Figure out where the staging area will be when materials arrive, and prep this area by clearing it out and protecting the floors and any remaining furniture. Discuss child and pet safety. Inquire about how trash will be taken off site, as you may need to provide room for a dumpster. Figure out where the workers will park. And make sure there will be a portable toilet, where it will be placed (consider the neighbors) and how often it will be serviced. The cost of things like daily cleanup, dumpster fees and a portable toilet should appear in the estimate.
If you’re on a tight timetable, you’ll want items that are kept in stock rather than made to order or are shipped from other countries. Your design pro will help you navigate which brands can deliver quickly and which ones will throw you off schedule. If your heart is set on something that has a long lead time, plan your start date around it.
The first step is to make sure the renovation won’t take any longer than it has to. A construction schedule is like a house of cards, especially with all of the specialty subcontractors (plumbers, cabinetmakers, carpenters, tile installers, electricians) who will be be blocking out specific times to work on your project. One late arrival can throw the whole thing off.
Porcelain can last a lifetime, so chances are you won’t have to replace it as you get older. It’s also perhaps the easiest surface to clean. Water and a rag normally do the trick. If you’re concerned about grout, look for porcelain tile with a rectified edge. Finely cut edges allow for thin grout joints (as little as 1/16 inch in some styles). You can purchase a presealed grout as well.
The better your bathroom lighting is, the less strain on your eyes. You also don’t want to miss any wet spots that can be hidden by shadows. Good lighting comes in many forms, including recessed lighting, vanity lighting, lamps and natural light. You may even consider placing lighting inside an enclosed shower.
The standard vanity height is 31½ inches (not including your countertop). This isn’t high enough for some homeowners. Raising the cabinet height to 34½ inches (this will reach standard kitchen counter height, including a 1½ inch countertop) can prevent you from having to hunch over as you’re washing up. There are two exceptions to increasing the vanity height. If you’re more comfortable with the standard vanity height, don’t increase it. Or if you want to make your vanity wheelchair-accessible, choose a counter height of 34 inches maximum, as specified in the American Disabilities Act guidelines.
Unfortunately, the hole for the faucet was placed too close to the back of the countertop. I had to exchange the faucet for one where the tilt of the handle was minimal so that it would function properly. We also had to remove and reinstall the vanity after the walls were tiled, to build it off the wall to get the faucet installed.”
“The idea of using one great tile and applying it throughout the bathroom was key in creating a polished look,” Ovadia says. “People often feel that they need to introduce multiple finishes to create something spectacular, but sometimes less is more, and the lesson is that we need to learn to simplify in smaller spaces.” “Uh-oh” moment. “When we set out to tile the project, there was a misunderstanding with the tile setter,” Ovadia says. “He didn’t realize we had requested to tile all the angled walls of the shower, so his calculations were short. This caused a bit of a hiccup, but we managed to order more tiles and get the tile setter to complete the job.”
Designer tips. Extending the wall tiles to the other two walls tricks the eye into seeing a larger space. White walls create contrast with the shower area, setting it apart. “Uh-oh” moment. The tiles didn’t come in a pattern, so the designers had to do a lot of planning ahead before setting the tile to get the geometric lines just right.
Frameless shower doors are also a great look for shower-tub combos, as seen in this Seattle bathroom by Holly Bero of Holly Bero Interiors. “We find that the tile is typically the star of the shower, and using a frameless door allows more transparency and lets the tile shine,” Bero says. Another nice feature of frameless shower doors is that they’re user-friendly. “They keep cleaning simple since they have less hardware to clean around,” Bero says.
Designer Wendy Kuhn of Karr Bick Kitchen and Bath says those choosing a new shower door should consider a frameless one. “The most common shower door type I use is frameless glass. It can fit into most bathroom layouts and gives a great, clean look,” she says. Kuhn used a frameless shower door in this recent bathroom project in St. Louis. “People want a simplified, uncluttered look,” she says. The designer notes that showers without doors are becoming more popular, but she says the result isn’t always as good as the idea. “People love the idea of doorless showers but back off once they think about the chill factor, since steam is not trapped in the space by the door.”
