A Barn Door Gives This Bathroom More Room to Wow
See how design tricks help this 5-foot-wide master bath feel spacious
Challenge: “I think the greatest challenge was working around the tight constraints,” MacLeod says. Her team had to work with a narrow floor plan, an issue to which many homeowners can relate. How did MacLeod make the most of this 5-foot-wide bathroom?
Door: One way she made the bathroom feel bigger was by eliminating a traditional bathroom door. A sliding barn door allowed her to widen the door opening, which gives the illusion of a larger space inside. It also created more space inside the bathroom because there is no inward-swinging door to get in the way. Finally, a barn door adds visual interest to the entire master suite.
“There should always be an initial statement piece whenever you enter a room,” MacLeod says. Here, the barn door is something that catches your eye as soon as you enter the suite.
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Materials: The predominately white color palette also visually enlarged the room. Light floor tiles, white shower wall tiles and the white vanity make the room feel more open. All this, combined with plenty of light, makes the room seem, well, bigger.
Lighting: A skylight brings natural light into the bathroom throughout the day. Wall sconces installed directly on the vanity mirror ensure that the homeowners have light in the bathroom at any time of day.
Pro tip: “Typically installers find it is harder to install fixtures on mirrors due to the risk of the mirror cracking,” MacLeod says. “However, we tend to have this type of install often, and it is just important to ensure you hire the right trades who are compatible.”
Find kitchen and bath installers
Door: One way she made the bathroom feel bigger was by eliminating a traditional bathroom door. A sliding barn door allowed her to widen the door opening, which gives the illusion of a larger space inside. It also created more space inside the bathroom because there is no inward-swinging door to get in the way. Finally, a barn door adds visual interest to the entire master suite.
“There should always be an initial statement piece whenever you enter a room,” MacLeod says. Here, the barn door is something that catches your eye as soon as you enter the suite.
Browse barn doors
Materials: The predominately white color palette also visually enlarged the room. Light floor tiles, white shower wall tiles and the white vanity make the room feel more open. All this, combined with plenty of light, makes the room seem, well, bigger.
Lighting: A skylight brings natural light into the bathroom throughout the day. Wall sconces installed directly on the vanity mirror ensure that the homeowners have light in the bathroom at any time of day.
Pro tip: “Typically installers find it is harder to install fixtures on mirrors due to the risk of the mirror cracking,” MacLeod says. “However, we tend to have this type of install often, and it is just important to ensure you hire the right trades who are compatible.”
Find kitchen and bath installers
Style: The clients liked a transitional design style, which falls between traditional and contemporary.
“One trick to accomplish a transitional space is by blending different styles together to not only generate visual interest but to also provide a balance,” MacLeod says. Flat-panel cabinets add a modern touch, she says, while legs on the millwork read more transitional.
The barn door helps the space feel a bit industrial from the outside, and simple and subtle details, such as the contrasting black hardware, add industrial touches inside.
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“One trick to accomplish a transitional space is by blending different styles together to not only generate visual interest but to also provide a balance,” MacLeod says. Flat-panel cabinets add a modern touch, she says, while legs on the millwork read more transitional.
The barn door helps the space feel a bit industrial from the outside, and simple and subtle details, such as the contrasting black hardware, add industrial touches inside.
Browse black cabinet and drawer hardware
Design change: After MacLeod presented her design recommendations to the clients, they made one big change in the bathroom. Initially, a single-sink vanity, with a toilet to its right, was proposed because of the room’s dimensions. The clients worked with the building team to create a nook across from the sink farthest from the shower, giving them space to put a double-sink vanity along one wall and to hide the toilet on the opposite wall. (You can see that nook reflected in the mirror in the first photo.)
MacLeod loved this change. “One rule of thumb for homeowners is to always have the toilet located in the most private area of the bathroom,” she says, “and not as the first thing you see.”
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More
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MacLeod loved this change. “One rule of thumb for homeowners is to always have the toilet located in the most private area of the bathroom,” she says, “and not as the first thing you see.”
Browse double-sink vanities
More
Key Measurements to Make the Most of Your Bathroom
5 Ways With an 8-by-5-Foot Bathroom
Master Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with a daughter
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Size: 56 square feet (5.2 square meters)
Designer: Karly MacLeod, owner and principal designer of Karly Kristina Design
The backstory: This family of three brought in designer Karly MacLeod to help them make design decisions as they built their new house. This included advice for the en suite master bathroom. The family’s main goals were for the room to function well, have hints of industrial style and maintain resale value.
Scope of work: MacLeod provided working design plans, including construction drawings and millwork designs. She also presented the family with recommendations for finishes, fixtures, colors and material sources. After that, the homeowners made final design decisions, purchased the materials and coordinated the design’s execution, which was a yearlong process.