7 Ways to Open Up a Windowless Bathroom

A small footprint presents design challenges that can be difficult to overcome in the bathroom, particularly if there are no windows. After all, windows do more than provide a view to the outdoors: They admit the color-clarifying, texture-highlighting natural light that enables you to see better as you go about your daily grooming routine. Not to mention, windows also promote a sense of airy openness—a welcome relief in a space that might otherwise feel cramped. Still, even in the absence of a window, it's not only possible but can be surprisingly easy to make a small, dim, and forbidding bathroom feel bigger, brighter, and more welcoming. One company in particular, Solatube International, Inc., offers a suite of innovative tubular daylighting devices capable of introducing a night-and-day difference to the most tomb-like space. Click through now to see a range of effective solutions for maximizing light and creating the illusion of additional square footage in a small, windowless bath.

By Jennifer Noonan | Updated Dec 29, 2020 01:14 PM

A More Versatile Skylight

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A More Versatile Skylight

To the state the obvious, adding a window in your bathroom would be a costly undertaking—or, depending on the floor plan, simply impossible. But believe it or not, there's always the option of adding a skylight. Whereas a conventional skylight can only illuminate space directly beneath the roof, the Solatube Daylighting System operates in a different, more ingenious way. After capturing rays on the roof, the device channels light down through a compact, highly reflective tube measuring up to 40 feet. That enables Solatube systems to deliver natural light to virtually any room in the house. Best of all, tubular daylighting devices from Solatube International, Inc. install with minimal hassle, requiring no changes to be made on the framing and no ceiling or wall repairs inside the room. Indeed, while a conventional skylight usually takes days to install, Solatube takes only a couple hours.

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Paint Power

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Paint Power

Paint remains a homeowner favorite for bringing about transformations both indoors and out. Never more than in a windowless bathroom, the right color selection can make a huge difference. Choose a light, muted hue, and be sure to stipulate a high-gloss or semi-gloss finish (no satin or eggshell). Don't forget the ceiling: Because it plays an unsung but key role in reflecting light, a glossy white ceiling can go a long way toward leaving the space lighter and brighter.

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Mirror Magic

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Mirror Magic

It's a tried-and-true trick for a very good reason—it really works! As much as mirrors are eye-catching and interesting unto themselves, they can also transform the way you experience the space around them. Indeed, by maximizing light and adding layers of depth, strategically placed mirrors seem to erode walls and replace them with openness. Most effective are full-legth mirrors, as they reflect the floor and fool the eye, giving the impression of a larger footprint.

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A Breath of Fresh Air

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A Breath of Fresh Air

In a windowless bathroom, insufficient light isn't your only problem. Tubs and showers, toilets and sinks—those fixtures that make the bathroom a bathroom—all share one thing in common. They generate humidity. So long as it’s controlled, humidity isn’t a problem. But if there’s insufficient ventilation in the bathroom, humidity only adds to the cave-like quality of a small, gloomy bathroom space. Humidity also leads to mold and mildew, both of which are damaging to the home (not to mention your health). Fortunately, you can rescue a bathroom that's both dark and damp by installing a Solatube Daylighting System with the optional vent fan add-on kit. Here, a single streamlined Solatube fixture solves both problems, and you don't have to live with the eyesore of a ceiling cluttered with multiple fixtures. Add in the optional light kit, and Solatube provides natural light during the day, supplementary electric lighting at night, and around-the-clock bathroom humidity control—all in one fixture!

solatube.com

Curtain Complications

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Curtain Complications

In a small, windowless bathroom, every square inch counts, so take pains not to squander or obscure the available space. If you have an opaque shower curtain—and the habit of keeping it closed—you're making the room look more crowded than it actually is. Eschew curtains in favor of a glass shower door, if possible. The latter imparts an impression of relative openness by extending lines of sight. A potent compromise: Hang transparent shower curtains.

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Bulb Business

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Bulb Business

Consider augmenting the overhead light in your bathroom with a series of upward-pointing fixtures designed to reflect light off the ceiling. Indeed, a sufficient number of fixtures, properly positioned, helps fostering a brighter, more buoyant environment. Equally important: Choose CFL or LED bulbs rated at least 3000K on the color temperature scale. In contrast to yellow-tinged incandescents, these whiter bulbs more closely resemble sunlight.

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A 24-Hour Skylight Solution

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A 24-Hour Skylight Solution

Even if you executed the ideal artificial lighting scheme, your windowless bathroom still might seem to be missing a key component. Perhaps that's because there's really no substitute for natural light and its room-enchancing, mood-boosting virtues. Given that fact, it's no surprise so many homeowners choose the brighter alternative to traditional skylights offered by Solatube International, Inc. Hesitant to install a tubular daylighting device as well as the artificial light fixtures necessary to see by at night? If so, check out the Solatube Smart LED System. A one-of-a-kind solution, it comes with built-in, highly efficient LEDs that activate if and when sunlight levels recede. That's right: Unlike any other skylight, the Smart LED System doesn’t go dark when the sun goes down!

solatube.com

For More....

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For More....

For more on innovative lighting solutions, consider:


Skylight Innovation Rescues 6 Sunless Spaces


Discover How This Innovative Skylight Even Shines at Night


Meet the Brighter Alternative to Traditional Skylights


This content has been brought to you by Solatube. Its facts and opinions are those of BobVila.com

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