Preparing for a Bathroom Renovation
A bathroom renovation is a major project. It requires extensive planning and expert advice before you go charging out to your nearest bathroom supply store. If not properly planned, the project can quickly get away from you, leading to major cost and schedule overruns.
So before starting any work, before getting any quotes, we have a list of four crucial things you should do embarking on a bathroom renovation project.
- Decide on your budget
Before you get to any of the fun stuff, like checking out the claw-foot bathtubs or testing the rain showers, you need to define your budget. Any bathroom renovation is going to be expensive. Besides the kitchen, the bathroom is the most expensive room in the house to renovate. And if you don’t have a pre-defined budget, you can quickly find the costs getting away from you.
A 2018 Housing Industry of Australia survey found that the average cost for a bathroom renovation was about $17,500. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that a minor cosmetic overhaul can be as little as $5,000, while a full luxury renovation on a large bathroom will easily hit $25,000 or more.
Working out how much you have to spend will help you to focus your project on the essentials and not get carried away with the minor (but often costly) details. - Decide on a bathroom style
Your style of bathroom will go a long way to determining its look, functionality and atmosphere. Without a unifying style concept, you run the risk throwing together a hodgepodge of disparate elements.
Some different styles include traditional, modern, rustic, beach, Asian, transitional or eclectic. Some styles, like modern and traditional, won’t require much decorating expertise. These styles are fairly common with plenty of ready-made design concepts available.
Other design styles, like eclectic or Asian, may requiring some design expertise to create a coherent look or source the more hard-to-find materials and fittings. - Decide on colour concept
Your colour concept will, in part, be a linked to your bathroom style. For instance, a beach style bathroom usually includes blues and yellows. A modern bathroom could focus on blacks or metallic colours.
It’s important to remember that colour plays a large role in creating ambience and atmosphere. So, you should think about what colours and finishes you are drawn to and what colours make you feel warm, calm and serene. - Plan the layout
This one’s important. Before you start doing anything, you need to know what sized area you have to work with and how you envision the general layout of the room. This should start as a rough sketch that gets filled out with detail and more precision as your concept comes together.
When thinking about your ideal layout, it’s important to consider the existing plumbing. Planning the layout around the existing plumbing will save you huge amounts of time and money.
If you have a small bathroom, look for practical tips on how to make the most of small spaces, as well as design tips for making small spaces look bigger.
For larger spaces, think about what’s going to be the most practical. While a big spa bathtub may be a luxurious addition, maybe that space could be better used by installing a double vanity and mirror if the bathroom is being used by multiple people.
Talk to the pros
Once you have your budget, your vision and your plan, it’s time to talk to the pros and start visiting the bathroom supply stores. It will save you significant time and money if you can approach architects, builders and designers with your concept already thought out.
Renovating a bathroom is a big project. But making sure you’ve done the research and have an idea of what you want will get the renovation off to a great start.
