Renovating your home isn’t something to be taken lightly. Whether you’re renovating a room or two or adding a new extension to your home, the process is going to be long and daunting. But when it comes to rooms like the bathroom, the stakes become more personal. After all, the bathroom is one of the most private spaces in your home. It has to be both practical and luxurious, quiet yet functional.
There are many decisions to be made for bathroom renovations, from choosing the fixtures to the bathtub, and the costs can quickly spiral without control. Here’s what you need to know before renovating your home:
-
Communicate with the contractor
Whether you’ve hired a general contractor or you’re doing the work yourself, make sure that your plan is properly communicated to everyone involved. And by proper communication, we mean listing down all the specifics to ensure nothing gets lost in the mix. A simple error can lead to expensive mistakes.
The renovation process is similar to surgery: if you want to make sure that the right organ is replaced, you have to check multiple times that the correct spot is marked for the incision.
-
Be realistic with the expenses
Home renovations can cost a lot of money, and even if you’re trying to minimize costs, you have to be realistic about how much you’re going to spend on a home renovation. For instance, according to the National Kitchen and Bath Association, a bathroom renovation project should not exceed more than 10 percent of your property’s value.
Most of the expenses will come from the bathroom fixtures and plumbing costs, followed by surface tiling and counters, then labor, and finally, cabinets and other pieces of hardware.
-
Plan the lighting
Many rooms suffer from poor lighting, so a renovation is a perfect opportunity to better plan your new room’s lighting. Installing a few bulbs isn’t enough: because the bathroom is filled with tiles, mirrors, and dark corners, you need to plan the lighting carefully. You don’t want your bathroom to be too bright or too dim.
A straightforward way to control the amount of light bouncing around is to place a diffused light in the center. Alternatively, you could utilize wall sconces to distribute light throughout the room. Avoid placing light fixtures near reflective surfaces such as mirrors.
-
Don’t forget the outlets
One common feature that people often overlook during a renovation is power outlets. You don’t want to enter your finished room for the first time and realize that you don’t have outlets for your charger or hairdryer or electric toothbrush. Always plan for covered outlets in strategic spots.
-
Keep bathroom tile styles to a minimum
When choosing new tiles for your bathroom, it’s easy to go overboard and choose a lot of styles for such a small space. Keeping it simple will result in a cleaner, more classic look. Avoid fad patterns as it might make your bathroom look dated in a few years.
And make sure that the tile is hardy. You don’t want to replace broken tiles just a few months after construction.
A renovation, if done right, can rejuvenate your old, tired space into a quiet and comfortable place where you can spend hours in. These pointers will help you to better plan your renovation and achieve the home you deserve.
