The house is quiet, the lights are dimmed and the bubbles look inviting. You climb into your tub at the end of a long day of kids, work, school projects and way too many activities. As you lie there quietly stealing a few precious moments, you lie back…and HOLY COW THE TUB is COLD! Darn cast iron! No matter, you are bound and determined to enjoy your time soaking away your day. You close your eyes and…drip, drip drip…drip, drip, drip…where is that coming from you wonder? Darn stupid shower head!!!!! Hmmmm…I wonder how much wasted water that is a year, you think to yourself. I’ll get to it on the weekend you decide and then smirk, knowing full well it won’t happen this year. As you open one eye to look at the dripping shower head, you notice a crack in the tile on the wall. Was that always there you wonder? Is that new? How bad is it? Can water get behind it? What room is below the bathroom? Is there water in the ceiling below? Did you notice a sag? A stain? Suddenly your bath isn’t relaxing anymore. You are out of the tub and wondering if the local big box store is still open…
Does this sound familiar at all? The bathroom is usually one of the first rooms we want to renovate. We want this room to be highly functional and clean feeling! Some of the bathrooms we inherit when we buy older homes are tiny. Some newer ones are huge but poorly planned. We want luxury. We want a sense of calm. We want rain heads and multi-point shower heads and the latest tiles from HGTV shows…all on a tight budget and done next week!! All it takes is one trip to a tile store to make your head spin and feel totally overwhelmed!
My clients always ask for three basic things when redesigning their bathrooms, no matter how small or how spacious.
First they want a lay out that uses their space most efficiently.
Secondly, they want a good shower head and a tub.
Lastly, they want storage and counter space. It seems that people are willing to forgo the second sink in the bathroom if they get more storage and more counter top space. If there is room…a separate shower!
Good space planning is key to bathrooms – you don’t want to end up walking into the toilet or not being able to open your bathroom door because the toilet is in the way – trust me, I’ve seen it all! Here are some quick tips to good bathroom design: keep your sink and your toilet on the same wall if you can – it is visually appealing because toilets and counters are similar in height and opens up your bathroom. Always get a deep sink – they hold more water for shaving, splash less than the fun shaped but shallow bowls and it leaves more water in the sink during teeth brushing with little ones! As far as the shower head goes, remember, you need to have a pressure check done before you fall in love with that 10” rain head – you may not have enough water pressure to service the volume a rain head requires.
When it comes to materials; tiles, marble, glass…there are a few pointers to remember. In choosing a floor tile, try to go with a larger size as too many grout lines with a smaller tile makes your floor look busier and therefore smaller. Choose a tiny tile for the floor in a shower though as you need more grout lines to prevent it from being slippery. On a wall of a shower or tub, try to use a tile that is oriented horizontally to widen the space. Also, always use a tile that won’t have a lot of staining due to soap scum build up – we all have it! Remember too, if you are lucky enough to be installing a steam shower, you need to mention that to your tile supplier and check that the tiles you choose can withstand the head of a steam shower and glass tiles are out!
For your counter top, splurge and go with a natural material – the vanity counter tops aren’t usually too large and it adds such a luxurious feeling. Be careful with your colour selection as make up will stain marble, and never do your nails on the counter top – nail polish remover and spilled nail polish will stain your counter. The new manufactured stones are fabulous if your budget allows.
Lastly, choose colours that are calming, relaxing and reflect well on your skin colour! There is nothing worse than painting your bathroom cheery green which is bright and refreshing but reflects terribly on your skin! Choose warm colours so you look radiant on even the coldest Canadian winter mornings! If you can, put your bathroom lights on a dimmer too so you can turn them down for those early mornings or romantic late nights!
Here’s a series of before and after pictures from one of my clients’ bathrooms:
Insider’s Tip: if you have a number of things that need updating in a bathroom, do the entire room – don’t try to save here and there by keeping the old – you will end up wanting to replace it as you see the new materials go in and the project will be held up while you make decisions. The simplest way to freshen a tired bathroom is to change the counter top, sink and faucet, along with new cabinet knobs, a fresh shower curtain and a splash of paint!
Send us pictures of your bathroom and we will choose one to feature in the next blog along with design advice! Your project could be chosen and you’ll be off to a new bathroom in no time with a little direction and helpful advice!
Cynthia is urbanmoms.ca’s Interior Design Expert. 16 years ago she decided to refinish a piece of furniture in the garage. That led to opening a store on Avenue Road in Toronto, where she designed, manufactured and hand-finished custom children’s furniture. Her career in design was born on Avenue Road and when Cynthia moved to Vancouver, she decided to go back to school to study interior design. She worked for a firm from Hong Kong which was an incredible learning curve as she was the only person in the office who spoke English as a first language and couldn’t communicate with the clients at all! From there Cynthia went to work for a small firm who specialized in retail branding and design which was incredibly different than her previous residential work. Upon returning to Toronto, Cynthia decided to return to her passion – residential design – and began working for herself again as she was raising two young boys. She considers herself very fortunate to have worked on some incredible homes in and around Toronto over the past 8 years. Recreating her clients’ homes is especially satisfying as she recognize the impact it will have on their everyday life. Cynthia feels very privileged to do design for a living as it is an incredibly personal working relationship, one she finds intensely rewarding.
