Well, our bathroom may be in a state of chaos, but at least progress has been made.  Mike, our plumber, is a star and has been working dawn til dusk figuring out our ancient plumbing system.  The really exciting thing is that the avocado suite has gone!  It was really satisfying to see Mike ripping out that awful green bath.  The sink and toilet have gone too.  Luckily we've got a downstairs toilet, as Mike hasn't had time yet to plumb in our new toilet.  As our plumbing system is so old, he's had to spend a lot of time finding new bits of pipe and kit to modernize it.

The lovely and pristine white bath is in place and ready to use, although Mike hasn't put the side panel on yet as he needs to access the pipework underneath.  Tomorrow he's going to put in the new shower - I can't wait!  We're having it installed over the tub - we did consider installing a separate corner shower stall, but decided we don't really have enough floor space to accommodate it.  A shame, as I think glass shower stalls are really glamorous and nice.  But anyway, a shower over the bath is certainly better than no shower at all!  And thankfully we've got Mike to give us his professional advice.

It goes without saying that given the choice, 9 times out of ten we'd both prefer to have a shower than a bath.  Showers are just so convenient and instant.  You can get a few more precious minutes of sleep each morning if you can get up and jump in the shower without having to wait for the tub to fill!  It's also so much easier to wash your hair standing up.  And of course, being frugal by nature, I'm looking forward to reducing our water bill by saving all that water.

Not for the first time in this bathroom remodeling project we were confused when we came to choose a shower - this is where Mike's expertise came in handy.  He explained that as our water is heated by our boiler and stored in a tank, we'd be better off with a mixer shower rather than an electric power shower that heats the water as it runs.  He tested our water pressure, with the verdict being that we'll need to install a booster pump in order to have enough pressure for the shower to work properly - great - more expense!  The good news is that Mike knows where he can get us a decent pump at a discount price, and it should be fairly easy for him to install it in the airing cupboard.  Meanwhile, after all that raving about showers, it's time for me to test out that shiny new bath!

The bathroom is no longer just an essential amenity, a room that’s all about function.  Today, the bathroom can be an attractive and comfortable part of the home, where we spend a significant amount of time in our daily lives.  Whether it’s having a refreshing shower at the start of the day, or unwinding in a hot bath at the end of it, our bathroom activities take up a fair amount of our time, so we may as well perform them in a pleasant environment.

Changes to how we see our bathrooms in recent years have led to major advances in design and style, which means that there is now a far greater choice of bathroom suites, faucets and accessories, from vanity cabinets to lighting fixtures.  According to estate agents, the bathroom is nearly as important as the kitchen when it comes to buying or selling a home.  A dreary or outdated bathroom can put off potential buyers, but fortunately putting in a new bathroom doesn’t need to be expensive and the finished result can be well worth the cost and effort.

As well as making your home more appealing when you want to sell it, there are several reasons why you may want to change your bathroom’s appearance.  If you’ve moved to a new home, it may be that the previous owner’s taste isn’t quite to your liking, and adding your personal touch to your bathroom remodeling is on your list of things to do.  Another scenario is that you bathroom is beginning to show signs of wear and tear and is generally in need of a makeover.  If you’re embarrassed of your cracked tiles or stained toilet when guests come to stay, it’s time for a change.  Perhaps you’re planning on adding a second bathroom or an ensuite, by either renovating or extending. 

If you’re changing your existing bathroom, it’s a lot easier to plan as you will already have a set layout and an idea of what works and what you’d like to alter.  Planning a new bathroom from scratch can be trickier, as you are starting with a blank canvas, and it’s crucial to do a lot of research to make sure you use the space wisely and efficiently.  Visit bathroom showrooms, browse online and look through catalogues.  Take into account the practical requirements of your household, the ambiance you want to create and of course your budget.

Hooray! At last the plastering is finished - which means we can crack on with our bathroom remodeling plans.  We've managed to get Mike the plumber booked in for a week today, so we've got to get ourselves organized and pick out our new bathroom suite.  As much as I like re-using things and giving old stuff a makeover, as we currently have a matching green bath, sink and toilet, in the interests of taste there's no way we can "make do" and just replace the cracked tub - this time the whole lot's gotta go.  We thought we'd play it safe in getting a classic white suite, in the belief that white is not going to go out of fashion.  However, after months of discussing our bathroom design ideas, now the time has come to actually buy new bathroom fixtures we're both feeling a bit surprised and overwhelmed by the choice of styles available. 