In this clean-lined bathroom in Sydney, Australia, HecticrAt Architects installed a wall-hung toilet and vanity and a barrier-free, frameless glass shower. The uninterrupted expanse of floor makes the roughly 5-by-9-foot bathroom appear clean, modern and larger than it is. Meanwhile, a skylight washes the pale gray floor tile and white finger mosaic wall tiles in sunshine. And the vanity’s wormy chestnut adds a warm, earthy touch.
. “Wanting to downplay the break in the floor, the curb was wrapped in a coordinating tile to match the shower side walls and shower floor,” Neyman says. “This allowed the curb to blend into the shower flooring, allowing your eye to continue to the feature tile on the back wall.” The back wall is 5-by-5-inch ceramic zellige-style tile in a glossy aqua finish.
The minimalist design of this bathroom created by Re-Interiors has been warmed up with a stunning surface on the floor and shower wall. The stippled terrazzo with its multi-hued texture brings to life the otherwise monochrome space. The wet room layout, clean lines and frameless glass shower door all help to maintain the calm feel of the room and let the terrazzo take center stage.
Undermount sink. This type of sink sits underneath the counter. The rim of the sink is fixed to the underside of the countertop, as opposed to sitting on top of it. Pros: This sink creates a seamless, clean look, as less of it is visible. Water and spills can be wiped directly from the countertop into the sink without any obstruction, making it an easy-to-clean option for family bathrooms. Cons: Undermounting a sink will usually only be possible with a solid-surface countertop, such as stone, and isn’t suitable with a laminate, as it can’t be sealed as well against moisture. These sinks also tend to cost more than top-mount ones.
Custom made wall hung two drawer vanity, porcelain top, tall cabinet and mirrored cabinet. Photo Credit: Edward Howie Photography Small trendy master ceramic tile corner shower photo in Auckland with flat-panel cabinets, gray cabinets, solid surface countertops, gray walls and a wall-mount sink - Houzz
An Architect's bathroom added to the top floor of a beautiful home. Clean lines and cool colors are employed to create a perfect balance of soft and hard. Tile work and cabinetry provide great contrast and ground the space. Photographer: Dean Birinyi Bathroom - small contemporary master multicolored tile and glass tile porcelain tile and beige floor bathroom idea in San Francisco with flat-panel cabinets, distressed cabinets, a one-piece toilet, blue walls, an undermount sink and quartzite countertops - Houzz
Could be cheap tile pattern
Inspiration for a mid-sized contemporary kids' white tile and ceramic tile ceramic tile, multicolored floor and single-sink walk-in shower remodel in Minneapolis with flat-panel cabinets, light wood cabinets, a wall-mount toilet, white walls, a drop-in sink, marble countertops, white countertops and a floating vanity - Houzz
You can create the look with a hanging plug-in pendant when cutting an existing mirror isn’t an option.
Layering lighting right over the glass is a great solution in a relatively small bathroom.
A leggy, open vanity will admittedly provide less storage, but if you can tuck bathroom items in a closet, the longer sight lines of an open vanity will help you feel less boxed in. I use this style often in compact bathrooms.
Inspiration for a large contemporary master ceramic tile and green tile ceramic tile, double-sink and white floor bathroom remodel in San Francisco with flat-panel cabinets, light wood cabinets, an undermount sink, marble countertops, a hinged shower door, a floating vanity, white walls and white countertops - Houzz
This West Palm Beach, Florida, bathroom is coastal without being cliche. Designers Heather Weisz and Lisa Hynes of HW Interiors created a stunning focal wall in the shower by arranging watery blue tiles in an unexpected basketweave pattern. An abundance of white finishes keeps things bright and open, including white chevron-pattern floor tile that seamlessly runs the length of the bathroom into the curbless shower. Abaca rope sconces add a hint of warm beach cabana style in a sophisticated way.
