The bathroom is one of the most heavily used rooms in any home and it needs to hold up to use 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Because most bathrooms present a moist and humid environment, safety can be an issue and care should be taken to make the room easy to use. Keep clothing and wet towels off the floor by having enough towel bars, robe hooks and rack along with clothes and laundry hampers.

Store bath toys in a plastic laundry basket which can be kept in the bath tub when not in use or invest in suction-cup wall mount bath toy hammocks which can help to corral bath toy clutter which may pose a slip and fall hazard. Bath mats and rugs should always feature anti-skid backing to help prevent the possibility of slippage.

[Photo courtesy of La-Belle-Galerie/pixabay.com]

The installation of a handheld shower head can vastly improve bathroom functionality – most can be installed by the average homeowner and do not require the services of a plumber. It is easy to shampoo hair, bathe children, wash pets and water plants with a handheld shower head and they are helpful when you need to clean the tub or shower enclosure.

Another practical update for any bathroom is a heated towel rack – there are freestanding and wall mounted models along with counter top towel warmers. Not only will you enjoy wrapping yourself in a warm towel after bathing, you will find that a towel warmer is useful for drying swimwear and fine washables, warming blankets and bathing clothes and drying towels quickly, which may also help to prevent mold and mildew.

Most homeowners spend around $7,000 to $10,000 on each big renovation project. Over half of them will have to increase their budget to take account of issues related to poor planning. In short, we are a nation of renovators, and we love to improve the house. As a result, it is easy to define which are the first rooms to be renovated inside a home. Homeowners focus their attention on the first rooms that show signs of use, being the bathroom and the kitchen. Kitchen renovation projects are often expensive because they require to buy new appliances. There is no way around the expense, unfortunately. However, when it comes to the bathroom, while most projects remain expensive, the costs could be easily cut down with some savvy DIY craft and a lot of smart recycling thinking. Here’s how:   

Learning To Renovate

When you are looking at renovating your bathroom, it’s important to set a budget for your time and your expenses before you start. To keep your renovation low cost, you will need to invest time and efforts in it. So, make sure that you start with the right DIY gear! If you bought an old house, it’s likely that your original bathroom floor has been covered with layers of plywood and linoleum. If you want to refloor the room, you will need to go through layers of old flooring. It’s a hard manual work, but this will increase the value of your home dramatically. Besides painting the walls, with a bathroom suitable paint that is designed to resist stains and moisture, the other main area of improvement is the tiled wall around the shower or the tub. It will give your bathroom a fresh and clean look. Finally, instead of changing your bathtub or shower, you can refresh them with a refinishing kit, to find the original shine.

[Installing tiles on a wall/Photo courtesy of HowToSpecialist.com]

Don’t Waste Anything

When you start diving into long renovation projects, you will rapidly find that you have a lot of items that can’t be reused in their original form. For example, if you start working on the plumbing system, you may find yourself with plenty of unusable scrap copper. Don’t just throw it away; if you can’t repurpose it, others can, and they will give you a fair copper per pound price. Additionally, other larger items, such as a bathroom cabinet can be repurposed into an elegant kitchen cupboard or a craft chest of drawers. Similarly, if you have an old chest of drawers, you can also repurpose it into a bathroom vanity, following the previous step-by-step tutorial.

Be Your Own Plumber

Finally, if you have ever hired a plumber, you are probably aware of the cost of a professional repair/renovation work. In most cases, with the right tools, you can tackle most bathroom projects by yourself, at a lower cost, and without much efforts. Additionally, plumbing essentials such as installing a sink or adding new water lines are a lot easier than you might think. As a rule of the thumb, you can do most of your plumbing work within an afternoon and at no cost at all if you have the appropriate tool.