I was surprised by the variations in price too.  It really does seem like you can spend as much as you want.  I think we need to agree on our price range in order to limit our options and make our decision easier, otherwise it could be another 6 months before we actually finish this remodeling project!  Of course, as usual I'm on the lookout for a bargain and am keeping my eyes open for discount bathroom suites.

The bath and the toilet are pretty much sorted.  Although I do love the vintage look of clawfoot bathtubs, the layout of our bathroom (and budget) is better suited to a standard bathtub with side panel.  The toilet also can be a "bog-standard" design (pardon the pun), providing it's dual-flush - we want to do our bit for the environment and save water, as well as reduce our water bills.  The part that we're struggling with is the sink. 

I honestly didn't realize just how many different sorts of bathroom sinks there are. I'm drawn to some of the modern style sinks, which come in some amazing designs.  I love the contemporary look of a glass vessel sink sitting on a vanity counter top.  I also think the rustic style granite stone sinks have loads of character.  However, financial constraints aside, my practical nature nearly always wins through.  Although I like the simplicity of a pedestal sink, given our desperate need for storage space, we do need a vanity cabinet built under the sink.  In the end, I think we'll go for a traditional white porcelain undermount sink, to tie in with our bathroom's simple, uncluttered new image.
 

Once we got going, with damp sponges and scrapers it didn’t actually take us that long to strip off that awful wallpaper and remove those bizarre tiles.  It was a really satisfying job, as we could really see that we were making progress…However, it was kinda inevitable that this bathroom remodeling project isn’t going to be straightforward.  I suppose in a house that’s over 100 years old, these things are to be expected.  In removing the wallpaper the other evening, I inadvertently disturbed the plaster underneath and the more I touched it the worse I made the problem.  It wasn’t really my fault (phew) as it turns out there are several large areas on the two walls by the bath where the plaster is really loose and needs to be completely removed back to the bricks and timber.  I’m already tired of all the dust and debris everywhere.

Anyway, I’ve done what I can, now it’s all on hold while we wait for our plasterer to come and replaster the walls…In the meantime, I’ve been using my time constructively to do some planning, and generally giving some thought to how our bathroom’s ultimately going to look.  In particular, I’ve been researching bathroom vanities.  So far, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is time well spent, as it seems choosing a bathroom vanity is by no means easy – there are so many different styles and colors, my head’s spinning!  Of course, being thrifty by nature it did cross my mind that maybe I should try and rejuvenate our old 1970s vanity cabinet – but realistically, it would take more than a lick of paint to bring this ugly thing back to life! 

So, it looks like we’re going to have to splash out on new vanity furniture.  It’ll be worth it though – especially if we leave it another 30 years before we next decorate the bathroom!  Anyway, we’re currently trying to decide on an overall theme for our bathroom, so we can narrow down our choice of vanities.  Do we do for an antique style to play up our home’s history?  Or do we go for a luxurious contemporary style vanity unit, complete with glass vessel sink?  I think the one thing we do both agree on is that we don’t want something that is going to look outdated or oldfashioned in a couple of years.  So, I think we’ll go for a classic, timeless style and keep it simple.  With regards to color, we’d both prefer a lighter color, maybe white or off-white, or a light wood.  And of course, with all our clutter, ample storage space is of utmost importance. 

We want to have some money left over at the end of doing the bathroom so we can then do the kitchen, family room, master bedroom…the list goes on.  So, I’m keeping a look out for sales and offers on discount bathroom vanities – I’m hoping I can find something that looks classy and expensive but for a bargain price!  Wish me luck!

Speak to any estate agent and they will tell you that it’s bathrooms and kitchens that sell homes.  Adding a new bathroom can add that “wow” factor and significantly increase your home’s value.  But before you rush out and spend hundreds on remodeling your bathroom, make sure your money will be well spent.  It’s essential to get it right and give buyers what they want. Here are some of the latest trends in bathroom remodeling and decorating that are hot right now.

Simply painting your bathroom walls is a cheap and easy way to give the room a makeover and improve its appeal.  But your choice of paint color is critical – stay away from shades with too much gray in them, as these can make a bathroom seem cold.  Current trends are for spa colors, with the emphasis on pure, clean shades.  A modern trick used by interior designers is to mix a small amount of your colored wall paint with white paint to use on the ceiling.  This white with a tint of color has the effect of helping make a small bathroom appear more spacious.

Panelled wainscoting going halfway or three quarters of the way up the wall is a classic look that has timeless appeal.  Giving your wainscoting a fresh coat of white or off-white paint is an easy way to show it off to its best effect.

