Help I Need a New Bathroom - Part 3!

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 3 - The Master Bathroom

In Part One I covered planning for your bathroom renovation. If you haven't read that one yet, you can link back here! In Part Two, I discussed renovating a smaller bathroom; how to DIY, what it entails, and when it's a good time to call in the pros. If you'd like to read that one, click here. This post discusses a much larger job - The Master Bathroom. Many of the same points I discussed in part 2 of this series for DIY pertain to renovating the master bathroom as well. So, it really would be a good idea to go back and read that one if you are planning to do the work yourself, as I won't be covering all of those topics again. In this last blog in the 3 part series, I'll be discussing bigger changes and what's currently popular. My honest advice for the master bathroom is to hire professionals. Now if you are only planning on repainting, wallpapering, maybe painting the cabinets, changing out the hardware, changing out the countertops, removing the builder grade mirror or swapping out the lighting AND you are pretty handy (seriously read part 2 - it's a lot of work if you aren't sure what you are getting into), then by all means you can refresh the master bathroom on your own and probably do a pretty good job and it can look like a brand new room. We personally did this in our master and I think it came out great without completely renovating the whole space. I mean budget matters!!!

Let's discuss the minor remodel first. This is what we did. We did not change the flooring, footprint, cabinetry or any of the tile. We repainted the whole room, added shiplap on the vanity wall, changed out the lighting, took down the builder mirror and added individual mirrors, painted the cabinets, and put in a new counter with new sinks and faucets. My husband did all the work except for replacing the counters - we had the countertop people do that and a plumber hook up the sinks. When it was finished it gave a completely different feeling and look to the space and I was very happy with it. Even with us doing the work and very minimal updates this project took several weekends and was around $3000 for all of the material. I tell you this because I'm pretty budget conscious and I want you to have a good idea of how much money it takes to do a renovation. Again, if you are thinking of painting your cabinets I highly recommend reading part 2 about painting cabinets linked here, because painted cabinets can scratch very easily if not done right. Here are a couple of before and after's of our refresh.

Here you can see we kept the tub, tile, (you can't see it, but the shower is the same as well), and even the same window treatment! We switched up the shade of blue to something deeper and darker - which I love with the white contrast and we added a 1 x 6 as crown molding because we wanted something with cleaner lines.

In this picture you can see we are in "mid stage". This picture was taken after the laminate countertops came off and the painting was almost finished on the cabinets. The original, original color was maple spice (IYKYK), and you can see that on the side of the cabinet at the drop down vanity space. We had painted the white along time ago and had to repaint because cabinets need special care with painting. We went back and forth with raising the knee space up and in the end we decided to leave it. Finding a replacement cabinet was going to be challenging. And our budget did not involve all new cabinetry. Be prepared to use a different bathroom for a while when you are renovating.

And in this last picture you can see the finished sink side. The granite was a remnant, so we did get a better deal with that. On this side you can see the new paint color, new shiplap wall, new counters, sink and faucet, new lighting, and we also removed the builder grade mirror and installed individual mirrors. At first we were not going to add the middle mirror, but I realized this is where I stand to put on make-up and I needed a mirror. I didn't like the idea of three matching mirrors, so we went with something different in the middle and I'm happy we did. I wish I had an overall before and after of the whole room, but apparently I never took that picture. All in all we are still (4 years later) very happy with our remodel and because there is so much white in the room I never feel like the blue is too dark or that it makes the bathroom darker.

So, now let's talk about doing a bigger renovation where you want to get ride of your "garden" tub and make your shower larger or make a walk in shower. Here is my advice - hire a pro!!! They will have the best answers for your situation. When taking out the big tub and replacing it with a free-standing tub you will need to replace the flooring. When changing the footprint or making the shower a walk in with the tub inside (a wet room), it will probably involve moving plumbing and re-leveling the flooring for a new slope for drainage. That involves a jack hammer. If there's a window involved, it will affect the outside of the house and fixing the walls if it's removed or it will at the minimum involve waterproofing the window better to be in a wet space. Also, the drywall in a wet space is different than typical drywall, so if you are enclosing an area that wasn't in the shower to begin with, you will now need to replace all of the drywall. And sometimes you are taking down a half wall or pony wall and that can be tricky if there's plumbing or electric in it. Also, gutting out a bathroom will involve pulling permits and licensed plumbers and electricians and a general contractor. If your GC is talented you might be able to skip the interior designer and they can help you with design of the tile and selections, but if not, then I suggest hiring a designer as well to help with the selections, so that it looks cohesive and really pretty when it's done. Doing this type of renovation can cost several thousands depending on the size of the room, what you are changing out and the material you select. Marble is expensive. Be prepared for anywhere from $10k up to $40k. And again, I really stress that this is not the time to try out your renovation skills. Start with a half bath if you really want to get involved in a renovation. By starting off with hiring professionals you will save yourself money in the long run by not having to fix issues that come up, buy additional supplies you weren't expecting and saving yourself from MULTIPLE trips to the hardware store.

