Lots of clients contact us asking whether redoing their outdated bathroom is worth the investment. The answer is fundamentally yes. However, how you do up your bathroom depends on what your housing situation is. An investment can either be a financial investment or personal. If you are planning on selling your home in the near future, you should think differently about how you re-do your bathroom to someone who is in their forever home.
Bathrooms are practical rooms. They are there to fill a function, cleaning, washing and getting ready. If moving home and wanting to renovate for selling purposes, you should distance yourself from adding personal touches to the bathroom. Keep it simple and neutral in colour. You want it to be easy for any type of buyer to live in regardless of their personal taste.
Classic contemporary is always a good style to go for as it won’t turn off the modern or traditional buyer covering a wide variation of styles. It is clean in appliances and unfussy in detail, neutral greys, whites and earthy tones are always safe bets. Neutral colours stand the test of time whereas the colour of the season will always fall out of style.
Most rooms around a property can be freshened up with a single lick of paint or new furniture. Bathrooms need a lot more money invested in them to make a difference to a home.
It is always worth spending money on making a bathroom, and the house around it, structurally sound. Construction costs that look too good to be true usually are, and what is behind the tiles is the part nobody can put right cheaply later.
Cheap fittings in bathrooms always look tacky and feel cheap and plasticky in the hand. I would always suggest investing that little extra in shower handles, taps and appliances. Cabinetry can be bought on a low budget from even places like IKEA. A few good fittings lift a whole room. Match all the fixtures with the same finishes, towel rack, mirror rims, taps, handles. Having a cohesive look looks really smart.
Lighting is a huge aspect to consider. If natural light is lacking in a bathroom it can make the room feel cold and small. Use mirrors to reflect light around the room and place warm light fittings, and not blue, harsh lighting into the room. We have all had those situations when you walk into a bathroom, look at yourself in the mirror and gasp. It is all down to the colour of the bulb used. Cold white lights are a lot more unflattering than warm lights so consider using these instead in a bathroom.
A bathroom is one of the few rooms where the spend is concentrated into a small floor area, which is why the figure surprises people. The NU Build Cost Calculator prices the work on our own rates, so you can see the number before you talk to anybody.
If moving home is not on your main agenda, it is still worth investing in your bathroom. A lot of activity happens in the bathroom and so it holds a lot of importance. If it is your forever home then design your bathroom exactly how you would like it.
Is there anything you don’t like about the room? Is the toilet in the wrong location? Do you find the shower too small? Change it, why stick with something you find annoying?
Add an en-suite to your master bedroom if you have the ability to spend a little more. It gives the parents a room that can be shut against the children and the guests.
Two sinks with their own vanity drawers solves more arguments than it sounds like it should. We recently ran a project where the couple wanted separate en-suites and dressing rooms off the bedroom, which solved it completely.
In terms of appliances and colour, you can pick exactly what you would like as you aren’t looking to sell your home. Gold and nickel are always good finishes as they don’t really date. Fashionable choices include copper and rose gold, which are the ‘in’ colours of the moment however, slightly losing velocity. Black is being predicted as the colour of the year, and it reads as modern against pale tiling.
Another thought to have if it is your forever home is thinking about mobility in the future. Having a shower room downstairs might be beneficial for some individuals and their housing layouts as a downstairs shower room can be easy access for some elders.
A bathroom is worth the money whether you are selling or staying. It is a practical room, but it is also one you use twice a day, and that is a good reason not to leave it last.
Call NU Projects on 020 7731 6841, or tell us about the bathroom.
Published 15 February 2019. Written by the NU Projects studio, edited since for house style and accuracy.