Three Functional Bathroom Designs That You Can Do Yourself

A functional bathroom design can vastly improve both the experience as well as the resale value of a home. I’ve been dreaming lately of ripping my fiberglass shower out. Not because it doesn’t work but because I have the room for a slightly bigger shower and simply want something better. I have dreams of subway tiled walls, a rain shower head, a teak bench and a penny tile or pebble rock floor!

(This is a contributed post, for more information about my compensation please read my disclosure policy)

Looking to redesign your bathroom? The labor costs for bathroom remodels average at around 20 percent of the overall budget, according to the National Kitchen and Bath Association. That’s $3,200 out of the average $16,000 budget. If you research and plan your redesigns properly, however, you can pull off most of the work yourself, only needing to hire extra help for the things that are way above your head, like large-scale plumbing. Bathrooms have three main functions: washing the hands and face, relieving waste, and showering/bathing. Let’s go into how to redesign with these three functions in mind now.

Upgrading The Sink and Vanity Area

The sink fulfills the function of washing one’s hands and face, as well as the main venue for vanity affairs. Given that it fulfills so many functions, a poorly designed sink area will inevitably clog up the flow of traffic in your bathroom, as well as make it feel more crowded. If your bathroom is a little less spacious than average, consider installing a corner sink and vanity combo, to minimize space consumption.

Another important thing to check is the height of your sink. In combined sink-and-vanity setups, some sinks go on top of the counter, and some sinks are embedded in them. Ideally, you’d want the height of the sink and counter to add up to 32 to 34 inches in order to be able to use the sink comfortably. The vanity itself also has to have just the right countertop and storage space for your things, but not enough to take up too much space.

Redesigning The Toilet

Toilets are perhaps one of the most function-over-form fixtures in the bathroom. As such, there’s not really much you can do design-wise besides buying a well-built model, decorating it and keeping it sparkly-clean. One big thing you might want to do is make it so that the toilet does not take center stage in the room, so as to not break the pleasant feel that your other redesigns and redecorations have created.

An average DIY-er might be able to pull off a complete toilet reinstallation, but if you’re not confident in your plumbing skills, it’s probably best left to professionals. You should know that toilets are notorious for being one of the leading causes in bathroom flooding as well, and that can happen even with the best plumbing and precautions. In light of this, it’s always good to have contacts on hand that can help you solve a bathroom flood.

Improving The Shower and Bathtub

Shower-and-bathtub combos are commonplace. But, if you have limited bathroom space and don’t really take baths that often, then converting a bathtub to a single shower design would be the wisest choice to maximize your free space. If you must have a bathtub, consider the micro-sized models that a lot of companies are marketing these models as a way to save on space. 

Additionally, you may want to pay attention to your bathroom’s ventilation, to make it so that it loses moisture faster and reduces unpleasant wet odors and mold. Ideally, have multiple solutions to this. Make sure to invest in several vents or windows, an exhaust fan, and drains in strategic places.

When redesigning a bathroom, the most effective way to go about it is to think about the way the entire room functions and flows. Keeping this in mind is key to attaining an excellent refurbished feel to your bathroom.

(This is a contributed post, for more information about my compensation please read my disclosure policy)