Time to renovate your dated, tired looking bathroom?

Whether it’s a busy family bathroom or a small ensuite, a well-designed bathroom should be both beautiful and functional.

After all, it’s a space that helps the whole family get out the door on time, and also needs to be a haven where you can relax and recharge at the end of the day. Start your bathroom renovation by thinking about what doesn’t work well in your current bathroom, and what your needs are both now and in the future.

Our 5 top tips for a successful bathroom renovation

Decide how many wet walls (walls containing plumbing pipes) you’ll have. A one wall layout, with the vanity, toilet and shower in a row, is the most cost effective but limits your design options. Two or three wall layouts give you design flexibility, but will cost more.

Map out your bathroom making sure to include the windows, doors and power outlets. Experiment with different layouts to see how they maximise the usable space, give you room to move around and eliminate difficult to clean areas.

Climate control

Budget planning

2. Improve Ventilation and heating

A good ventilation system removes steam and helps eliminate mould and mildew from the ceiling, window sills and walls.

Keep your new bathroom warm and dry by installing thermostat controlled heating. Underfloor heating will warm tile floors in winter and gently heat the room. Most heated towel rails keep your towels toasty and also provide enough heat for a small to medium sized bathroom.

1. Set a budget

Make decisions on what are must-haves and what goes on the wish list. It’s easy to burn through your budget by making extensive changes to your existing plumbing.

However, if you design within your current bathroom space it’ll keep the plumbing and consent costs down. When renovating a wet area like a bathroom, we often find issues like water damage or old pipes, so make sure to have a contingency fund.

Water capacity

Add lighting

4. Don't run out of hot water

A bathroom renovation is the ideal time to replace an older hot water system.

If you regularly run out of hot water, or you’re adding a large bath or multi-head shower, you’ll need a hot water system that can cope. Consider a continuous flow gas heated system or place your cylinder outside to increase the size. Gain extra storage from the existing hot water cupboard space inside.

3. Be generous with zone specific lighting options

Bathrooms are busiest in the early morning and at night, so make sure to plan for really good lighting.

Use overhead lights above the bath, shower and toilet for general light. You’ll need wall mounted lights at the vanity and either side of the mirror for shaving and putting on make-up. If you enjoy soaking in the bath, consider a soft mood light to create a relaxing atmosphere.

5. Get clever with storage options

   Just like every other room in the house, a bathroom can never have too much storage! Allow enough space for towels, toilet paper, make-up, toiletries, cleaning products and dirty laundry. Include a recessed niche in the shower for your shampoo, conditioner and shower gel, making sure it’s big enough to accommodate the heights of the bottles you use. Position towel rails close to the shower for easy access but not behind the door.