Renovating your bathroom is one of the best and most cost-effective ways to add value to your home. If you’re considering having it done or planning to do it yourself, here are some tips that can help smooth the process and improve the end result.
Design
Resist the temptation to go with the latest bathroom trends. While they may look striking now, trends pass and what is fashionable today may be the height of bad taste tomorrow. Stick to tried and true neutral colour schemes and simply add accessories such as towels plants, pots, and feature tiles that reflect current trends and can be easily replaced later on.
A good design also involves simplicity. Go for a pristine, uncluttered look that utilises clever storage ideas such as recessed shelving and mirrored cabinets, to give your bathroom the appearance of more space.
If you don’t have a lot of money for renovation, changing just a couple of things can be enough to give your bathroom a whole new look. Invest in a double walk-in shower and new vanity or basin and you have two great new features that immediately draw the eye, no matter how conventional the rest of the bathroom may look. Even a new shower head or shower screen and some fancy new taps can revamp the dullest bathroom.
Practicalities
As well as design considerations, there are also a few practical things to keep in mind when embarking on a bathroom renovation project. And the most important of these is to make sure you have everything you need on hand before you start. Otherwise, if items are back-ordered or held up in transit, you could find yourself with a gutted, unusable bathroom for several weeks instead of just a few days.
Another thing to consider is what you are going to use while your bathroom is being renovated. If you’re doing it yourself and you don’t mind the inconvenience, a portable toilet and shower will often do the trick. If there’s contractors involved however and a week or more’s worth of work, you might want to consider moving in with friends or relatives for the duration.
Another practical consideration if you’re planning to rip out and replace all the main features of your bathroom is the plumbing. You can save yourself several thousand dollars in re-plumbing costs simply by installing the new fixtures where the old plumbing is already in place.
A final tip if you’re installing a new bathtub is to try it before you buy it, just as you would a new bed or mattress. It might look fabulous on the showroom floor, but could be downright uncomfortable when you sit in it, so road test it first to ensure maximum indulgence.
