Designing a small modern en suite

One of the most luxurious things you can add to your home is your own en suite bathroom. Unfortunately, many homes don’t have a lot of room where they can build one, but even a wardrobe sized space can fit a tiny en suite, and there are plenty of ways to make it feel a little bit bigger than it really is.

If you want your en suite to look modern and uncluttered, you need to be careful what you choose to put in there. Try to keep the number of bottles and towels low or store what you need in the bedroom. If you really need some storage in the en suite itself, have open shelves so you’re not calculating how much room you can spare for doors and drawers.

Lighting is one of the easiest ways to improve a small room. If there’s no window, it’s particularly important to design your lighting strategically. Halogen spot lights will brighten the room within invading the space, and using mirror or mirrored surfaces to bounce the light will work wonders.

Choosing the right tiling too will make a huge difference to how your little en suite looks – the lighter the colour of the tiles, the better. Anything reflective or lightly coloured will make the space seem much larger. The size of the tiles is also important – very large ones can give the illusion of a more open room, and very small ones, such as mosaic tiling will have the same effect. Too much repetition on medium sized tiles will shrink the room though.

You should always remember to measure your shower, storage cupboard and toilet fixtures before installing them in a small bathroom and figure out the layout first. They might appear to fit but block your access to the door or shower if not laid out properly.