What's popular in a master bath renovation?

Let's talk about what's popular right now in bathrooms. If you've gotten this far and you are ready to get your bids for the renovation, you are probably wondering what you want it to look like. Hopefully you've done some research and you have a good idea of the overall look you want, but what about the products?

Lighting - back lit mirrors are very popular right now. Do I see this as a trend? yes. Yes I do. I think these will lose popularity in a few years, but if you love them and you want them - then get them! They do create a nice subtle lighting and less shadows. Side lighting - I'm seeing more and more of this. Lot's of people are choosing to light the mirror from the sides or from the sides and above. Again, it's a pretty look, gives you more lighting options and helps create less shadows. I see this one as less trendy and will probably stick around. If you have room for it, then I say go for it. Chandeliers - people love these! They are big right now in the bathroom to create a glamorous, luxurious space. And the favorite place for them?? Over the tub. This is actually against code in a commercial space and in some states for residential. It's a hazard to have it over possible water if it were to fall in. Lot's of people take this risk, but I wanted to make you aware. I won't be doing this if I design your bathroom. ;-)

Mirrors - mirrors are fun right now!!! Big frames are coming back, gilded frames are coming back, weird shaped mirrors are in, skinny black frames are in; basically any mirror is good except for the large builder mirror - LOL. Sometimes you can frame this out and make it look better if you are not wanting to take it down and deal with repairing the wall behind the mirror.

Free standing tubs - these are all the rage! Obviously a free standing tub is a classic - hello claw foot tubs, but the newer ones are a bit more stream lined looking. The down side?? There is no shelf or area to put anything around it. So think about that when it's being designed. Maybe you can inset a wall niche or have a corner shelf built, or some type of decking. They do make jetted free standing tubs if you are worried you'll lose your jacuzzi style tub. Many people are enclosing their free standing tub inside of their shower enclosure to make a "wet-room". I have mixed feeling on the practicality of this. While I think it looks pretty, I kind of think the tub will be in the way or that you'll have to drain it and clean it much more often, and I just think it could be odd to be in the bath with someone else showering right next to you. But to each their own and if you like it - go for it! Personally I'd prefer double shower heads or a shower wall of jets, and a bench and no tub at all.

Tile - people are mixing lots of tile stiles, shapes and patterns. It's fun and creates a very personalized unique space. Have your tile guy or designer come up with some fun ideas for you for this. Sky's the limit here. Also, tile is now going all the way to the ceiling in shower's. And adding a tiled niche is a nice touch to eliminate the bottle caddy. Oh, and don't forget to have a shaving ledge built in!

Countertops - this is still mostly granite or quartz. Marble is really pretty, but soft and can scratch easily or stain. Not many people are doing solid surface/ Corian anymore; it's been gone for years. Tile looks dated usually and the grout lines don't do well on a countertop. Laminate is very budget friendly, but it's pretty much the base line. I'm not judging - it's still in a bathroom in my house. Designers have budgets too!!

Hardware and faucets - These can eat up a big portion of your budget. They can range from basic to crazy full shower systems with jets and steam and multiple heads. And right now you are in luck, because pretty much all of the metals are popular. Gold, black, polished chrome, satin nickel, oil rubbed bronze - anything goes. Choose what works with your other selections and what you like and have at it. Even mixing metals in the same room works! Enjoy the freedom of choice here.

Cabinetry - I'm seeing mostly free standing vanities or furniture looking pieces here. There are still cabinets being installed, but not as often. Remember if you are planning to remove your cabinetry and replace it with a free standing vanity, you are more than likely replacing all of the flooring as well. Typically the tile is not set under the cabinets when the house was built and it will leave you with concrete or plywood under your cabinets and good luck matching up the existing flooring to new flooring options. So, if you are not wanting to re-do floors, painting your existing cabinets might be the best option. Sorry for that bad news.

I hope you enjoyed this three part series and found it informative on renovating vs refreshing your bathroom space. If you need design help for your bathroom, I'd be happy to chat with you.