A bathroom should be an area of comfort – the optimal environment for a relaxing soak or getting ready efficiently throughout a harried morning.
“You’re going to spend time in there every day,” says Sarah Hurd, part of the mother-daughter team behind Short Story Renovations, a Baltimore-area design, rehab, and staging company. “You should not hate your bathroom.”
Signs it’s Time to Update Your Bathroom
If a bad layout, poor lighting, and leaky fixtures are getting in the way, it might be time for some changes.
Here are nine signs that your bathroom could use a little work.
Not photogenic
“It’s weird how you can see in a picture what you can’t see anymore with your own eyes,” says Angela Hurd of Short Story Renovations.
She and her daughter, Sarah, recommend that clients take a photograph of their bathroom to acquire a better sense of what they may well not otherwise notice. People can become blind to the discord – from a mismatched color scheme to accumulated junk on the vanity counter, she says.
Outdated colors
Funky hues may be one of the most noticeable signs that a bathroom is out of date. White, gray, and black palettes will lend a component of ageless beauty for any space, says Michael Merschat, an architect with high-end residential design-build firm Wentworth Inc. of Chevy Chase, MD.
People are returning to “that white, timeless look, be it a very modern-style white or something with a little classical flare,” he says.
Bad layout
Awkward bathroom layout is another indication that it’s time for an update. Odd arrangements, say for example a toilet directly beside the bathtub, are typical in bungalows and houses built in the 1920s, ’30s, and ‘40s, when plumbing had been a new phenomenon.
Installing a separate water closet could be a winning move, Merschat says. “It gives a nice bit of refinement to the room when the toilet isn’t sitting out in the middle of the space.”
Has the aroma of a bathroom
Replacing a toilet’s wax seal, fixing a persistent sink leak that is causing mold, or adding better ventilation to a windowless bathroom can all be sure fixes for a fresher-smelling experience, says Sarah Hurd.
“With some bathrooms, you walk in and in addition they just have an old bathroom smell,” she remarks. It’s another indication that it’s time for a renovation.
Leaks
When brown water stains show up on the ceiling below the bathroom, it’s definitely time for you to make repairs and update. Use the opportunity to put in modern fixtures that conserve water and speak to your style, Merschat advises.
Poor lighting
“If you’re either blinded by the lights that are overhead or it’s so dim you can barely see yourself in the mirror, that’s a problem,” says Sarah Hurd. Better light fixtures and brighter light bulbs could be the first step on your road to a bathroom redo.
Stylistic relics
If you have wallpaper or popcorn ceilings still hanging out from decades past, your bathroom is due for an update.
Wallpaper is making a comeback, so think about using it in a new way. “We’ve actually redone powder rooms where we’ve put wallpaper on the ceiling to give it a different pop,” Merschat says.
Low on storage
Can’t store everything you would like in the bathroom? This requires action.
Install a larger vanity or add shelves over the toilet. You could possibly even knock out a wall and steal just a little space from another room to produce a linen closet.
Time to sell
If you’re uninterested in renovating your bathroom for yourself, do it for your home’s next tenants. A fancy new washroom may add the ideal panache to spur potential buyers to action.
Nick & Cindy Davis with RE/MAX Premier Group have worked with several vendors who can assist you with the remodel here in the Tampa Bay and Surrounding areas. If you are need of some assistance, just give us a call at 813-300-7116 or simply click here and we will get you in touch with them.
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