More than four out of five homeowners who renovate replace major bathroom features, such as sinks, showers, and floors. It’s no surprise, since a bathroom remodel will not only make your home feel nicer while you live in it—it can have a significant ROI when you decide to sell.
To help you make the best choices for your master bedroom bathroom remodel, the following are 13 tips to remember as you plan your project.
- When a guest opens the door to your master bedroom bathroom, the toilet shouldn’t be the first thing they see. Experts also say the toilet should be installed at a 90-degree angle to the door.
- To maximize cost-efficiency, have your new plumbing fixtures installed as close as possible to your existing plumbing. This tip can be ignored if your piping and wiring are old and outdated, and need replacing anyway.
- To make a small master bedroom bathroom feel larger, use a clear glass shower door instead of a solid-color one; a pedestal sink, instead of a sink with cabinets; and a large mirror in place of a smaller one, or even multiple mirrors. You can also install cabinets or towel racks above the toilet for out-of-the-way storage.
- Install light fixtures generously (lots of light can also make a room feel bigger), especially around the vanity. You want the vanity lighting to prevent shadows on your face when you look in the mirror. It’s a good idea to use a dimmer switch near the vanity, to get the lighting level perfect every time. Think about the different types of lighting you want in your bathroom, including ambiance and decorative lights.
- To prevent mold or mildew growth, make sure you include proper ventilation in your remodel plans. This is often overlooked, but it’s essential to ensure your new bathroom lasts a long time without moisture damage.
- Install a timer to control the fan. A timer should be set to keep the fan running for at least one hour after you turn it on. Alternatively, a dehumidistat will constantly monitor the humidity in the bathroom, turning on the fan any time there’s excess moisture to get rid of.
- Consider installing a heated floor in your bathroom, especially in a colder climate. Stepping onto cold tile in the morning can be unpleasant, making the warmth of a heated floor a welcome change. You can even have the floor under the shower tile heated.
- Know up-front what you’re willing to invest in your master bedroom bathroom remodel. The cost to redo a bathroom doesn’t have to be high, but your options on a $2,000 budget are dramatically different from what they would be on a $10,000 budget. You’ll want to know this before you speak with bathroom remodeling contractors.
- Decide if there’s anything about your existing bathroom that you want to keep. While you’re probably looking to update your bathroom’s look, keeping an antique vanity or wall tile can sometimes be the most aesthetically-pleasing—and certainly the simplest—option.
- Be realistic about what you can fit into the bathroom. When you’re planning your home bathroom remodel in your head, it’s easy to convince yourself that you can fit a lot into a little space, but it might not work that way in practice. Before talking to a contractor, you might find it helpful to learn the dimensions of bathtubs and vanities, and to measure the bathroom yourself, so you can form an accurate idea of what you can do.
- Don’t be afraid to treat your bathroom to some high-end materials. With bathrooms being so small, you can invest in a couple high-end materials without spending a lot more—and get an end result that feels dramatically more luxurious.
- You might find it helpful to create a design inspiration board. You do this by collecting pictures from magazines or the internet that, in some way or another, look like the bathroom you want.
- To make sure your bathroom ages well, you might want to keep the design of high-cost items stylistically neutral. If the tub you choose is only going to be in style this year, it will be difficult and costly to update your bathroom’s look down the road. Instead, use paint and decor to reflect current trends, and use expensive items with a more timeless quality.