Many pros recommend installing multiple shower head options to enhance the shower experience. DiVittorio Architecture & Design included a regular shower head, a rain shower head and a handheld sprayer in this San Francisco bathroom. A handheld assists with shaving one’s legs, allows you to rinse down shower walls and enclosures and is great for washing pets.
A curbless shower entry gives a bathroom an open and airy feel. It also eliminates a potential tripping hazard and allows easy access for someone who uses a walker or wheelchair, making this a good feature for aging in place.
“Uh-oh” moment. “We did have to spend a lot of time detailing the tile layout very specifically,” Livingston says. “You’ll notice that right at counter height we have a row of full tiles, and that took a lot of coordinating to get that perfect. The transition between the wall tiles and the marble on the half wall and the curb was also very time-consuming, both for design and for the tile setter. In the end it turned out perfectly and exactly how we had planned, so we couldn’t be happier.
Getting the lightbulbs just right was another important factor. “I like to use 4,000 Kelvin color temperature in a bathroom because it provides a very good representation of natural light when putting on makeup,” Bula says.
After: Instead of a tub and separate shower, her clients were craving a large shower room. Once the tub was gone, Bula had space to create a beautiful wet-room area for the shower. The new layout works beautifully with the existing arched window, which already had privacy glass. A 4-foot-wide glass panel protects the rest of the bathroom from splashing water.
The most common bathroom layout is the single plumbed wall. All fixtures are lined up and served from one compact source of drains, water supplies and venting. This saves on plumbing installation and provides efficient distribution of heated water, especially when the wall is near a water heater. These walls need to be constructed of 2-by-6 studs, rather than 2-by-4s, mainly to accommodate the larger vent stack for the toilet. Even if your home has a large master bath, it likely has at least one bathroom elsewhere in the house that’s arranged this way.
Should you choose to have a glass enclosure, as in this bath, consider how high you would like to have the glass reach. Showers that have a steam function need to be completely enclosed, as seen here. Otherwise, the top of the glass should reach at least 76 inches (193 centimeters) above the floor. You may want to coordinate the height with the tiles or other wall finishes, or with the height of the windows and doors in the room.
Another nice touch, also seen here, is to extend the countertop in a shallower depth over the toilet tank. Since counter heights vary from 32 to 36 inches (81 to 91 centimeters), carefully consider whether your fixtures will fit comfortably under an extended countertop. Not only does the tank need to be low enough, but you must be able to remove the lid without obstruction.
Single sinks. For a single sink, you need at least 30 inches (76 centimeters) of width, but 36 to 48 inches (91 to 107 centimeters) is more comfortable. Double sinks. You can squeeze two sinks into 60 inches (152 centimeters) of width, but 72 inches (183 centimeters) or more is preferred.
Showers. Showers are required to have a minimum of 1,024 square inches, which is 32 by 32 inches (81 by 81 centimeters) of interior space — although it’s best to aim for at least 36 by 36 inches (91 by 91 centimeters). Toilets. Toilets can fit into spaces as small as 30 inches (76 centimeters) wide and 54 inches (137 centimeters) long, but at least 36 inches wide and 60 inches deep is much more comfortable.
Despite the modest dimensions of this space, the custom-designed medicine cabinet stretches over the toilet, providing generous storage. Note that the lighting built into the cabinet is a tall and narrow strip. Lighting fixtures placed on both sides of mirrors are ideal. You want even illumination from each side when grooming, and this arrangement is a good solution.
Sleek vanity cabinets. Most bathrooms are fairly small, so often all you need is one dramatic element to bring the space to life. Use an airy floating vanity cabinet to keep the room feeling open and to free up your budget for something more exciting, such as dramatic floor tile.
“Adding a skylight is one of the most effective upgrades you can make to a bathroom,” says Giulianna del Popolo, principal designer at GDP Interior Design. “Having natural light streaming in from overhead creates a serene, spa-like atmosphere. It also means you can do away with having a window, which gives you more scope with shower placement.
