A new bath­room is a sig­nif­i­cant project in the scheme of house ren­o­va­tion and re-designs, so don’t jump into it with­out ample thought and research.

Don’t under­es­ti­mate what needs to be planned and con­sid­ered when design­ing your new bath­room. When I was ren­o­vat­ing our bath­room there were so many con­sid­er­a­tions I wasn’t able to list them in order of impor­tance, instead I ini­tially focused on the over­all look and ambi­ence that I wanted to cre­ate; that is a great place to start your research if you haven’t already estab­lished your new look. The other impor­tant fac­tor is plumb­ing; it can be expen­sive if you need to move plumb­ing from one side of the house to another.

Do you want a sleek ultra-modern shiny look with a lot of chrome and glass?Older style houses often suit the Shabby Chic or French Coun­try design style. Either way, the points you will need to con­sider are still the same.

I have listed below some areas that really need to be con­sid­ered when research­ing bath­room design.

Floor­ing: A hard­wood floor can look great in a bath­room, but con­sider the impli­ca­tions if the bath over­flows, or just the gen­eral day to day wet and steam a bath­room produces.There are bath­room spe­cific car­pets that are pop­u­lar in colder cli­mates, where warmer cli­mates usu­ally will only use floor tiles.

Light­ing: Whilst most bath­rooms con­tain recessed lights, or a com­bi­na­tion heat/fan/light sys­tem, don’t go past a glo­ri­ous chandelier.I hung a beau­ti­ful crys­tal chan­de­lier in our newly ren­o­vated all white bath­room with great resutls. It is a very dra­matic effect that appeals in a mod­ern style as well as the fash­ion­able French coun­try look.

Don’t for­get nat­ural light as well.When plan­nign your bath­room ren­o­va­tion, it may be a good idea to install larger win­dows for extra light and ventilation.

Walls: Most home­own­ers opt for wall tiles either floor to ceil­ing or half way up. If you are after a more dra­matic look why not think about some funky wall­pa­per, just ensure that you don’t use an uncoated paper as it will not last the dis­tance.  Wall paper is an option if you like to change the look of a room often, as it is rel­a­tively easy to remove and hang another style, and it won’t break the budget.

Bath Tub: Do you want a sep­a­rate bath tub from shower, or do you need to put the shower over the tub?Your choice of baths today is huge and range from the ultra mod­ern stand alone tubs, to the more con­ven­tional built-ins. Remem­ber all those sunken baths in the 70s, maybe they’ll make a come­back? What­ever bath tub you decide on, do your research and look at all options before mak­ing your decision.

Bath Tub & Basin Faucets: Where do you start to think about this vital com­po­nent of your new bath­room?  I think the best place is to decide what you want the faucets and taps made from – chrome, brass, aged brass, etc. That will then nar­row down your options.  A word of warn­ing, bath­room faucets can be ridicu­lously expen­sive and it is easy to fall into the trap of think­ing – “gee, this is inex­pen­sive, it’s only $300”, because the last two you liked were $800.Research always pays off, and I am sure you will be able to source what you need within your bud­get. Hav­ing said that make sure they are made to a qual­ity that will last the distance.

Toi­let: Is the toi­let going to be in the bath­room, or does space allow you to install it in a sep­a­rate room?  The most impor­tant aspect of this deci­sion is the plumb­ing.  Will new plumb­ing have to be laid?

Elec­tri­cal Out­lets: How many do you need and where do you want them?Don’t for­get to con­sider shaver sock­ets.  Ensure that you com­ply with local reg­u­la­tions regard­ing the dis­tance required between water out­lets and sock­ets as water and elec­tric­ity def­i­nitely don’t mix. Some coun­tries won’t even allow elec­tri­cal sock­ets in the bath­room, so ensure you know your local laws.

Stor­age: Think about what you plan to store in your bath­room.  Will the tow­els need to be housed there or do you have a linen cup­board for them? If it is just toi­letries to be stored, then a larger van­ity with under-storage may suf­fice. If you are one of the lucky ones with a large bath­room space, then con­sider built-in cup­board to hide every­thing away, or even an ele­gant armoire of you have a vin­tage style bathroom.

I dream of the day I can have a bath­room the size of a large bed­room com­plete with open fire­place, a large claw foot bath in the mid­dle of the room and a big comfy sofa … ah keep dreaming.

Tagged as: Ambience, Bathroom Design, Bathroom Design Ideas, Bathroom Flooring, bathroom renovation, Carpets, Climates, Crystal Chandelier, Design Style, Dramatic Effect, Fan Light, Floor Tiles, French Country Design, Hardwood Floor, Heat Fan, House Renovation, Modern Style, Overflows, small bathroom design ideas, Style Houses, Ventilation, Wall Tiles