Is your bathroom looking a little worse for wear? Are you considering a complete bathroom renovation? Then make sure to have a read of this.
Regardless of the size of your bathroom, renovating it will not come at a cheap price. Especially with so many expensive materials to buy.
However, that being said, renovating your bathroom doesn't have to break the bank. There are actually many ways you can renovate the space at a reasonable cost.
To help you with your renovations, we have put together some tips below:
1. Have everything ready
Before you start, it is a good idea to have everything ready to go.
If you are ordering custom items, like unique tiles or a specialist bathtub, bare in mind that these kind of things can take up to a month to arrive. However, it is important to be patient. Don’t start working on your bathroom until your new parts have been delivered.
Whilst you may feel a little frustrated waiting for your new bathroom features to arrive, don't be tempted to start ripping out your old bathroom. After all, you don’t want to be stuck with no bathroom whilst you wait for your parts and features to arrive.
2. Think about your options
Many home stores only have a few
different styles of bathroom tops and floors available, so it might be wise to take a look at some other sources. Plus, home stores can often take a long time to get things in stock, so unless you want to wait around, it might be best to have a look at your other options.
You will probably find that independent local suppliers have a lot of different options available, charge lower prices and can get things to you at a much quicker rate. Plus, they have the ability to create custom shaped tops to fit specific bathrooms.
To save even more money, you could also consider shopping online. However, this depends on whether you feel comfortable buying something as important as a bathroom top online without seeing it properly first.
An important part of redoing your bathroom is planning how you can give yourself more storage space. For example, you may want to think about including more shower space in your new bathroom. Instead of opting for cheap plastic shampoo and soap holders, consider planning for a built-in wall alcove to hold all your shampoo and other wash bits. The best thing about this type of storage, is that it doesn’t get in the way whilst you are in the shower and has lots of room.
As well as planning for shower storage, have a think about the other storage you want to incorporate into your new bathroom. Do you want a new airing cupboard or
under the sink storage space?
Have a look online to get some ideas, then come up with a simple bathroom storage plan.
4. Think about flooring
Have you decided on what type of flooring you want your new bathroom to have? Think about the different types of flooring available to you, and decide what would work best with your bathroom style and design.
When deciding on what flooring you want, consider how much of your budget you are willing to spend on it, as well as how long you want it to last for. For example, stone or ceramic tile flooring is long lasting but more expensive to buy and lay than laminate flooring. However, laminate flooring does not last as long.
5. Add accent tiles to your bathroom
If you are hoping to use tiles to add style to your new bathroom, it is a good idea to consider the cost.
Well designed, stylish tiles, such as
glass, printed or mosaic bathroom tiles, don’t come cheap. So, decorating your entire bathroom with them would be rather expensive.
To keep costs as low as possible, you could consider using tiles as design accents. So, instead of covering your entire bathroom in expensive tiles, use a few to create a pattern around the top or middle of the wall. Then fill in the rest of the space with low-cost, neutral tiles. Not only will this cut your costs right down, it will also give your bathroom a sophisticated look.
6. Think carefully about your new shower
If you are planning on installing a new shower, it is important to think carefully about it. Whilst a large shower head can be an excellent bathroom feature, if you have low water pressure then it may be a recipe for disaster.
If your water pressure is low, consider investing in a new, high efficiency, electric water heater. Not only will this improve your water pressure and make your showers more enjoyable, it may also help to reduce the cost of heating your water.
To find out more about getting a new water heater have a look on
theplumbinginfo.com. You may not realise it, but old water heaters tend to use a lot more energy than newer models, making your electric bills much more expensive.
7. Opt for a curved shower rail
Although a rather small detail, opting for a curved shower rail instead of a straight one, will give you more showering space.
Admittedly, you will pay slightly more than you would for a straight shower rod, but you will have more space and a unique shower design. Plus, the curved shape means that the rail can be attached to the wall with screws, making it sturdier and much harder to pull down.
8. Make sure to update your lighting
Don’t be tempted to leave your old lighting fixtures in place. Make sure to
update your lighting, as well as the rest of your bathroom.
Make sure to choose lighting that is suitable for bathrooms. For a modern look, opt for spotlight lighting.
9. Call in a professional
If you are not a qualified contractor, plumber or electrician, don’t be afraid to call one in. If you stumble across a problem and can’t work out how to fix it, don’t just guess, call in a professional to help.
Things like plumbing and electricity should not be messed about with. So, if you don’t know what you are doing, make sure to get some professional help.