This is one of the two most expensive rooms to renovate, the kitchen being the other. Space, lighting and functionality need to be carefully planned and balanced. It is a room with the potential for costly mistakes. Plan where the major areas are going to be, what lighting you will use, how to ventilate the room and even heat it. There are plenty of websites on how to renovate a bathroom yourself – I advise against it if possible.

Let’s focus on some basics first:

  • How do you want to use the bathroom –  is it the main or guest bathroom?
  • How much plumbing is involved – can you leave the major items such as the toilet, where it is?
  • What is your budget – what do you want to spend your money on and where are you prepared to cut back?
  • Have a stretchable budget — there will always be more costs!
  • What can you live with or recycle?
  • Do you have access to another bathroom to use, while the renovations are being done?

Your Plumber and Builder

Get references where possible for your plumber and builder – the best ones are likely to advise on how to save money rather than spend it. Be there during the renovation. Visit as much as you can so you can catch any issues before they become a problem. In our past Berlin apartment, all was going well but I had had to emphasis some points. I took a call for twenty minutes and returned to find that one of the tall builders had hung the mirror where I could only see the top of my head! He insisted he couldn’t change it but did when I insisted I wouldn’t be paying them until it was lowered!

The Toilet

Where possible, keep this hidden and ensure that this is not the first thing you see when you open the bathroom door. If you have read my other posts, this is also a Feng Shui golden rule and there is a solution if this is the case. Ideally, hide it behind a door when you can. This is a big expense and involves labour costs. Consider keeping the toilet and just replacing the seat with one of good quality. If you have the budget, replace and choose a toilet with the least complicated plumbing. Yes, there are some amazing toilets but more can go wrong, requiring a plumber.

The Sink

The bathroom vanity unit is expensive and hasn’t really evolved from looking as obviously belonging in the bathroom. Avoid buying antique wooden cabinets – they won’t cope with the humidity in this room. Also re-think choosing wooden tops as they warp and darken when wet, constantly needing varnishing. Surprisingly, we found a retro looking vanity unit in IKEA and bought the whole look, the tap and the mirror all for a third of the price for just a standard vanity! We changed the ordinary drawer knobs with lovely Zara home patterned grey and silver which matched nicely with the overall look.

 

Storage

Many designers recommend ditching the old medicine cabinet. If you do, ensure you have storage in the vanity unit. Put towels up on a rail or rack or in a basket. Put decorative hooks on the back of the door to hang towels and robes. IKEA also has some great drawer inserts for organisation. In the US, the Container Store has some great ideas as well. Think outside of the box and use small tables and even ceramic pots for storage – just remember the humidity factor.

 

The Bath and Shower

Neither of us has ever been bath fans. We immediately took out the bath in both our past Berlin and current French apartment and replaced it with the biggest walk-in shower basin we could find. If you have a bath and wish to keep it, check for scratches and see if you can renovate. There are new bath paints and products that can help with baths and sinks. A tip for the shower: limit glass as much glass as you can. We live in a country with highly calcified water and had one glass wall built to limit the amount of cleaning. If possible, build in a niche to hold products.

Tiling

This is a big expense. Look for sales and choose wisely. We chose to tile only to the top of the shower and around the vanity, keeping as much wall which we painted ourselves. Farrow and Ball have fantastic bathroom paints and worth the expense. For flooring, while glossy tiles may look luxurious, they can scratch and are a pain to clean. While I love the patterned tiles, if you are going to sell in the future, keep them neutral. If not, this is where you can have a wow factor!

 

Lighting

Avoid lots of down lights if possible but if you have them, see if you can add a dimmer switch. Focus on what is called ‘task lighting’ with sconces either side of the main mirror rather than over the mirror. This wasn’t possible for us so we bought two inexpensive retro Art Deco oyster fittings to give us a softer light.

Accessories

Towels! I love big bath towels and it is a luxury that I replace when I need to. There are some lovely textured bath sheets these days. I found some lovely bathroom pump bottles in our local drug store and they are plastic and easy to keep clean but look elegant. This is also where you can add a wow factor with bathroom products. I prefer to add some lovely pictures, making sure they are properly framed and sealed against humidity.