Remodeling master bathrooms is really hot now! It seems like I’m working on a lot of
bathroom remodels these days. It makes sense;
I mean we do use the bathroom everyday no?
You can’t say that about every room in your house. Maybe you don’t use the kitchen everyday if
you don’t cook, but you certainly shower every day, or brush your teeth…at
least I hope you do.
The master bathroom is where most of us start our day. Shouldn't it be a relaxing, stress free
zone? I think so! Unfortunately, it’s one of the last rooms on
the remodel list, because “nobody sees it”, but once it’s done you’ll probably
be wishing you did it eons ago. (I know I will…it’s on the list)
There are a lot of things to consider when doing a master
bath remodel and the first place to start is with FUNCTION. What do you do in your master bath? (or what
do you wish you could do?)
Style Hair?
Makeup? Do you sit or stand?
Do you shower more than you take a bath?
Do you ever take a bath?
Do you have storage for all your creams,
lotions, towels, etc.?
Do you want your bath to connect your
closet?
Literally walk through how your use the
bath room every day, from turning on the light to putting lotion on your legs
and ask yourself, How could this be improved? I'd recommend writing it down. It will probably start with I wish…
Then you want to ask yourself some more questions…
Is your bathroom too hot, or too cold?
Is there enough light?
Is there enough ventilation?
Enough counter space?
The list goes on, but you really need to think about how YOU use your bathroom. Too often I hear clients talking about "resale" and what a future buyer might like or what Suzy down the street did. Forget about Suzy or a future buyer (if Suzy jumped off a bridge...?). This is your remodel do what’s best for
you! Some day when you sell there will
be a buyer for your bathroom.
After considering the FUNCTIONAL aspect, now you have to consider 2
things: Budget and Style. I’m just going
to touch on Style today and we’ll talk about Budget in the next blog since I
have a lot to say about budget.
STYLE
Most bathrooms are pretty clean since that’s where we get clean. It’s hard to “clean up” if there are lots of
trinkets around. Like this bathroom...
…It is actually an ad, but seriously?
Do you want a stack of wood planks in your bathroom and what's with the stack of pillows?
Everyone likes different styles. Contemporary or traditional are mostly differentiated by lines and
detail. Do you want simple clean lines
or do you want lots of detail in the tile and cabinetry? Do you want everything
put away and out of sight or do you want some open storage? I recommend just pulling a few magazines, or
looking online to narrow down your style, also your interior designer can help J. Here are a few styles ideas to get you
thinking: