Help I Need a New Bathroom! - Part 1

Tips and Advice From Doing a DIY Bathroom Update to Having the Whole Thing Renovated for You

Have you been thinking it's time for one or all of your bathrooms in your home to get an update? In this multi part series, I'm going to go over the steps to achieve your dream bathroom on your budget and how much time and work it takes to get there.

How to Update Your Existing Bathroom to a New Bathroom - Part 1 - Planning

This might arguably be the most fun part. This is the part when you start dreaming! One day it hits you that you can no longer go another day without updating your bathroom. So, where do you start??? Sadly most dreams for home renovations have to begin with your budget. How much money do you have to invest in your bathroom update? This answer will probably determine whether you are ready to begin, whether you are doing it yourself or whether you can go all in and have someone do a full renovation. If you realize that your budget is on the lower side, don't get discouraged. It can still happen, but it might be a bit more hands on than you were hoping. Depending on the size of your bathroom and the level of updating you are wanting, the cost for a master bathroom can range from a few hundred (only painting walls and doing it yourself) up to $30,000+ for a full renovation with walls being taken down or moved, possible plumbing moves, new flooring, new tile, new counters - basically everything new.

If you have a smaller powder bath that needs updating, this is a great place to start if you want to try DIY before you crack open the can of worms a master bathroom can be. Paint and wallpaper can go a long way in making the room look much better. If the cabinets are in good shape you can even paint them. (I'll get more into the renovations in part two of this series).

If you've decided you are not handy at all or you don't want to do this yourself, then hiring a general contractor and interior designer is a good idea. When hiring a contractor, plumber, or electrician make sure that they are licensed and insured. Same for a designer, if licensing is required in your state, but they should definitely be insured. It's also a good idea if you are doing anything with plumbing or electrical to have permits pulled, so you don't wind up with issues down the road. Interview a few to see who you fit best with, works best with your budget and you trust the most. Having workers in your home is very personal and you want to make sure you trust them.

If you are doing the work yourself, it is still a good idea to pull permits and hire at least an electrician or plumber if you are changing anything involving those areas in the bathroom.

Once you've figured which room, and who is doing the work, figure out your time line. Bathrooms can take a weekend or several weeks. Make sure you are prepared for not being able to use the bathroom if you are doing a large renovation.

Now remember I did promise you this was the fun, dreamy part, so here it is; start putting together a digital or traditional mood board. If you love magazines and get your best inspiration from there, then by all means, cut pictures out and put them in a file or create some type of collage with what you are looking for. If you are more of a digital dreamer, then head over to Pinterest and create a board and start saving all of the images that inspire you. These images do not need to be only of bathrooms. They can be of colors, feelings an image evokes, other rooms in the house that you'd like to bring into the bathroom, fixtures, lighting, tile. Save it all. If you are working with a designer, then this is where they will help you decipher how to pull all of your images together into something cohesive and then will help you make selections that will work best for that design aesthetic. If you are doing it yourself, after you've done your selecting of images, start narrowing it down by asking yourself which images make you the happiest and why. And that's the direction you should

take.

So, let's recap the planning stage.

• Figure out your budget

• Decide which bathroom you are renovating (if you have multiple options - smaller budget = smaller bathroom to start with)

• Decide who is doing the work and how much work is being done

• Decide when you can fit having a bathroom remodel into your schedule

• Create your inspiration board

In Part Two of How to Update Your Existing Bathroom to a New Bathroom, I'll cover "doing it yourself" and minimal updates.

I hope you found this helpful to start your bathroom renovation project. If you are in need of design help, contact me! I'd love to help you with your bathroom renovation project.