When you put together your family home, certain rooms tend to take precedence over others. It’s a lot of fun to design a cozy family room or to picture your dreamy farmhouse-style kitchen in full action as you cook a delicious dinner for the family. But once room that is perhaps even more important to the everyday functioning of your family’s home is the bathroom. Sure, you aren’t all using it at once like you are the other rooms mentioned – but that’s kind of the point. When you have one bathroom to share between four or maybe even five people (depending on how many kids you have), things can automatically get a bit complicated. The inevitable queue for the toilet, the rush as you all try and brush your teeth at once – and there’s always that one person who takes way too long in the shower. To a certain extent, there’s not a great deal you can do about much of this – these examples are simply by-products of living in a family home, and you will miss the madness once your kids have grown up and moved out! But still, you shouldn’t be fighting a losing battle against your bathroom every single day. Take a look at these top tips for how you can make your family bathroom much more functional.

Color coding

The last thing you need right after you’ve just got the kids settled for bed is an argument breaking out over who’s used who’s toothbrush. If you have multiple products in the same bathroom and they all belong to different people, try color coding them to make sure your family knows what belongs to who. This is especially important if certain members of your family need to use specific products for medical reasons – or if you just want to stop your children stealing your $30 a bottle body wash! Buy individual shower caddies in a variety of colors and get your kids to claim one each. It is also worth buying a variety of toothbrushes in different colors, so there’s no cross-contamination.

[Photo courtesy of TA9141985/pixabay.com]

The double sink

Sick of always dealing with a blocked and generally gross sink? Perhaps you’ve pretty much accepted that your kids will never wipe up their dried toothpaste no matter how many times you tell them, or perhaps your husband will simply never wash away his hair after his morning shave! If this sounds like something you’re used to, and you’ve got enough room, why not consider installing a second sink? Double sinks can look incredibly stylish and modern, and automatically free up space in your bathroom. There are a variety of styles to choose from, whether you want to go for classic porcelain or something a little more innovative, like marble or wood. Vessel sinks are also exceptionally popular and can immediately add a touch of chic to your bathroom. If overcrowding is the main issue you face in your family bathroom, this could be the perfect option for you – no more crowding around one sink just to have a go with the mouthwash!

[Photo courtesy of StockSnap/pixabay.com]

More storage space

If there’s one thing most bathrooms lack, it’s storage space. And if there’s one thing we all know about a family bathroom, it’s that a number of products we have in there sure can build up. Shampoos and body washes can be dealt with easily enough via the aforementioned shower caddy, but what about all the other things you tend to find in the average shared bathroom? Sponges, wash clothes, towels, hand soap, beauty products, hairdryers… the list is endless! Let’s start with the beauty products. This is a broad term that can cover everything from face washes to hair masks – and you’ll know how easy it can be to build up quite the collection. Having them just sitting on your sink surface can get crowded and also messy, as any leaks or spillages (and they will happen!) dry onto your surfaces. It can also be hard to know where to begin with your morning routine when you’ve got twenty different products staring you in the face! Chances are, there are only a couple of these products that you actually use on a daily basis, so install a cabinet of sorts to hide the rest away in. You don’t have to compromise on style either – you can get hold of some truly unique vanities from many great retailers. Try and get hold of one that offers multiple storage options: a big cupboard space for bulky items like electricals and cleaning products, and smaller drawers for miscellaneous items. It can also be worth investing in a towel rack or towel hooks, so you’re not constantly picking fabric up off the floor after your kids.

[Photo courtesy of Joey/pixabay.com]

Bathroom rules

It can be really hard to maintain the upkeep and appearance of one room on your own – especially a room that gets as dirty as quickly as a bathroom. The constant humidity and the amount of product used in a bathroom can easily make the place appear messy and unkempt – so encourage your family to abide by a set of rules in order to keep the place looking its best. Something along the lines of ‘leave the bathroom how you found it’ should suffice! Bathmats left to sit on a wet floor can easily become moldy and even a health hazard, so make sure whoever showers last hangs it up somewhere to air or puts it in the laundry basket. Hair in the plughole is also a common issue in big families – and nothing ruins the functionality of a family bathroom more than a blocked up bathtub. Place a hair catcher over your sink and your bathtub plughole, although encourage your family to pull any excess hair out all the same. By making these simple changes to your bathroom, you will find it much easier to use and the whole family will benefit.

