Most people would like to know about what it will cost to renovate their bathroom BEFORE they spend oodles of time choosing product for it. But to get a feel for the cost, you need to have some idea of what you want! Otherwise the general contractor will not have anything to work with when providing you a range.
But where do you start?
I decided to start with the vanity area, since that would influence the style I chose for everything else. This will be the focus of this blog posting.
I have kept pictures that appealed to me in a file for a while now, and I also looked on Better Homes and Garden's DecoratingInspiration.com. I will share a few pictures here.
I needed the vanity to fit with my relaxed traditional style in the bedroom, where I have oak, pine, and walnut antiques of the early 1900s, and creamy wallpaper and carpeting. I also had to think about the day when we sell our traditional style home -- so the renovation had to fit with the style of the house and be neutral enough to appeal to many, without being boring.
The picture above had many features that I liked. My bed and my antique TV armoire both have legs similar to the ones in the picture, and the overall style was appealing to me. I also liked the detail of the middle vanity section coming forward a bit. The tower in the center of the vanity would be wonderful for storage, and I could have some electricity moved behind it so that my hair dryer and tooth brush could always be plugged in and out of sight. I thought that having "built in" mirrors would add height to my small bathroom, and it would allow me to pull the tower and the mirror into the new crown molding I had planned.
What I did not like about the picture was having the lighting set into a soffit. I wanted beautiful lighting fixtures. The picture to the right gave me the idea that I could have the lighting attached through the mirror.
Aside from the vanity area, I would want cabinetry over the toilet for open storage of pretty towels and accessorizing. And if it would work, I would love to have something similar over the end of the tub. I would need to carry any decorative valance moulding from the tower to the units hanging on the wall, and, I could do something fancy to the bottom of the toilet and tub wall units. These points are important since my contractor would need to estimate upgrade items.
These pictures have granite in them, which I don't prefer in a master bath. With my small bathroom, I want something light and soothing, not something with "movement" in it, and you can't find that in granite. I also know from experience that I would not be happy keeping marble up to my standards in a busy master bath. Therefore, I would need a light engineered stone.
There was also the plumbing fixtures to choose. I knew I would want polished nickel (more expensive than chrome,) and that I would want them to either be mounted on the wall or sitting on the back of the counter.
With these pictures I was able to develop initial specs for the vanity area and the other cabinetry -- less than my contractor would want in the end, but enough to help her understand the scope of my project.
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