Top Five Tips for a Successful Bathroom Renovation
Images: Lived In 365, Rabbit Hole Studios
As an interior designer, kitchens and bathrooms are the rooms that clients tend to seek help with the most. Partly because they are a little more complex with specific required elements and a combination of materials and partly because they are the most costly rooms to renovate and so potentially a site of costly mistakes.
Luckily for me, bathroom design is my personal favourite. Aside from anything else, I have this thing about tiles; but there is also something incredibly satisfying about finding just the right layout to elevate a scheme and make it work perfectly for each individual client.
With that in mind, here are my top 5 tips for a really successful bathroom renovation.
Image: Lived In 365, Rabbit Hole Studios
Layout
When it comes to any renovation, layout has to be the first consideration. With a bathroom remodel, leaving things broadly where they are can significantly lower build costs as changes such as moving a soil pipe can be both complex and costly. Sometimes, however, it is only a change in layout that can really make the room work for you, so if you are reworking the space think carefully about how you can adjust wall positions to build in features that will enhance your scheme. I try to avoid having WC cisterns on display wherever possible by building out (often at half height) and using a back to wall WC. This also has the benefit of giving you a little shelf space above for toiletries or adding decorative touches.
I’m also fond of niche shelves for showers and baths as they negate the need for separate wall hung caddies (although there are some far prettier ones out there these days). If you have space you can bring a wall forwards slightly to allow for a niche and also to provide a void to hide pipes and allow for a shower with concealed valve and rainfall head.
If space is no issue you can also think about using stud walls to separate out spaces, such as the shower in the example below. It can create a more spa-like experience as well as giving you an additional wall on the reverse to use for a vanity, for example.
Image: Lived In 365
Shower Enclosures
Speaking of shower enclosures, I have found in recent projects that clients seem to be moving away from the recent trend of a very open shower space with just one screen and often a wet room or low profile shower tray floor. This option works brilliantly for very small bathrooms, such as en suites, where you want to try to make the space feel as large and luxurious as possible by running the floor tile all the way through and not having too many visible barriers.
In a larger space however, some clients have found that they find the spray creates more hassle and that it can also feel a little colder in winter when the space is very open.
In recent projects I have used a variety of different options such as adding a second screen at the end of the tray to stop some of the spray and also by building a new stud wall to create a space for a sliding opening with the potential for a shower niche in the stud wall.
Combining Materials
For me, the most successful bathroom schemes derive their success from a combination of contrasting but complementary materials that make up a design with lots of interest whilst retaining a sense of harmony.
There are many ways to achieve this, and the first I suppose should be, employ an interior designer! If, however, you’re planning for yourself there are a few things to consider.
When I’m working on a scheme with a more minimal feel we may be keeping the scheme relatively simple in terms of tile, with little pattern or shape variation, in which case I would be inclined to include natural elements such as a wooden vanity, whether new or vintage to add warmth and contrast.
In a more traditional scheme I love the addition of some panelling to add depth to the scheme, and also the combination of highly patterned tile floor tile with a subtler wall tile, as well as perhaps a third tile in a shower niche.
In all schemes I love the addition of something that might not automatically shout bathroom. I would, for example, look at sourcing a mirror that isn’t necessarily meant for a bathroom, adding some more texture with a roman blind to a window or using small pieces of non-bathroom furniture such as stools or cabinets to give the scheme more warmth.
Image: Lived In 365
Bathroom Lighting
For many people, bathroom lighting tends to be an area that gets easily overlooked in all of the other decisions to make around layout, tile combinations and brassware but it can make a huge difference to the overall feel of your scheme if you take the steps to plan this carefully in advance.
In many schemes we still use some simple IP-rated downlights to provide ambient light throughout the room and in key areas such as the shower enclosure and around the vanity. We tend to supplement this, however, with other types of lighting to both add to the aesthetic, for example with the use of some beautiful wall lights, and also to give you different options of lighting at different times of the day. For example, you may want very different lighting for doing your make up in the morning than you would when you are relaxing in the bath in the evening. I love a pendant light on a dimmer over a bath in particular for a very luxurious feel.
In more traditional schemes we might lose the downlights altogether and go for something more ornate. There are far more options of IP-rated lights out there these days even including chandeliers if you’re looking for something more dramatic.
In all schemes you can also consider the use of subtle LED lighting in particular areas, such as niche shelves, for a soft glow in the evenings and a very zen-like atmosphere.
Bespoke joinery
My final tip would be to consider whether using bespoke joinery can help you to both elevate your scheme as well as to make the best use of your space. This may seem like a costly option when you’re on a tight budget but it may be cheaper than you think and, with a good joiner, add value and longevity to the space.
I like to make extra use of the space above a built out area behind a WC or vanity by building a bespoke cabinet or adding shelving to house your better looking toiletries. It utilises the space far better than an off the shelf version and you can also bespoke the colour to either blend in with your proposed scheme or to add a pop of colour if that’s what it needs.
Bespoke vanity cabinets can also be a great option when you have a specific space, tyipcally in smaller bathrooms, that you’d like to completely fill to maximise storage. You can then decide on your own configuration of cupboards, drawers and shelving and choose a worktop which best matches your scheme.
Finally, I have also used a halfway house in a number of bathrooms (including my own!) using Ikea carcasses and adding doors and worktops from Superfront to create a really cool vanity for a relatively achievable price.