There are some people that consider their bathroom as one of the great place of investment from stylish decor to modern tub and a Jacuzzi. It is also the place where most people spend their time to relax while dipping in a bubble bath, drinking wine and so on. Furthermore most of our time in the morning is spent in the bathroom grooming ourselves to start our day. Imagine a bathroom without a good lighting it simply looks like a dim place to start your day.

Well you should know that one of the important factor that everyone should consider is the having perfect bathroom lighting, a good lighting can add perfect touch and complement the look of your bathroom . You must select lights that are in good quality and safe for your bathroom use no matter what your style is, modern or traditional.

[Photo courtesy of William LeMond/pexels.com]

With so many styles and types of bathroom lighting to choose from you should also be keen enough to understand what is the perfect bathroom ceiling lights that will complement the size of your bathroom. Ceiling lights are usually very simple to install and does not require a lot of work. If you are planning to remodel your bathroom at home you should consider hopping at bathroomlightingoutlet.com they offer a wide range of bathroom lights, vanity lighting and mirror, wall sconces, bathroom accessories that will surely satisfy your needs.

If you have thoughts what is the best lighting for your bathroom you should take time time to read their lighting guides that will help you to understand what are the other things you should consider in choosing the best bathroom light. It is easy, safe and secure to shop at bathroomlightingoutlet.com and they also offer free shipping. With their 20+ years in the business you find the right place to shop for your bathroom needs.

A bathroom that you hate is a burden we wish on no-one. A place that should be your haven to relax, get comfortable and feel clean can often be anything but. Bad planning, degradation and poor plumbing can make it a room you’d rather avoid altogether. Having a bathroom you love is important, so we’re all behind a good total renovation. If you’re looking to transform your bathroom, our tips should help you do just that.

Preparation

Before you start gutting everything and paying money out anywhere and everywhere, make a checklist. Decide everything you need, who and how many this bathroom is meant to accommodate. If you’re looking to cut some costs, see what you’re willing to tackle with DIY sense and which you need professional help for. With each step further you take, consult your checklist. Going in without a plan is the quickest way to have a bathroom you’re far from happy with.

Budgeting

You might very well be willing to pay to have each and every inch renovated. If you have the cash to get your dream bathroom, then why wouldn’t you? However, that doesn’t mean you can just skip the budget. There’s no reason you should find yourself spending way too much on one aspect of the bathroom. That only means you might and find that you have to settle for less further down the line. No matter your financial situation and your plans, make sure you put a budget together and make sure you stick to it. There’s little worse than a half-finished bathroom.

Pic found at Pixabay

Plumbing

If you’re completely reshaping the bathroom, you might very well be beyond the realm of DIY or having an interior decorator. Plumbing is unfortunately notorious for companies who are willing to sell you down the river and get paid to sub-par work. Make sure you hire a plumber you can trust, with the proper accreditation. If they have recommendations you can trust then that’s even better. Don’t worry, there are plenty of great plumbers out there who’ll leave you with a bathroom running squeaky clean.

Renovation

Do you want your perfect bathroom but you’re not sure how to put it together? Could you benefit from the expertise of someone who knows exactly what they’re doing? The right renovator can be a god-send. They take everything you want and their expert knowledge to produce the exact bathroom of your dreams. Bathroom renovations are a big undertaking so don’t leave anything to chance. After all, you don’t want to be doing another renovation a few years down the line.

Pic found at Pixabay

Soak it in

Now that you’ve got your nice, lovely bathroom all put together, make sure you really enjoy it. What’s the point of having a glamorous bathroom or a luxurious bath if you’re not going to take the time to soak it in? Get yourself some of the most deliciously pampering products available. Bath salts, scented candles, get the whole lot going and just let your worries drift away. After getting this far, you’ve definitely earned it.

