room more light, they emit brighter whites and do not heat us like Halogen lights. Next, we move on to colors, where “light” is also preferable. No blacks, no bolds… just soft, pale colors that will make the space feel more open. Third, we want to go “light” on the furniture. While this may limit us in some areas, the choice of a bulky vanity cabinet for your sink can take up a good chunk a real estate in a small bathroom.
Go with a pedestal or wall-mounted sink. I just mentioned how the sink vanity can be an obstruction, which is why at NYKB, we often recommend pedestal sinks for clients in Manhattan with small bathrooms. They offer the advantages of saving a ton of floor space and making the bathroom “feel” more open, while also looking beautiful. There are also sinks and vanities that mount directly to the wall. While many of our customers believe that they are losing storage space by installing a wall mounted vanity, the truth is that wall-mounted vanities offer the same amount of storage space. How is that possible? Well, you have to take the plumbing fixtures and vanity legs into consideration. Most self standing vanities have only one shelf, and their support system (legs/foundation) takes up half of the space.
Shelving is your friend. I am often amazed at how much more open a room looks when you replace cabinets with shelves. It just makes everything more airy. The other great thing about shelves is that, with a little creativity, you can stick them almost anywhere. In a bathroom, look for little nooks of space like directly over the door or above the toilet. You could even add a recessed niche shelf into your shower so you can easily store your shampoos, conditioners, and soaps.
Click for Free Bathroom Consultation!
Pay attention to the doors. The way your door swings can cost you a ton of space. And while it’s possible to make it swing outward into the hall, that’s often a bad choice in a small New York City apartment. I recommend swapping your standard swinging door out for a pocket door, which takes up literally no space. Now you can use that area that used to be blocked behind the door for storage. I also think you should consider a clear glass shower door to replace your old shower curtain or frosted glass door. This goes right along with tip number 1 of keeping everything “light.
Become more of a minimalist. “Minimalist” is a style choice. “Clutter” is not. It’s just a simple fact that when you live in NYC, there are things you have to give up. This often starts in the home, especially if you have a small bathroom. At NYKB, we can do a lot to maximize every inch of your bathroom space. But after renovating thousands of bathrooms, I’ve looked back and realized that the minimalist ones often end up the most beautiful. Don’t get me wrong, minimalist doesn’t mean that you can’t have style. You just need to be creative with it. A cool-looking hook to hang your towel on instead of a full towel rod. Stylish baskets to store your linens. Floating shelves. All minimalist choices that can still result in the bathroom you’ve always wanted.
These are just a few tips to maximize the space in your bathroom. Unlike most of our suggestions and techniques, these tips can be used in any bathroom and are not limited to New York designs, so feel free to share this with all of your friends. Should you have any more questions regarding small bathroom designs, please reach out to our designers at NYKB or stop by our Flatiron showroom to view our small bathroom displays, receive expert remodeling advice and schedule a free bathroom consultation. We are the Manhattan bathroom specialists and have solutions for everyone. If you would prefer to just give us a call, please reach out at (212) 7242-3500, or click here to fill out our Free Consultation Form.Sincerely,
