If your bathroom is old and outdated, renovation may be the best way to turn it into a functional, durable, and stylish throne room fit for a Lannister. Simply by following the advice below, you can ensure your bathroom renovation will be a total success.
Step 1: Plan ahead
Your bathroom reno will involve a big chunk of money and time, so before you dive right in, it’s a good idea to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. Once you’re adequately equipped with information, you can start planning everything out by setting a proper schedule.
This will ensure things are done right the first time and in the right order too. This is also handy to know if you live in a single bathroom household so you can plan somewhere you and the family can all “go” during the renovation.
Step 2: Get some design ideas
This is when you can start thinking about the intricate details of your dream bathroom and get a little creative. Go through lifestyle websites, read house magazines, and watch those reno shows on TV to get new ideas for your bathroom reno.
With so many cool and new design ideas for bathroom renovations, it’s a good idea to create a mood board with materials, designs, bathtubs, tiles, colour swatches, and magazine pictures.
Step 3: Create a functional layout
Start by measuring up all of the dimensions of your existing bathroom, including the location of the existing fixtures. You should also draw the floorplan from above with toilet, basin, shower, and bath clearly marked, as well as each wall individually showing doors and windows.
Don’t forget to include where all of the plumbing is located. If you’re unsure, you can always ask any plumber who has come to your house in the past to fix your blocked toilet or broken pipe. This will ensure you understand any limitations so your new layout maximises all available space.
Step 4: Avoid open shelving
There are a few reasons a bathroom with open shelving is a bad idea, especially if it’s only small. For starters, it’s very difficult to make open shelves look organised.
It’s also impossible to keep bacteria out of open shelving, especially when they’re used for the storage of clean towels or toothbrushes. Design all of your bathroom storage to include cabinet doors and drawers, as well as drawer dividers and baskets to help keep things organised.
Step 5: Plan for easy maintenance
When choosing floor and wall coverings, remember how annoying it is to keep white tiles and grout lines looking clean and pristine. The best way to avoid creating a bathroom that always needs cleaning and keeping maintenance to a minimum is by staying away from light coloured tiles and excess grout lines.
When choosing your bathroom’s design style, using large size tiles will also help, especially around the shower area.
Step 5: Consider bathroom space
Sure, plenty of people love having a bathtub. But just as many people much prefer showers and barely even look at the tub unless it needs to be cleaned.
Bathtubs can be nice to offer guests, and great if you’re actually going to use it often enough, but will it really be worth it if you don’t use them?
If you decide it’s simply taking up too much valuable space which could be better used in other ways, try designing your bathroom without it and consider the money you could save.
Step 6: Leave it to the pros
While some homeowners are pretty handy with a little DIY, a full bathroom reno is best left to the professionals. You can save money by doing a little demo work or some painting if you really want to.
But trying to cut corners with a bathroom reno might otherwise end up costing you much more than letting tradies do it all properly the first time. This is particularly the case for skilled jobs like tiling the floor, laying bricks, and electrical or plumbing works that legally must be completed by licenced and qualified trades.
Step 7: Don’t be boring
Not everyone gets the chance to renovate a bathroom however they like, so get creative with it. Let loose and throw in some unique design ideas that are as individual as you are.
You have the chance to create an updated, elegant, or stylishly functional bathroom, so make as many changes as you can afford to make. Change the tile styles, repaint the walls, and include some of the latest smart home functions if you like.
If you want your bathroom renovations to be as amazing in reality as it is in your head, remember to plan ahead, listen to the experts, and design equally for style and functionality. And, if you need a hand with the plumbing for your bathroom renovation, then get in touch with Tap This Plumbing today!
