12 Key Steps You Won’t Want to Miss
At one point in time, your home’s bathrooms were modern, state-of-the-art designs that appealed to the generation of homeowners at that time. But now they are starting to show their age. Perhaps you’re just looking for a fresh colour scheme, or maybe it’s time for a complete facelift. Bathrooms are high-traffic areas and tend to show it with unsightly wear-and-tear. Whether you want a wider vanity, a larger shower, better lighting, or all of the above, it may be time to think about a new look for your bathroom space.
Not only will a nice bathroom compliment your entire home, it will help make guests and family feel more comfortable. It can also add value to your home – and all without costing you an arm and a leg. Extravagance is going out of style and most homeowners are now looking for something tasteful, smart, and long lasting.
Before you get started, make yourself a checklist. This will help you to stay focused and avoid any impulsive purchases or decisions. Here are 12 considerations you should use in your planning:
1. Countertops
Choosing the perfect material for your bathroom countertops can be a challenge, thanks to the abundant — and very attractive — options available for every budget. Bathroom surfaces typically don’t face the same wear-and-tear as those in the kitchen (hot frying pans, sharp carving knives, etc.), the final decision usually boils down to preferred style and cost. Luckily, the top bathroom countertop materials on the market combine beauty and brawn in equal measure. A few great options are Caesartsone, Silestone, and Viaterra. Check out our portfolio to see the renovations we have done.
2. Shower vs. Tub
Do you really want a bathtub? Will you actually use it? The idea that the main bathroom must have a bathtub is an outdated one. Once, a bathtub was crucial for the resale value of any home—but that’s just not the case anymore. It can be expensive to have a tub installed and it takes up a lot of space. If you aren’t going to use it, consider skipping the tub altogether. Or, add a tub to a side bathroom and leave the main bathroom free for features you will use more regularly.
3. All Grown Up
Is your vanity tall enough for you? The standard vanity height used to be around 30-inches high, which is just too short for most adults to comfortably use. Nowadays, vanities tend to be around 36-inches high, a much more appealing size. Or, if you want to customize your vanity to fall somewhere between 30- and 36-inches, consider a “floating” vanity, which can be installed at any height. Double-check the strength of your walls before hanging one, though!
4. Settling on a Showerhead
There are so many options today. It can be difficult not to get swept up in all the interesting and trendy choices: body sprays, handhelds, rain heads, and more. The more “high tech” your showerhead, the greater the cost of the project—so keep this in mind. Consider what works best for you and why. For example, if you have a bench in your shower a handheld showerhead works great for use while sitting down. You’ll also want to make sure that the controls are accessible without stepping into the shower to prevent being in the line of fire of that initial burst of freezing water.
5. Safety First
Mounting handlebars on the wall is not just for hospitals anymore. This vital safety feature not only assures the accessibility of your facilities to elderly family members, but it can actually be quite trendy design-wise. There are many ways to incorporate this safety feature without it looking sterile. Due to the important nature of these elements, you’ll need to confirm that your shower walls will provide adequate support before mounting them.
6. Take a Seat
Not only can a shower bench make your shower more accessible for disabled or elderly family members, it can be a nice resting place to relax or prop yourself up while shaving your legs. If you don’t have a ton of room to spare, a foldout bench is always an option and should only cost you a few hundred dollars. Like the handle bars, you will want to reassure that the bench is fastened securely to a wall that can hold it.
7. Tile-friendly Shelving
Having built-in wall shelving can come in handy for storing toiletries or candle for mood lighting, but if you are tiling your new shower you will need to make sure that the tiles line up with the storage niches. In order to do this, you will want to pick out a tile type early on and stick to it as well as doing a lot of measuring to make sure everything will line up neatly.
8. A Shower Shave
Do you have someone in your home who prefers to shave their face in the shower? You might want to consider the placement of a small shelf and a fog-free mirror to better accommodate them. Installing adequate lighting is important, too. You’ll have to decide whether or not it is worth the extra cost—but there’s no double it will come in extremely handy.
9. A Beauty Bench
Putting makeup on while standing in front of a mirror can be challenging and can even put a strain on your back, neck, and shoulders. Instead, you might want to consider a makeup desk. You can incorporate a stool and a personal mirror so that you can relax while getting ready.
10. Smooth Sailing
Pay a bit extra to remove all ledges and thresholds from your bathroom floor—you won’t regret it! Not only does this create a more open space, but it will continue to be useful if anyone in your family suffers from reduced mobility issues.
11. Get Steamy
Steam showers used to be hugely popular—and for good reason. Steam therapy is great for relaxation and can be good for your skin, as well. If you have the space in your home and budget, it may be a good thing to consider. Steam showers can increase your expected costs by several thousand dollars but if you decide to go for it, don’t just look for the cheapest steam generator. Measure the cubic volume of your shower and buy the recommended size according to the manufacturer’s suggestion.
12. Hooks and Rolls
You’ll want to plan where you will be hanging your towel hooks and toilet paper holder so that you can reassure that the appropriate support structures are installed in the walls where necessary. These can be a fun element to your bathroom, provided you don’t leave them until last and end up scrambling.
RJS Stonetops specializes in beautiful bathroom countertops serving Vancouver and the lower mainland. Our showroom is located in Richmond, drop by for a visit and view our selection or speak with a specialist. We even have samples you can take home to help envision your design. We are your friendly countertop company and we look forward to working with you.
