Bright white bathrooms are all over Pinterest and Instagram. Their clean lines and airy feel conjure thoughts of a rejuvenating spa complete with an island breeze. Bliss.
So, it can be tricky as you enter your dimly lit bathroom and reality comes crashing down. Poorly lit bathrooms are often the result of a pinhole window, only big enough to crack for some much-needed ventilation. That’s if you have a window at all. Looking at you, under-the-stairs cloakroom.
How Can I Make My Bathroom Look Brighter?
In short, you can brighten your bathroom in three ways.
- Introduce light reflective surfaces such as mirrors and glossy tiles
- Keep your suite clutter-free to avoid blocking the light you do have.
- Add new light fixings and a new window (often easier than you’d think!).
Here Is Our 9 Top Ways To Brighten Your Bathroom:
1. Install Multi-Head Light Fittings
Dark bathrooms typically suffer from a lack of light fixings. If wiring and plastering new spotlights isn’t in the budget, opt for a multi-head light fixing in a chrome finish.
Two of these bar bathroom spotlights will flood your room with light. Or try the Forum Reena for an elegant finish.
Bear in mind that the wattage of light bulbs isn’t an accurate measure of brightness. Instead, choose high-quality light bulbs with a white or cool white colour.
2. Reflect And Refract Light With Chrome Fixings And Mirrors
Chrome finishes and mirrors reflect the light you have around the room, brightening dark corners. Swap your taps and shower for chrome-plated fixings. Chrome heated towel rails are also a great addition to a dark bathroom.
Invest in a large mirror above your vanity or sink to reflect, and add smaller mirrors around the room to bounce even more light around your bathroom.
3. Install Secondary Lighting Sources
Rethink what can be a source of light and install a mirror with LEDs to introduce a second light source. Even if you cannot make your entire bathroom light, a well-lit vanity will trick you into feeling like the whole room is much brighter. LED mirrors are reminiscent of a true window, so they work particularly well in windowless bathrooms.
4. Opt For Glass And Gloss Furniture With Clean Lines
Use a glass bath screen or glass shower enclosure to let it pass through to the separated shower space. Shower curtains block light and take up too much space, making a bathroom feel darker.
In the same track as our glass enclosures, swap ornate cabinets for clean edge pieces that cast minimal shadows. Bonus point; pick furniture with a glossy finish to reflect light even more.
5. Choose Bright Or White Paint And Shower Tiles
Changing your bathroom paint colours is an affordable way to impact a room's light level. You may not think your warm sandy or cream walls are darkening your bathroom, but their impact on your bathroom walls is night and day compared to white paint. Choose a paint with a glossy finish for added light bouncing properties.
We can also apply the 'white equals bright' principle to tiles and shower panels. Install white wall panels to introduce even more bright bathroom colours within your shower and bounce the light around your bathroom.
6. Install Functional Vanities For Clutter-Free Storage
Baskets and beauty products cast shadows. Choose vanities and sinks with built-in storage, like a floor-standing vanity with two draws, so you can tidy away products that otherwise block light. Simpler furniture pieces are also an effective choice if you want to open up a small bathroom.
7. Choose Small Plants
Avoid plants with large leaves or that can grow too large as they will also cast shadows. Hang small to medium-sized plants from the ceiling, away from the lights, to avoid casting shadows across the floor or surfaces. Check out our blog on finding the perfect house plant for your bathroom.
8. Introduce Fresh Scents
It seems counterproductive to focus on smells when talking about light, but we frequently talk about scents as being light and breezy. Adding cotton scented diffusers or scent bombs into your bathroom will trick your brain into thinking it’s brighter and fresher than it is.
9. Install An Additional Window
Adding a new window to let in natural light isn’t an option for everyone, but knocking through an external wall to introduce a second or larger window is easier than you might think. It can also offer an excellent opportunity to rethink the entire bathroom layout.
If your hallway is exceptionally bright, you can also install doors with a frosted window to act as an inward-facing window.
A Reliable Bathroom Supplier
Your bathroom should be a sanctuary; that’s why all our products come with a fit and forget 10-year guarantee. In the unlikely event that something fails, you won’t need to lift a finger other than giving us a call.
Hopefully, we’ve answered the question “How do you brighten a dark windowless bathroom?” and inspired you to upgrade your bathroom. If so, take a look at our breezy bathroom suites to get started.