Take care when choosing your bathroom flooring, as this is something that can make or break a sale.  Whatever you do, stay away from carpet in the bathroom – soft carpets and wet water splashes are a big design no-no.  Ceramic floor tiles look luxurious, but are a costly option.  A cheaper alternative that looks just as good, but is much easier to fit, is a tongue and groove laminate floor.  Laminate flooring is currently very popular, as it looks good and is easy to clean.

As regards bathroom vanities, countertops made from cultured marble are the latest must-have among discerning buyers.  Cultured marble has the beauty and strength of other solid surfaces, but is much cheaper than traditional countertop materials.  Storage is an important consideration when planning your bathroom’s new look, so think carefully when choosing your bathroom cabinets to ensure you make the best use of the space available.  Buyers love to see lots of storage space, so consider fitting built in units with a countertop that extends over the toilet.  As for the type of wood, lighter woods such as maple are currently all the rage, with oak being seen as unfashionable.  For a contemporary look, try matching cherry cabinets with light or white countertops, for an attractive contrast.

Showers are big selling points, so if your bathroom’s only got a tub, it’d be worth installing a shower over the bath, or adding a separate shower stall if space allows.  Replacing the tub altogether with a large walk-in shower can put off some buyers who prefer the convenience of having both a tub and shower, and by doing this you may be limiting your market.  If you fit a shower, don’t scrimp on making the surrounding walls watertight, either by tiling them or using acrylic, which is a cheaper option that can do the job just as well as tiles and has the advantage of being easy to keep clean.

For the “wow” factor, fit a bypass door to your stall or a frameless glass shower screen on your tub, to open up the room and help it seem bigger.  Optional extras that appeal to buyers include multiple showerheads.  However, ask an estate agent for advice to see if this extra cost is worth it in relation to how much value it will add.  If your tub needs replacing – maybe it’s a dated color, cracked or stained – the current trend is for deep, extra wide tubs.

Attention to detail can make all the difference if you want your bathroom to add value to your home, and the right lighting is crucial to create a welcoming ambiance in the bathroom.  Recessed ceiling lighting above the sink is popular, as are wall sconces either side of the mirror.

If the aim of doing up your bathroom is to add value to your home when you come to sell, then it makes sense not to blow all your potential profit on unnecessary costs.  Fortunately, you can save money by doing some of the decorating yourself, such as the painting.  The following articles offer advice on bathroom remodeling:

http://www.showers-bathrooms.com/choosingashower.html
http://www.showers-bathrooms.com/paint.html

Six months ago (has it really been that long?) we moved to a new home.  We were smitten mainly by its beautiful location but also by the fact that although the décor was trapped in a 1970s timewarp, we could see though this and visualize turning it into our dream home.  Like the real estate agent kept telling us – “it’s got loads of potential”.  Hmmmm.  The question is, now we’re here, how do we unlock this potential?!

We moved in with grand ambitious plans to renovate and decorate, but these things have a habit of taking longer than planned.  But you can only live with these things so long – enough is enough and now we’ve made the decision to tackle the bathroom, so it’s time to take action.  Our bathroom remodeling project has been top priority on our long to-do list since we moved in, but where do we start?

OK, looking on the bright side, the good points of our bathroom are: it’s a decent size, the layout works well, and there’s lots of natural light.  But, the negatives far outweigh these plus points at the moment.  Currently, our bathroom remodeling plans involve doing something about the following:

1. The bath, sink and toilet are all avocado green – yuk!
2. There’s no shower and it takes ages to fill the tub – and then I don’t much feel like taking a long luxurious soak in a murky green bath.  Consequently we waste a lot of water.
3. The vanity unit is falling apart and is generally outdated.
4. Ditto the wall cabinets.
5. The walls are covered in moldy, peeling wallpaper, which also happens to be delightfully decorated with chaffinches and pink flowers – tasteful!
6. There’s a filthy old carpet on the floor – urgh.  Not only does it look dirty and moldy, it smells bad too – that has to go!
7. The only tiles are a single row of plasticy polystryrene things around the edge of the bath tub, which aren’t much use at protecting the walls.
8. The window blind, surprise surprise, is also covered with mold and mildew, not to mention being just plain ugly…

You get the idea – now can you understand why I can’t wait to get started and get rid of all that 1970s hideousness!  Our bathroom remodeling project starts now – I’m off to strip that wallpaper…