Selling your home is perhaps one of the most stressful things you’ll ever have to do, so to say making the sale in a quick, easy, painful and profitable fashion is in your best interests is a monumental understatement. Contrary to popular belief though, you don’t have to spend a small fortune to get your house looking its best for sale. The most important thing you will need to do is find a balance between revealing what the home means to you and what it could potentially mean to somebody else. This means making sure that your personality is present, but not overbearing. Here, we’ll take you through your home room-by-room, examining in each, exactly what needs to be done to ensure that the positives are played up, and the negatives are played down.

The Bathroom

Coloured bathroom suites go down with most viewers about as well as a bacon sandwich at a bar-mitzvah. There’s something ever so slightly ‘dated’, and ‘dirty’ about coloured baths and sinks that immediately puts people off. Buying a whole new bathroom suite might seem like a drastic move, but its importance cannot possibly be overstated. It’s also important to make sure that your bathroom is as clean and polished as possible. Clean the surface mold from between your tiles and wipe down your shower doors with steel wool to get rid of any excess ‘gunk’. A fresh coat of paint is also an option for the walls and your tiles if they are looking a little dated, if you’re painting tiles though, make sure you’re using a ceramic epoxy covering instead of conventional paint.

The Kitchen

The area of your home where you’ll be spending a significant proportion of your time, how much the kitchen impresses viewers will largely come down to its  surface aesthetics. Older cabinets and units can be lent new life with a simple lick of paint or varnish, but an old oven or washing machine could give off a bad impression. You don’t need to upgrade them if they work perfectly fine though. A great low cost trick would be to swap out any exterior panelling with a stainless steel, stick-on covering for a more elegant, modern look. Of course if your appliances are seriously dated (and barely functional) you might want to think about installing some new equipment. Spending a little today, could net you a lot more in the long run.

The Lounge/Living Room

The beating heart of your homestead, as its name suggests, the living room is where you have no doubt spent the lions share of your free time and where potential buyers will spend most of theirs. It is imperative to make the room seem comfortable, clean and adaptable, so clean, bright colours are ideal. The living room is possibly the most personal room of the house and as such, personal touches should be kept to a minimum. Family portraits and personal heirlooms don’t necessarily need to be put away (after all, it’s important that the house feels ‘lived in’) but they shouldn’t be too noticeable. If you have hard wood floors, make sure they have been freshly stained with a rich, inviting colour and if your floor is carpeted, be sure to vacuum regularly and hire an industrial carpet cleaner if necessary.

The Garden

If your home has a substantial garden, it could very well be the clincher that ‘seals the deal’. This is especially important if the viewing is during the Summer. The garden is perhaps one of the cheapest areas of your home to maintain so make sure the lawn is freshly cut for each viewing and that all the most attractive vegetation and plant life is well fed and placed out front and centre. If you have an attractive patio area that catches the light well meanwhile, try purchasing some new garden furniture or accentuating an already existing, attractive patio feature.

Bedrooms

The bedrooms need to remain as blank as possible. A bedroom should be a place of comfort and relaxation so first and foremost, any unnecessary clutter needs to be dealt with. Simple, relaxed colour schemes (soft greens and blues for example) are popular with most modern buyers and it’s important that every aspect of the room adheres to this scheme (from the walls to the pillows). Remember, with the bedroom more than any other room you’re not just selling your home, you’re selling your lifestyle.

The most important thing to impart on any buyer is a sense of ‘space’. Clutter is not attractive and whilst it might pain you to strip away some of the personality and ‘soul’ that made your house your home, remember that nothing worth having comes easy and there’s nothing stopping you from making your new home even more special!

Crispin Jones has written this post on behalf of Internal Doors. With a wide range of internal and external doors you can be sure that checking out their websites is worth 5 minutes of your time today.