If you’re thinking of giving your bathroom a makeover, there are some things you’ll need to consider.
It’ll take more than refinishing the vanity and installing a rain shower head to get the room up to par, too.
Houzz has several tips on how you can avoid some mistakes when transforming your bathroom’s layout. Here are five of the blunders you should try not to run into.
Oversized fixtures
Sometimes, homeowners may think they’re doing the right thing when they install a huge tub in their small-scale bathroom, but experts say that’s a mistake.
“Too often I see [60-inch-long] freestanding baths in rooms that are only [70 inches] in length,” Frances Cosway, an interior designer and principal at White Pebble Interiors, and the author of “Your Forever Home” told Houzz. “These bathtubs are simply too big for the space. I also see vanities and showers that are the wrong scale.”
As a rule of thumb, New York-based Pelham and White, an innovative tubs brand, says you should allow for six inches minimum of additional space for the end-to-end length of a freestanding tub. Doing so will avoid your space appearing cramped.
Restricting storage to a vanity
Anyone who has a small bathroom should be aware that oftentimes, the vanity doesn’t offer enough space for all your toiletries, products and other bathroom-related items.
You can change that by thinking outside the box when it comes to storage. Consider hanging baskets along the wall to keep often-used products within reach. You can also take an old-school approach and install a medicine cabinet, according to the blog Elbow Room.
Improper measurements
There’s a reason why the saying goes measure twice, cut once: you want to avoid blunders when installing a new door or replacing the vanity.
Cabinet distributor Kitchen Cabinet Kings has a guide on how to take bathroom measurements before a remodel and a set of standard measurements for bathroom fixtures.
“Measuring your bathroom for a remodel is arguably the most essential first step in the process. After all, you don’t know what you can do with the space until you know exactly what you’re working with!” the website said.
Unfunctional storage
Take a look at your vanity. Are there lots of items on the counter, including toothpaste, hairbrushes and moisturizers? If you’re remodeling your bathroom, it’s time to make the storage work for you, not against you. Use canisters to store loose items such as cotton swabs or keep things organized with drawer trays, according to HGTV.
Lighting that lacks
Sometimes, the existing light in your bathroom isn’t bright enough. Boston-based lighting company Wolfers suggests layering lighting to make the space more balanced. That involves using multiple types of lighting, including accent, ambient and task lighting, each of which serves a different purpose.
