The first-place winner for small bathrooms at the National Kitchen & Bath Association's 2008 Design Competition proves that an ordinary bathroom space can become something rather extraordinary.

Several space-planning techniques were applied that would serve in many similar tract-home bathrooms. First, designer Michael Ranson decided to capitalize on his client's love of Japanese design. Right outside the bathroom a lovely traditional Japanese garden including a gentle stream that flows past the bathroom.

Ranson removed the typical small shower window and replaced it with a large garden-type window, as seen in the photo. When the homeowner wants privacy, shoji-style panels fold closed. But when the panels are open, a deep ledge creates the sense of more space for the bathroom side of the window. While impractical for a shower window, a deep garden window is a great way to add space to any bathroom.

Next, Ranson closed off an unused door that led to an adjacent bathroom. He relocated the new vanity in the unused doorway that led to a home office.

No larger than the original vanity, the new concept brought into the room a freestanding piece of furniture. A cabinet on legs always makes a little room seem larger because your eyes will follow the floor right underneath.

In your own remodel, consider the possibility of closing off one entry to a bathroom if it currently has two. If you can, it will free some space so there will be more choices when it comes to layout.

I am always writing about how inches matter. Here is a perfect example of what I mean: Michael next shifted the main entry to the room by inches to the left so the toilet could be moved into a corner immediately to the right of the new pocket door.

The clients had asked for their designer to create a new entry door. "The material used in the new shoji-inspired door is a paper sandwiched between layers of thick acrylic," said Ranson. The bathroom has a feel of more room because there is no swinging door to contend when using the toilet.

Pocket doors employing top-quality hardware work best. This is no place to skimp; buy the best hardware you can afford for your pocket door.

From an aesthetic standpoint, the cantilever wood steps are a showstopper. The thick slabs of wood float gracefully over a bed of loose river pebbles. A bather gets the feeling of crossing a stream on the way into the "furo," or Japanese soaking tub.

Because of the reapportioning of space, there is room for a 55-inch-diameter tub where previously an approximately 32-inch-deep shower/tub combination stood. In front of and to the left of the tub, out of our picture, is a cabinet that was recessed into the closet on the other side of the wall.

Going into a common wall to one side of a bathroom is a classic trick for good designers. It offers a way to provide critically needed storage without projecting into precious floor room of a compact bathroom.

A cabinet with thin sides becomes a part of the closet for the next-door home office, but it is not all that obtrusive with 3/4-inch-thick case sides and it is only about 15 inches deep overall.

Materials selected for this remodel support the design theme: Bamboo for the tub front, natural wooden slabs, rocks, grass cloth on the walls and the traditional-looking faucet.

When looking for ways to expand a bathroom, remember the possibility of pushing a window out, closing off an extra entry to the room, or going into a closet that might be on one side or the other of the room as tried-and-true ways to gain more space.

Christine Brun, ASID, is a San Diego-based interior designer and the author of "Big Ideas for Small Spaces." Send questions and comments to her by e-mail at christinebrun@sbcglobal.net. To find out more about Christine Brun and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.