4 BATHROOM RENOVATION DESIGN IDEAS
Consider Future Buyers When Considering Colour
When renovating always consider future buyers when selecting colours. Choose muted colours that will appeal to potential buyers and pick a shade that coordinates beautifully with the other elements, like the tile, countertop and vanity.
It’s important to design with the element of timelessness, so when the house is sold, you maximize your profit. If you’re feeling any hesitation about your selected shade, take a step back and ask yourself: Does it feel too trendy? Designers will tell you that if the wall colour becomes the star of the room, then you’ve made a mistake. The wrong wall paint colour can steal attention away from the otherwise good design decisions that you made during the bathroom renovation so take great care with paint colour.
Don’t Forget The Cleaning Aspect of A Bathroom Renovation
Bathrooms get wet and messy! Someone has to clean the bathroom, so make it as easy-to-clean as possible on yourself or future cleaners. From my experience, the best way to approach creating an easy to clean bathroom is to start with the fundamentals. A thoughtfully designed bathroom, considers ‘Less is more’. The less corners, ridges, edges, seams, grout, touch-points, cluttered space, the less there is to clean!
Avoid narrow, hard to reach spots. Designers recommend leaving at least 4 inches between your vanity and any walls or tubs on its left or right side to eliminate deep, open spaces becoming dirt traps.
Consider glass instead of tiles wherever you can because it removes the issue of grout problems (staining/mould). Back-painted glass makes a great design choice and means you can spray and wipe and never worry about mouldy grout again.
Rendered concrete is a low-maintenance alternative to tiles on both floor and walls, and it looks fantastic in modern bathrooms.
Toilets with in-wall (concealed) cisterns are more than space savers! They’re better for cleaning too.
Lift it off the floor! Mopping becomes much easier when there are fewer permanent obstacles on the floor to mop around, so consider raising your cabinetry. It also creates less opportunity for moisture, dust and mould to gather in the area where the cabinetry and the floor would meet. Win-win.
Bathroom Storage
Many bathrooms are small spaces but having a small space doesn’t mean you have to compromise storage. Check out these 5 hacks for ways to use every square inch of your small bathroom.
Use vertical space to help clear out space in your bathroom cabinets or linen closet. A wall-mounted rack or storage unit with individual open cubbies is ideal for storing extra hand towels, washcloths, and small bathroom essentials. Try rolling larger towels so they fit inside the small slots.
For an inexpensive storage solution, mount a set of baskets on your bathroom wall. The raised sides keep lotions, small towels, and makeup products contained, while the open tops provide easy accessibility.
Make use of behind-the-door space inside vanity cabinets. Attach adhesive hooks inside the door to keep hair tools, such as your hairdryer and brushes, organized and out of the way. Mount a wire rack below to store hair products in a convenient spot.
Leaning a ladder against the wall is an unexpected way to hang towels. A ladder doesn’t take up a lot of room, and adds an interesting element.
Carve out dead wall space to house floating shelves where towels and soaps can be stored in a pretty display.
Bathroom Lighting
No matter its size, a bathroom should always feel bright and open, so lighting is essential – especially if natural light is minimal.
Focus on bathroom light fixtures that will maximize the small space for both design and lighting. One strip of light over the vanity mirror won’t cut it. So many renovators install vanity lights that illuminate the ceiling versus the vanity…don’t be one of them!
Look to have bathroom lighting over a mirror (task lighting), a main bathroom light to illuminate the whole room (downlight/ambient lighting), and lighting that shows off a feature in the room (accent lighting) for a balanced space.
Whether installed together or separately, lighted mirrors or medicine cabinets, under cabinet or tape lights, and flush mount ceiling lights are three innovative and modern small bathroom lighting ideas for keeping the room feeling open and well-lit.
By combining lighting, a mirror, and storage into one fixture, a lighted medicine cabinet is perfect for not only a bathroom with limited wall space but for one with limited counter space and storage as well.
