HGTV's Jenn Todryk Shares The Secret To Making Your Shower Look Twice The Size

Redoing your bathroom to make way for a giant shower isn't always possible, but you certainly can create the impression that you've done so. As Jenn Todryk showed in a Season 3 episode of "No Demo Reno," using narrow, vertical tiles creates the illusion of a taller shower. Just like that, your bathroom is about to go from blah to breathtaking — all without the need for a major overhaul. 

Fans of the third season of "No Demo Reno" will likely have seen Todryk redoing a teenager's bathroom in a way that made it equal parts timeless and fashionable (via Imgur). Her solution was to pick floor-to-ceiling narrow tiles, predominantly vertically placed but interspersed with the same tiles running horizontally. As tends to be the case with Todryk's clients, the couple who'd tasked her with the renovation were thrilled, both pointing to how much bigger the shower looked. 

The shower wasn't any bigger than it had been before, though. Instead, Todryk explained that it was all down to the tiles used. "It, like, fools our brains a little bit," she acknowledged of the slimmer, smaller tiles she'd picked out (via Imgur). That's great news for anyone looking to recreate a bathroom, not just on a budget, but with pretty minimal effort. 

While it's often been said that bigger floor tiles or longer planks help to make floor space appear larger, according to Jenn Todryk, when it comes to showers, the opposite is true. "The more lines you get in a shower that's really small, it looks a little bigger," she explained. By contrast, she continued, if she'd opted for bigger tiles, it would be way easier to see just how small the space was, as she would only have managed to install two or three across the length of the space. 

It also bears mentioning that the specific color of tile Todryk opted for played a big role in making things appear bigger and brighter, too. Lighter colors are known for creating the illusion of a bigger space thanks in large part to their brightness. That explains why, despite the window in the shower being fairly small, the entire space seemed to be illuminated and thus bigger. 

As for the combination of predominantly vertical lines with the occasional horizontal placements, that shouldn't be discounted either. Vertical lines are known to make things appear longer, which is why both clients remarked on how much taller the space appeared. As for those horizontal tiles, they assisted in making the space look ever-so-slightly wider. 

While Jenn Todryk's hack is undoubtedly effective at making a small shower look bigger, it's worth noting that it can get a little expensive. After all, you'll be using more tiles. Sure enough, as seen in the episode of "No Demo Reno," the specific tiles used by the HGTV star cost $1,280. Granted, that's nowhere near what it would cost to remodel a bathroom to make it bigger, so you may not have a problem with that. 

If, on the other hand, you'd prefer a more affordable route, one option that may just work out cheaper than Todryk's choice is heading to The Builder Depot. They have a similar mosaic tile that can run between $12.95 and $24.95 per square foot. Alternatively, if you're looking for something even more affordable — or even if you're a little apprehensive of committing to retiling — there are also peel-and-stick options. Amazon stocks a vinyl, water-resistant adhesive tile similar to the style Todryk used for less than $4 per square foot. It's a great way to dip your toe into this hack for less. Bigger shower, here we come!