Coming up With a Game Plan

When you’re in the planning stages of your home renovation, there are key bathroom design mistakes that you want to avoid to make your efforts as strong as possible. One of the key mistakes people make is to simply fail to do the proper planning. To avoid this blunder, you must draft out your intentions as much as possible. Remember the old adage, “people don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan?” This is something that you should keep in mind to avoid some of the most common remodeling slip-ups.

First and foremost on the list of makeover boo boos is to fail to properly budget for the upgrade that you want. Bath fixtures, cabinets and flooring can quickly add up and if you’re not careful you can quickly run out of money. Set your washroom renovation funds accordingly and then shop for elements that fit within that range – not the other way around.

When planning your new bath space, don’t make the oversight of not having enough compartments to reduce the clutter. Inadequate storage space for all of your towels, toiletries, makeup, and paper products can create one of those inescapable gotchas when you actually start to use your new grooming space. Sure those pedestal sinks look great but where do you put everything? If you don’t have an attached linen closet in the room, then this is one of those unnecessary mistakes you’ll be kicking yourself for later.

You also want to avoid not having enough counter space; even if your powder room is fairly small. People like to lay their stuff out, and you want to avoid having a ready area that looks cluttered and messy all of the time. Another mistake to avoid is to make it difficult to get to the things like toilet paper or shampoo when you really, really need it.

Think Long Term

Another oversight people tend to make is going too trendy in their bath area with plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, colors, etc. It’s a big mistake to think these finicky design trends will last. And unless you have the budget to keep updating the room, then you want to avoid choosing the flavor of the month. Think about how much you’re spending on your lavatory renovation right now – when will you want or be able to spend that much on a redesign again. Avoid this trendy blunder and make your renovation stand the test of time, at least 10 – 20 years.

Busy looking and easily dated decor.

When planning your construction, one of design boo boo’s to avoid is a poor use of the available area. Most washrooms have limited space and you need to avoid putting items that are too bulky into the room. Big soaker tubs are all the rage, but a common mistake is to not take into account just how much floor area that great big tub will take up.

Another re-occurring washroom oversight is to not properly prepare for the flow of traffic. Improperly placed cabinets and toilets in a bathroom can create a faulty design and a zig-zag raceway that results in banged hips and shins. When planning your renovation, it’s a good idea to draw the placement of all major fixtures to scale on a grid sheet to help you visualize how everything will fit together and avoid a renovation disaster.

People who don’t yet have children, or whose kids are still small, sometimes do not plan for the long haul. Small children eventually grow into big teenagers and you need to ensure your home improvement project takes that into account and you don’t end up with inappropriate decor or an unusable layout down the road.

Calculate Usage and Tasks

Another aspect to consider is to avoid improper or inadequate lighting. A washroom that’s too bright is just as much a bad design decision as a bath area that’s too dark. A bright bathing space shows every spec of dirt and every flaw and a dark grooming area makes getting ready in the morning difficult. Another error that many people make is to get a dark, heavy shower curtain that won’t let in the light. If your bathroom plan doesn’t include lighting in the bathing and showe[...]