Sorry for the typo, of course we are talking about bathroom, not bedroom.

We are in the process of remodeling our guest bathroom, which is actually our primary bathroom because we gave up our master bath on the first floor to my mother in law.

My DW came out with an idea to remodel our "guest" bathroom with all the bells and whistles like expensive tile, heated floors, frameless sliding doors, steam shower etc.

I discussed our plans with my coworker Mary and she kindly provided me with the list of the guest bathroom remodeling Do's and Don'ts. I found it very useful and want to share it with all of you. I personally favor less ambitious design with some modest improvements. Will I be able to convince my DW? Well, it remains to be seen..

Now, Do's and Don'ts from Mary:

I've been doing tons of research on hall bathroom remodels. I am sharing what I've learned. Please let me know if you have any tips for me.

Yes - wall niche for shampoo. I prefer long shape to tall, because I need to fit shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, shaving cream, razor.
Yes - built in bench. Will help with aging in place.
Yes - shower floor tile no bigger than 2x2 to reduce slipping. Slip rating of 6 or higher.
Yes - shower head with hand held shower head on a slide bar. Consider universal design aging in place - 1 on-off lever handle instead of round knob or cross style knob or dual knobs.
Yes - sliding shower door. Ensure it is super tall so you do not need to duck to step into shower. Shower door with towel rack gives you a place to hang wet towels.
Yes - tile all the way up the 3 walls and across the ceiling, will make the shower look bigger.
Yes - electric plug-in towel warmer. This is a real splurge but wonderful on cold days.

No - steam shower. Too much of an upgrade for non-master bath. Vent problems cause mold & mildew. Instead, turn up temperature on your water heater.
No - overhead rain-style shower head. Expensive plumbing, too much of an upgrade for non-Master bath. Better off adding an overhead wet-usage light in shower stall ceiling.
No - heated floors. Too much of an upgrade for non-Master bath. Installation cost really expensive the further away from electric panel the bathroom is. Consider memory foam rug and towel warmer instead.
No - glass tiles in shower. Will be able to see mold and mildew growing between wall and tile with no way to treat it.

Reconsider - clear glass shower door. Will need wipe it down/squeegee after every shower - or streaks and soap scum show. Good idea for magazine photos and if you use very expensive custom tile on shower walls. Consider lower maintenance seeded, rain droplet, or frosted doors instead.

Reconsider - frameless shower door. Looks great in magazine photos, but my contractors say they leak. See what owners are saying on line.

Don't use really big tiles on bathroom floor because they are slippery and cause falls, unless you use a textured or honed tile.

If you pick big tiles for shower walls, they will look contemporary, but you will waste a lot of tiles if they need to be cut at every wall edge.

Consider using low cost field tile for shower walls with eased edge tiles where tiles end at shower door, and add some interest with 1 row of higher cost decorative tile or a row of pencil round tiles. And add fancy tile inside the wall niche.

For aging place, contrast between floor and wall is good, especially like using dark tile for bathroom and shower floors and light tile for shower curb so you don't trip on it.

For aging in place, do overhead light above sink AND wall sconces for sides of sink.

If your budget can handle it, instead of old-fashioned round drain in center of the shower floor, consider a modern drain channel.

This post was edited by flyingkite on Tue, Sep 17, 13 at 17:17

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