So you have decided to renovate your bathroom. Good for you. The bathroom is the most used room in your house. Unless you count the time spent sleeping in your bedroom. And the time spent cooking in the kitchen. But if you discount those two components, then the bathroom is where you will spend the most of your time inside your house.
Unless you have-you know-one of those down in the basement.
A checklist is a great way to begin planning for a bathroom renovation. Renovating the bathroom should ideally mean addition and/or subtraction of items as well as updated replacement. The first aspect of bathroom remodeling to tick off the checklist is traffic area. This is especially important if more than one person may be using the bathroom at a time. Things to look for are making sure that your doors won’t be blocking access to fixtures or storage space. You also want to ensure a logical pathway inside your bathroom that doesn’t have you going back and forth from the shower to the towel bin to the area where you keep extra soap to the hair dryer. Plan out your daily toiletry rituals and renovate the bath accordingly.
Lighting is another important aspect of bathroom renovation checklists. Have you ever looked smoking hot in the bathroom mirror and then checked yourself out in the mirror in your bedroom and been caught short by realizing you look more like Brad Garrett than Brad Pitt? Or more like Brad Pitt than Jennifer Love Hewitt? The problem isn’t you, my friend-after all, you are one incredibly good looking individual. No, the problem is that bathroom lighting tends toward the harsh and unnatural. Seriously consider putting in a large window that allows natural light to fill your area when you are in there grooming and putting on makeup. Just make sure you can cover the window if you are modest or you are not-and I know you are-truly worth peeping at. If a window isn’t viable, install task lighting in the bathroom area where you do apply makeup and rub in hair gel and shave and all that good stuff.
Ventilation is most important when it comes to bathroom renovation. The great thing about remodeling your bathroom is that you can get more creative than your builder when it comes to ventilation. Consider adding ventilating options like skylights, transoms and French doors.
Privacy may be the overriding aspect of your bathroom renovating design. If you do think of installing more decorative ventilation, make sure that it does not also afford the opportunity for the peepers in the neighborhood to turn your trip to the shower into the next big thing on YouTube. Your bathroom renovation checklist should also include the opportunity to give the person on the commode more privacy while your partner showers or shaves.
A checklist for remodeling the bathroom absolutely must take into consideration the chance to lend yourself more storage space. Make sure that you can reach out from behind the shower curtain to grab a fresh towel. Create a space inside the bathroom where you can place soiled laundry without having to breathe in the aroma every time you take a seat in the “library.” If you have enough space, you can even create an actual walk-in closet inside the bathroom where everything from linens to toilet paper can be stored.
Take a good look at your current bathroom fixtures and realize that the world of fixtures has improved quite a bit since Laura Palmer was murdered by….did you really think I’d give that away? Toss out that boring tub and put in a whirlpool tub. Add a bidet so you can be sure of getting all the tricky parts clean. Consider adding a steam shower or a double shower which, frankly, can potentially become your favorite spot in the house if you know how to use it the right way.
