Planning to renovate your existing bathroom or design a brand new one?
These projects, whilst exciting can also be daunting! Undertaking a bathroom renovation is not for the faint hearted and starting on the right track is essential. There are many steps and considerations to ensure your bathroom project runs smoothly. Here are five essential considerations to streamlining your next bathroom project.
1. Determine your style - know what you like..and don’t like!
Establishing your style from the beginning will ensure a cohesive scheme, one that ties in with the rest of the home.
Knowing the look you like will assist with the selections of fixtures and fittings such as flooring, tiles, hardware, cabinetry, lighting.
2. Consider your budget
Bathrooms can be expensive to renovate or build. Careful budgeting will give you an overview of fixed and variable costs. A good reference is the amount you budget and spend should correlate with the value of the house.
Budget considerations:
Plan to allocate around 3-4% of the value of the home to the budget.
A renovation usually always comes up with extra, unexpected surprises that have not been included in the budget. My advice is to add an extra 10-15% to the budget to cover for any contingencies that may arise during the project.
So for a more expensive home, it’s expected that the inclusions are of a higher quality and value compared to a modest home where a renovation will be more budget friendly.
To avoid being caught off guard, plan and prepare a comprehensive costing schedule. Include all the trades, materials and finishes. By selecting everything early and pricing the inclusions including professionals and trades you will have a comprehensive budget. This will ensure a smoother process and peace of mind at the end. A professional bathroom designer is able to assist you with this step.
3. Know local building codes, standards and permits
Bathrooms are highly regulated and compliance with local building codes and standards is essential to ensure functionality and durability.
A bathroom designer is cognisant of the technical requirements, codes and standards and can assist by making sure the bathroom complies with all the relevant codes.
3. Plan the layout
This would have to be one of the most crucial stages in designing your bathroom. Knowing where to place all the fixtures and fittings is essential to a well functioning bathroom.
Components to consider as part of the layout include:
Shower
Bathtub
Vanity
Toilet
Drainage point
Towel rails or hook
Lighting and exhaust fan
Storage
4. Decide your materials, fixtures and fittings
Selecting materials, fixtures and fittings that are good quality will not only look better but also last longer and reduce the need for future replacement.
Tiles:
One material that forms a large component of the bathroom are tiles. Tile selection and installation requires knowledge of sizing, format, colours, pattern layout, slip ratings and grouting. Large format tiles look great and can make a small bathroom space look larger and also have less grout. Bathrooms are high moisture rooms and very susceptible to mould so the right tile selection will help with reduce cleaning.
5. Focus on lighting
Adequate lighting is essential in a bathroom to create a functional and inviting space. Types of lighting include:
Ambient/overhead - getting the right amount and placement.
Task - for makeup application for example.
Accent/Wall light- as a feature and for evening soft lighting
Natural lighting - incorporating plenty of windows in your bathroom is great for both ventilation and natural light. If it's not possible to add/increase the size of the window then consider adding a skylight to bring in some natural daylight.
LED pin lighting - can be placed on a sensor for night time bathroom visits.
While it may be tempting to try and save some money by doing a home renovation project yourself, there are a multitude of reasons why selecting specialised professionals is not only sensible but recommended.
A bathroom designer has a broad sense of what's going to work and what's not, knows the regulations and can work with you to translate your vision and requirements into a finished project. Their attention to detail is at a level most home renovators are not able to achieve.
If you want more advice on how to work with a bathroom designer and how to engage one, then please check my services page here:
Please reach out if you have any questions or comments.
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