Bathrooms can be one of the most expensive rooms in the home to renovate. Selecting all the materials, tile, hardware, and plumbing fixtures can be daunting and challenging. You want to make your bathroom look its best, but know where to start.
This article is an excellent place to start, whether you are just thinking about ideas or are ready to order all the materials. These basic ideas to incorporate in your bathroom will work with almost any space and help your bathroom look great.
Not all mirrors are the same
Use a large framed mirror or a unique old mirror over the vanity. It will look luxurious and exciting. You can find old high-quality mirrors from an antique store for less than a newer mirror from a nationwide retailer.
Add interest to the walls
Make the walls more interesting with wallpaper or wainscotting. For a powder room, go crazy with bold wallpaper. It’s a small space, so it won’t be expensive, and if you want to change it up in a couple of years, you can easily do so. For a wet bathroom, use semi-gloss mildew-resistant paint and add molding on the wall. Paint it a neutral or a bold color to make the bathroom look different.
Choose the right tile
In general, choose a neutral tile with a subtle texture for bathrooms with little to no natural light or bold, dramatic tile for rooms with lots of sunlight. Install tile to the ceiling to draw the eye up and make the room feel larger. Create a layered and unique look with interesting lighting, textures, and hardware.
Luxurious lighting
Most bathrooms don’t have enough lighting, and sometimes people opt for just one light, but I encourage you to add more to make the space custom and functional.
Add a central light fixture or two if that space is long and narrow, and a pendant over a freestanding tub. Add a vanity light above the mirror or sconces on either side. And always, always add a light in the shower. Oh, and avoid clear glass because I find it’s a little blinding in a bathroom so choose a shade or white glass.
Mix modern and traditional
If you love modern or traditional design and feel comfortable creating an authentic look, go for it. But if you need help deciding what direction to go, mix modern and traditional. Find a modern tile and pair it with a traditional vanity or vice versa. You could also do traditional finishes, but select a modern faucet, hardware, lights, and towel hooks. This will make the space unforgettable.
Make it easy to clean
I think sometimes design can look absolutely beautiful but be a pain in the ass to clean. And I don’t know about you, but I do not want to spend a ton of time cleaning my bathroom when it could be so much easier, like installing a toilet with no snake or a wall-mounted one.
Choose an under-mount sink for easy countertop cleaning and a niche in the shower for products to eliminate the gross build-up of mold on the tub or shower caddy. Pick out a mid-tone grout for your tile to hide stains, or choose a porcelain slab with no grout lines. And remember to install a shower head with a shower sprayer; it makes cleaning much easier.
Put hooks everywhere
Put hooks everywhere. Next, the vanity, shower, everywhere. Hang extra towels, robes, or clothes. Hooks are easier to use and give more hanging space than towel racks because you can put them all over the room.
Hang a luxurious shower curtain
A nice shower curtain will make the bathroom look more expensive. Even just a cream linen texture can do the job. I recommend shower curtains anyway; cleaning a sliding shower door on a tub is just a pain and eventually looks gross. So, opt for a shower curtain unless you have the budget for an easy-to-clean shower glass door or the time to squeeze the glass daily.
Don’t put in a cheap vanity cabinet
Cheap vanities look cheap and don’t last long, so you are better off getting a nicer quality one that may be over budget but will last so much longer than the cheap one and save you money over time. Get a vanity that is a plywood box with wood doors. The plywood is a must for any sink cabinet because it can handle some water, and beautifully stained wood is timeless.
Side rant here: Always go for higher-quality products that will last long. One thing that is very challenging as a designer is trying to convince people to go with a nicer quality; I’m not talking overpriced crap, I’m talking about something that will last a long time and handle the daily grind, but people often go for a cheaper option.
If you look at the lifetime of cheap vs quality products, the cheap one costs you more money because you have to repair it or replace it and replace it again. A quality product will last decades, not a few years.
Install quality plumbing fixtures
See my rant above about cheap v. quality. Looking at you Home Depot, faucets and shower heads with plastic guts don’t last long. Try to purchase plumbing fixtures from a local seller or straight from the company that manufactures them, and make sure they have brass or ceramic insides so they will last longer and won’t break two months after you renovate your bathroom when you are getting ready for a night out.
Select nice hardware
So I don’t love when designers say to get expensive hardware because it will make your cabinets look better. Get some moderately priced hardware; it will make that cabinet look more expensive and be a nice tactile piece for your bathroom, but don’t break the bank here.
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