Joanna Gaines' Bathroom Lighting Trick Makes Any Small Space Feel Bigger

Anyone with a small bathroom has likely wondered how they can make their space feel bigger. Thankfully, there are many ways to achieve a sense of space without skimping on style or tearing down walls. A simple yet highly effective trick, as employed by HGTV star Joanna Gaines, is to use the bathroom's lighting to make the small space feel bigger while maintaining the existing square footage.

In a video tour of an especially small bathroom she remodeled, Gaines says, "It was really important to make the space light and airy because it's only 45 square feet. One of the biggest things I find in small spaces is there's not enough lighting. I always encourage people, if you have some room in the budget, add extra lighting." Gaines achieves this by increasing the amount of general lighting in the space.

General lighting is meant to provide clear illumination in a space, evenly spreading light across all surfaces. In this small bathroom, Gaines installs a ceiling chandelier for most general lighting and adds a double sconce above the vanity for additional brightness. However, it's not the lights alone that help make this space feel larger. They need to play off of other colors and textures in the space to really make the bathroom feel much larger than 45 square feet.

While light reduces shadows and dark corners, you need to pair it with the proper colors and textures. Gaines' simple color trick maximizes the bathroom's spatial illusion. The walls are painted a lighter color, while the floors and shower are covered with white tiles with lighter colored grout.

The reason these choices are so important is that light needs to reflect to create the illusion of space. With paint, for example, you need one with a higher Light Reflective Value (LRV) to achieve that sense of space. Texture also plays a role here. For Gaines, it enters the bathroom through a specially chosen shower curtain that is not only tall but also wavy, drawing the eye upwards. This sense of height adds vertical interest that pairs perfectly with the chandelier, which casts light from the ceiling.

Another way Gaines pairs light and color is with the bathroom mirror. Mirrors naturally add to the reflective and spatial value of light, but Gaines also makes sure the color responds accordingly, saying in the video tour: "I ended up painting it white because I wanted it to be light, but it has a lot of character and detail that really make it pop." The vanity and sink are lighter colors, and the hardware also update the bathroom by pairing with the room's color palette while maintaining definition.