Bathroom Design

A bathroom from my experience is one of the worst rooms when it comes to making the final decision. You have so many things to consider where should I put the bath? Do I need a second vanity? How much do I require? Those are the questions that most people get stuck on.

Bathrooms are such an important part of the house just like the Kitchen you spend a large amount of time in it. Not only do you have a shower but you normally get ready in there preping and priming yourself for the day. 

Why is it when we go to design this space in particular that we seem to have the difficulty.Heres how to have a stress free design process. 

1) You don't know what you want

Of course we all have a ideal bathroom but this can cost thousands of dollars and we might not be able to afford that right now. This ideal bathroom may have some concepts that can be used in the new bathroom but how do you know which features to keep and the other features to save for another day?

An easy solution is to write a list of the wants and your needs within the bathroom. 
Do you want a shower that is large and that you can walk into or do you want a vanity that is floating with 2 basins ?

By writing a list you can see what you can put into your new bathroom design with out changing the allocated space. 

Another option for creating a well designed bathroom is to look at the builders designs and look at how the bathrooms have been designed. This will be able to give you an idea of the possible layout. Even going through display homes or anyones homes to find the right bathroom layout for you.


2) Products
Once you have the layout that you want you then need to decide on the products and materials that you will be using within that space. Do you need prefabricated cabinets or did you want a cabinetmaker to construct the products? Are you wanting a ceiling shower or a rail shower? Did you want a above counter basin or a inset basin? 

Once you have narrowed down the products you are wanting to put into your room, you will need too start considering cost. Sure you can get a basin that is $1000 but you can get a replica that is much more cost effective enabling you to select other items that you want to be more of a feature.

Another thing is that you either need to alert your builder if you are using one or the plumber of the products and ask if there are any other installation costs and if they would recommend any of those products. 

3) Selecting colours
Once you have finalised your layout of the Bathroom, you now need to pull everything together with selecting the tiles and laminates. This is defiantly the part that people find the most daunting, but use the following tips to make your selection process easier.  

My top tips for successfully choosing tiles are :

- Do your research !
Before going to the tile store make sure you have an idea of the colour scheme that you are wanting to put into the room. Cut out magazines, search the internet for colour schemes that you like. Take pictures of friends or display home bathroom themes. 

-Browse
As silly as it seems people only like to go to 1 tile store and make all of their selections. I would suggest going to multiple tiles stores , before picking anything have a look around and see what they have. Just because you walk into the store doesn't mean that you have to pick anything. Once you have found tiles from the store that you like, go back and make a formal selection. Remember you can select tiles from different tiles stores if you can't find everything that you need in the one store. 

-Get Samples
Why get sample tiles ? You should get a sample tile of anything that you select so that you can take the tile home and see what it looks like in the different light. The lighting in the tile stores is deceiving and could and in some circumstances will look different once it is laid. 

By also taking a sample tile home you can see how the laminates look again that you picked. It will also allow you to get a second opinion either the builders design team or a family member. 

-Utilise the resources provided to you. 

If the builder offers a consultation of tiles and plumbing fixtures before the meeting, make sure you take that up. The bonus of this is that you will have someone that knows what is included and what works its their job. Make sure you ask lots of questions and find out what other clients have selected.

If going to the tile store alone ask the colour assistant for some advice on the type of tiles that they would select and also what grout colour they would recommend. Ask them if you should tile the kick board in the floor or in the wall tile. These colour assistants are full of information and will be able to point you in the right direction. 

Those are the tips and tricks that I use regularly to make selections regardless of the client. Do you have any specific tips? And how do you compromise to get the final look