You can also opt for no door at all. A fixed panel of glass creates a modern look that’s easy to clean. These panels can be framed in metal or frameless, as seen here. Most shower glass is fabricated at ⅜ inch (or 10mm) thick so it’s durable, safe and long-lasting. Standard openings range from 22 to 26 inches depending on the shower size. The go-to opening size for our clients is 24 inches.
Nobody likes getting sprayed with cold water when reaching in to turn on the shower. Placing the controls on the opposite side of the shower head will add some extra expense to a renovation, but it’s a feature you will appreciate every day.
A handheld sprayer might seem like a small detail, but its inclusion can have an enormous effect on the shower experience. They are great for rinsing shaved legs, cleaning shower walls and more. “I always recommend adding a handheld in the shower,” says designer Chloe Rideout of Cummings Architecture + Interiors. “It makes cleaning pets, kids or the walls so much easier.”
If possible, a skylight over the shower, preferably operable for ventilation, is something you’ll never regret. And a dimmer switch for light fixtures is a must, pros say. “Sometimes you want it to be dim, sometimes you need to shave or put on makeup,” says architect Tim Barber. “We strive for several different choices of lighting to set a mood.” And be sure to cast yourself in the best light. “Always install lighting on the sides of the mirror so there aren’t shadows on your face,” says designer Tiffany Waugh.
If possible, a skylight over the shower, preferably operable for ventilation, is something you’ll never regret. And a dimmer switch for light fixtures is a must, pros say. “Sometimes you want it to be dim, sometimes you need to shave or put on makeup,” says architect Tim Barber. “We strive for several different choices of lighting to set a mood.” And be sure to cast yourself in the best light. “Always install lighting on the sides of the mirror so there aren’t shadows on your face,” says designer Tiffany Waugh.
Roussos suggests planning a layered design that includes several lighting sources. “It should feature lighting for ambiance; concealed LED strips are a great option, as they don’t consume much energy and can be left on to create a low-key mood. Put them under vanities and shaving cabinets, behind mirrors and in shower niches,” she says.
Tip: When planning the position of your toilet, allow at least 8 inches on both sides for elbow room, Cosway says.
Bright blue wall tile and swirling gray floor tile give this Chevy Chase, Maryland, bathroom by Teass \ Warren Architects a cloudy-day appearance, albeit perhaps one with a bit more sunshine than the previous bathroom. A midtone wood vanity warms the room, while its grid-like design coordinates with the grout lines in the wall tile to create visual texture. Long tube sconces add to the streamlined, contemporary style of the room.
I like the hardscape structure here with the clearly designated areas for lounging and tiered planting in specific areas
This might be as simple a change as adding in a new electrical outlet, or as complicated as installing new light fixtures on separate circuits. For example, it works well to have overhead lighting on one circuit and ambient cabinet or wall lighting on another. The cost for this kind of work will depend on the complexity of what’s involved.
For example, once the original floor finishes have been removed, you may find the surface isn’t perfectly even. To level it, your builder will have to lay a special compound or screed, and a change in floor level might even lead to doors having to be adjusted. Unforeseen extras such as these will add to the cost.
It’s important to establish before work commences who will be responsible for getting rid of the existing bathroom fixtures, hardware and finishes. If your builder has agreed to take care of this, make sure it’s included in the quote. If it isn’t included, you’ll need to budget for disposing of the items yourself.
Khuong was meticulous about getting the composition of these tiles just right. “I took photographs of each tile, put them in photo-editing software and rotated them around to get the right pattern. Then I labeled each tile and noted how to orient it,” she says. The result is a seamless look. This is the difference that hiring a designer can make — especially a designer who has an equally meticulous tile installer on call.
She also added a pot light in the shower and replaced the dated dressing room lights over the vanity with an elegant LED light bar that will save energy. Another resource saver is the dual-flush O Jazz toilet from Kollezi. This one-piece toilet has a simple curved skirt that makes it easy to clean.
Although the spouse doesn’t use a wheelchair, his ability to age in place was a priority too. Thus his vanity, which is on the other side of the double doors, is a mirror image of hers, with the same safety features.
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