This is a really cool blog! I wish I had found it sooner. Keep up the good work.
Hi Cheryl,
Just thought you might like to check out our products for design – a great resource for you and your audience.
http://www.spaceplanning.com
http://www.3dream.net
Kind regards,
Donna
Thank you for the advice on the colors to paint my grey walls. I think I will change the grey walls to a lighter version of my warm brown walls. I had never thought of that until I read one of your suggestions. I know a wonderful painter whom I’ve used before. Thanks again.
Sherriemae,
Your home sounds incredible! I would love for you to send in some photos!! Historical homes are always a bit tricky….do you try to recreate the period your home was built in or take the interior in a more currently representative direction. There are lots of ways of making the decor meld the two directions together. I always like to see that the main bones of the house reflect the period it was built – that means that the baseboards, trims, door knobs, bathroom fixtures and kitchen cabinet style reflect designs of 1830 in your case. Then you can fill your house with furniture that is from today. This way you are still preserving the historical period of your home, but making it more user friendly by using tramsitional furniture stylings. You can always use historical paint colours on your walls as well, although be careful as they tend to be dark and your rooms are probably smaller which can make your home feel smaller. Your window coverings can also be more “period” like as well too….use brass curtain rods and lighter small print cotton fabrics. Let me know what you would like help with specifically and perhaps send in some photos – I’d love to give you more ideas.
Cheryl,
Aren’t you lucky to have found a home already painted! Even if you don’t like all the colour choices, at least it is fresh and in good shape which makes it so much easier to repaint if need be. I am surprised by the choices of warm brown and grey -they are two different families of colour which I can’t see working together! Love that you want to keep the warm brown….and NO, you do not have to stick with one of the colours in the flooring or the trim. If you try to match existing elements, unfortunately your rooms will read flat because there isn’t enough of a contrast. Essentially…not enough eye candy!
I would suggest that you pick up some paint chips at your local store and find a colour that is complimentry to the existing brown – work on finding a shade that will work with the wall colour you are keeping because that will be in the same eye sight line – don’t worry too much about the flooring colour as long as it isn’t too “off” the colour family you should be fine as it is on a different plane. Perhaps you could try something really safe, like a few shades lighter than the wall colour you are going to keep…or something dramatic like a shade or two deeper than the warm brown. Don’t be afraid to pick an accent wall too and doing something bold inorder to add interest. Warm yellows and light beiges always work well with warm brown. Good luck and feel free to send in some photos!
Hi Cynthia,
I recently moved into a 1830’s stone home, everyne who visits tells me it has good bones (deep window ledges, 11 foot ceilings ) My question is how do i make my home more reflect that (mission i assume) decorative style, yet still have the home be a home? Any suggestions?
I have a question. We moved into a new home a year ago and the painting was already done. All of the colors are either milk chocolate brown or light gray to match the flooring. I don’t mind the brown but would like to change the gray. The flooring has gray,milk chocolate and a creamy white color. The carpets are all light brown. Is my only choice the creamy white color to replace some of the gray?
great post.
i love the naturals in the after.
lol if you want a real challenge i’d give you my open house layout.. it’s driving me insane what to do with it!
Lori,
I agree with you that tearing that dreaded tub out can be scary! You never know what is lurking behind those tiles! Typically though, when the tiles are removed, the dry wall comes with it and the scary part is gone. If there is moisture, it is usually contained in the drywall which comes down with the tile. The nice thing about bathroom walls around tubs is that there shouldn’t be any wiring or mess behind them – they are usually empty cavities which is great! Of all the walls in the house, the tub walls are usually hiding the least amount of surprises. Mildew or mold can be removed with tearing down drywall and putting up new cement board or dent-shield – both recommended for water resistancy and mildew.
The concern I have with Bath Fitters – and this is not about the company itself – I have no personal experience with the company – is that you are essentially covering up anything that is a problem. It locks in any mildew or mold or water that may have seeped behind the tiles. Left alone in an environment to spread…..it can become a problem. I always like to remove and start new – then you know everything is in good condition and you can sleep at night!
Our bathroom needs a complete makeover. It’s too awful to even send in pictures!
You mentioned about doing the whole room. While I agree with that, my biggest concern is that once we take out the tub we’ll uncover all kinds of horrendous conditions behind the walls, which will blow the budget. What do you think of the Bath Fitters renos where they reglaze the existing tub and put in a new surround?
Great tips! I have just finished renovating my main bathroom and it’s nice to know that I did the right thing when picking tile, countertop and fixtures…..
I’ll be reading your column regularily for more advise…
Hey Cynthia, thanks for the great advice. Our vintage 80s bathrooms all need major updating…not the least important aspect of which is toilets that use less than a million litres of water per flush!