You’ve been putting up with an obsolete bath. It’s cramped and dark. It’s dingy and dated. You spend as little time as possible in the bathroom getting ready for the day. The thought of soaking in your tub at the end of a stressful day offers you no comfort.
You’re determined to turn the worst room in the house into the spa of your dreams. You know what you want, but you also know you need a designer to translate your dream into reality. You’re eager to get started.
You probably have questions: How much will this cost? What are the latest trends? How long will this take? These aren’t bad questions, but we’d like to suggest three things you should be asking your designer instead that will better help you through the process.
First things first: why
Perhaps the question you consider most important is, “How much is this going to cost me?” Cost is important, but there’s a better question you should be asking: “Why does a master bath cost more per square foot than a kitchen?”
Understanding why bathroom remodels are the most expensive renovation will lead you to making better design decisions. What’s worse than an outdated bath? An unfinished bath! Your designer can help you use your funds where they’ll have the biggest impact.
You hope to pack as much luxury into every square inch as possible. A good designer shows you where to put the bling and where to trim costs without disappointing you.
Perhaps your inspiration photo features marble tile. A good designer will show you less expensive options so you end up with a bathroom that’s pleasing but doesn’t push you beyond what you can afford. It’s never acceptable to run out of funds before finishing the project.
Trendy or timeless?
If you’re not a trained designer, you could run into difficulty separating the trendy from the timeless. Some trends come and go quickly. It can lead to regret when your bathroom feels dated in a couple of years. Other trends continue into the future and become a timeless element of good design.
You hire a good designer to help you negotiate trends. One of the questions you should be asking is whether you should take out the bathtub and replace it with a walk-in shower. You’ve noticed the trend, but is it one that makes sense for the long term?
Chances are you’ve always considered the four-piece bath as the gold standard, and there’s some truth that your home should have a bathtub. Tubs and tots naturally go together, but today’s lifestyles demand the ease of showers and our longer lifespans demand the easier access of walk-in showers over tubs.
You may not have reached the stage where stepping into a tub in order to take a shower has become a daily challenge, but that day will eventually come. Millennials don’t always have time for a leisurely soak in the tub. Whether it’s a time constraint or a physical constraint, walk-in showers are in high demand and that’s a trend you could jump on.
Another benefit of converting a tub to a walk-in shower is increasing the visual space of your bath without adding extra square footage. Some renovations don’t allow physically expanding the footprint. Converting from a tub to a shower opens up a room, making it feel more spacious.
Easily accessible storage
Is storage even on your radar? Perhaps in a vague way, you know you could use a bigger vanity, but have you given a thought to where all the towels should be stored, along with all the other necessities?
In decades past, the linen closet was in a hallway outside the bathroom. How many times have you been frustrated with discovering there wasn’t a fresh towel to use after a shower? How annoying is it that you can’t grab one without leaving the bath? There has to be better storage than that!
If you ask, your designer will ensure that all your storage needs will be easily accessible. Designers think of things that haven’t occurred to you yet.
From hairdryers to towels and built-in niches in the shower for shampoo, your designer can customize the storage that makes sense for your everyday needs. It’s the small touches that will make your morning routine a breeze. Take advantage of our expertise! We have ideas for storing what you need and keeping it within reach. And we do it with style!
Designed to perfection
Now that you know what to ask, schedule an appointment with one of our designers. Together, we’ll design the perfect bathroom for your unique needs.
Resources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/26/realestate/replacing-tub-with-shower.html
https://www.bhg.com/bathroom/shower-bath/tub-to-shower-conversion/