Your bathroom is as much a reflection of your personality as your bedroom or kitchen and when it comes to selling your potential buyers will see it is as just as important. Here are a few recommendations for breathing new life into an old bathroom.
Bathroom Tiles
The world of home decor has trends just like the world of clothing, the main difference though is you can just leave your flared jeans in the wardrobe, but retiling your bathroom isn’t so easy.
It’s important to think carefully before you start, if you’re moving house in a year or two it might be worth holding back on the full wall moroccan mosaic design you had in mind of you and the wife until you get your next place. However there are some exciting new ‘tile trends’ happening at the moment, that are cool enough to enhance your well being and possible increase the value of your home. One style that is very on trend at the moment is hexagonal tiles. If you are a keen DIY-er they can be more challenging to fit, but some of the smaller designs are available on larger sheets. They look especially good if you mix them up with wood too.
A Power Shower
One of the most important things in life for me is a good, powerful shower. When I wake up I want to be blasted back to life; refreshed, refocused and ready for the day. Whenever I stay at a hotel or a friends and the shower is like standing under a dripping tap it drives me crazy! Move the dial one micro millimetre to the left and it’s icy cold, to the right and it’s boiling hot and if you have to keep dancing around in order to get wet, well what is that all about? There is literally no excuse not to have a proper shower and to do it you’ll definitely need a decent shower booster pump. I’d say, when it comes to simple pleasures it’s up there with a comfy mattress and a good cup of coffee. It is that important. For any bathroom refit it’s a no brainer.
Classic Bath
A multi-person jacuzzi bath with multi jets is great to start with, but after a month it will get used as your sandwich toaster and you’ll be forever de-clogging your wives hair out of it. It’ll take an hour to fill and the only friends who will want to share it with you, won’t be the friends you’ll want to share it with. If you have room, a free standing bath is very classy, otherwise keep it simple and get the taps in the middle. Sometimes less is indeed more.
Paint it Black (not)
I tend to avoid wallpaper in bathrooms, because of the high humidity levels eventually no matter how well you put it on it will start to peel. Stick to paint and don’t skimp on quality. I recently bought some fantastic Graham & Brown paint that was worth the extra few quid. Always use wipeable paint and be careful about painting a bathroom too dark. Black paint looks great in a home decor magazine but in reality it will be gloomy and depressing. Your bathroom needs to invigorate or relax you, leave the black paint for vampires and rock stars.
Cladding
High end bathroom wall cladding and accessories are gaining hugely in popularity right now. It is a simpe any of transforming your bathroom from drab to fab and makes an interesting change from regular tiles if you are looking to create a more unique bathroom space with the appearance of expensive stone or brick for a fraction of the price.
Lighting
Be imaginative with light, bulbs around mirrors are great or strips of lights along recesses at the top of the room can add sophistication and a luxurious feel. Smart lighting works especially really well in a bathroom, changing the colour of the bulb or lowering lowering the lights can enhance the romance and be very relaxing. They’re also much safer than a ring of candles around the bath. For more info on smart lighting click here.
Summary
Remember the avocado bathroom set? That was in fashion once, so avoid gimmicks and stick to classic pieces and simple styles, good quality products and if you’re not a skilled DIY-er find a recommended, professional installer. It might cost more, but it will save money in the long run.
It’s important to think carefully before you start, if you’re moving house in a year or two it might be worth holding back on the full wall moroccan mosaic design you had in mind of you and the wife until you get your next place. However there are some exciting new ‘tile trends’ happening at the moment, that are cool enough to enhance your well being and possible increase the value of your home. One style that is very on trend at the moment is hexagonal tiles. If you are a keen DIY-er they can be more challenging to fit, but some of the smaller designs are available on larger sheets. They look especially good if you mix them up with wood too.
