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8 Sep — Design Diary

Design Diary | Four Mistakes To Avoid During Your Bathroom Renovation

Beginning a bathroom renovation should be an exciting time. It’s your opportunity to create your own personal sanctum but too often people lose sight of their end goal as the focus gets pulled off course by budgetary requirements and room relocation topped off by a general headache caused by dilemmas over how many products and choices. So if you feel you’ve veered off course, here are our top four mistakes to avoid when designing your bathroom to help you avoid stress, enjoy the process and get what you want!

  1. Showroom Marathons

Visiting a showroom is a great place to start in order to get your bathroom renovation moving, being able to see and test the items you’ve spotted in magazines and adverts is a necessary process. Whats more, you may even be introduced to styles and designs you hadn’t even considered. But here is the rub. Taking a tour of every showroom can cause the bathroom equivalent of snow blindness. Laden down with brochures, pulses racing, individuals in the middle of a hasty weekend showroom marathon are easy to spot. You need to think about the way you research your future sanitary ware in a similar way to how you would revise for an exam: little and often. Trying to fit in all the showrooms in one area in one day will most likely mean you miss a trick, resulting in having to revisit again that then turns into another showroom marathon. Most companies have a wealth of images online that can guide you to the products most likely to delight your senses. It’s not that you shouldn’t visit bathroom showrooms, we are huge advocates of testing the product before you buy, but that it should be an enjoyable experience so make time for it. Customers who put in their “revision” are often the ones who are more fulfilled by the process and the outcome, honest!

Open brochure
  1. Get Some Help!

It’s easy right: pop a sink here, put a shower there, wait where is the storage, did I only buy one small storage cabinet? Some people might renovate a bathroom once every 7-14 years, some only do it once in a lifetime. There are, however, people who’ve worked on hundreds of projects a year and it is these people you need to reach out to for help. First port of call would be a plumber as they will become your hands on site, eventually installing your bathroom, it is worth involving them from the outset. Second would be an interior designer who will be more than happy to work out placement, storage, lighting, style, finish and with your budget in mind. Don’t forget to share your design with your plumber, keeping communication open between the two, and with his approval you’ll be good to go! We offer a complementary design service so don’t hesitate to get in touch if you need some advice.

Interior design drawing
  1. The Vision

People usually have an idea about what they want their new bathroom to look like but what they actually end up with doesn’t always live up to their vision. During the early stages it’s worth keeping a list of desired actions: how you use your current bathroom space, what colours you’d like to incorporate and bathroom items you use everyday to guide your expectations helping you create a beautiful bathroom that also functions exactly how you like. This way you’ll avoid buying products or units that don’t fit into your space and that aren’t cohesive with your design. If you struggle to keep yourself in check, we all get excited by the idea of a huge display unit, getting a designer on board could be your saving grace. They can help you make the most of your space and encourage you to realise exactly what you need. Being honest about what you want and how you use your current bathroom, whether that means you’re a product hoarder, you like to sneak off and watch the iPad in the tub, you love yellow or you want an industrial look and feel, will help you inch closer to a room that reflects your needs and style. If you’re in the early stages of your bathroom renovation take a look through our gallery and be inspired by our latest case studies.

  1. Runaway Budget

If everyone is working from the same workbook when it comes to budget you’ll find yourself less likely to be disappointed as you’ll have the flexibility to increase or decrease spend as and when you see fit. It’s crucial to have a clear idea of how much you want to spend and how much you’d be willing to go up to. Sharing theses figures with your designer will mean they can accommodate a design to your needs and along with the knowledge of your ‘non-negotiables’ you will only make their, and your, job easier. Whilst you may feel you can find everything you need at the best price yourself, it’s the designers job to match the overall style with products that are at the right price. So create a budget to work towards as with any budget it is possible to get the bathroom of your dreams.

Looking for more bathroom design tips and tricks? Take a look at our previous design diary post that makes a case for natural wood flooring in the bathroom.

Drummonds Design Diary by Senior Designer Tommy Bendall