Which Plan Fits Your Home Needs?

So you're looking at updating your bathroom, or perhaps, you are gutting it completely. Either way, there are design choices that you want to consider before you bring in contractors or designers.

Let's get the basics out of the way. No matter what type of bathroom it is or how you envision it looking, some things will stay the same. You want to know what your budget is. You want to know how much of a safety net you have when those costs inevitably go over. Whether it's due to unforeseen issues, running out of a particular material, or having the project stretch longer than intended. It's always better to have a secondary amount of money you're willing to spend. You will need to research who you want to work with. Who in your area has the skills you're looking for? Who has the necessary licenses and permits? Which brings us to the next point, what licenses and permits do you need in your area? In your blocker's neck of the woods, it has recently been deemed that no one who is not a professional is allowed to do plumbing or electrical work, even to fix a faucet. Knowing what you can get away with on your own or what permits will be needed in order to make changes to your house is vital. Without that, the project delays for even longer, and you want to get down to business. It would be best if you also had a plan for what you want.

Fortunately for you, coming up with that plan is what this article is all about. We're going to look at four different cases that might cause a person or family to redo their bathroom and various features you might look at to fit that particular ideal. 

The Spa Bathroom

First up, we have the spa. This is for the person who loves spending time in their bathroom. This is for the person who enjoys being able to relax and wants their bathroom to reflect that finally. Whether every night, once a week or just once a month. If your ideal place to retreat to, to give yourself some much-needed self-care, is a spa, then this is for you.

• Starting with the floor, look at doing underfloor heating and even cooling since this is Texas.

• Putting dimmer switches in or purchasing special light bulbs so that you can adjust your lighting

• Add an oversized tub to soak your worries away. And also be able to use all sorts of bath salts and bath bombs.

• Put in a walk-in shower with a built-in bench to soak under the water after a long day.

• While you're at it, either a waterfall shower head or having multiple shower heads from different directions is a treat that should not be missed. You can even ensure that the shower heads have Bluetooth capabilities so you can put on relaxing music.

• A towel warmer is a luxury, especially in the middle of a cold snap. 

The Family Bathroom

Next, let's take a 180° turn to a family bathroom. If you have a large family of children, it's not always possible to give everybody their own bathroom. Sometimes it makes the most sense to put all of the kids to sharing one bathroom. With that in mind, there are several features that take this from a Gordian knot to merely a Herculean effort.

• Design a family bathroom from the ground up for cleaning. It will save you a headache later.

• Make sure to install an exhaust fan to prevent mold buildup when you have showers one right after another.

• Ensure the grouting is tight and your floor is sealed correctly. Not only does this prevent anything from breaking or pieces from getting ripped up, but it also makes cleaning much easier.

• Consider baseboard lighting so that it's easier for everyone to find their way at night without having to turn on super bright lights. Baseboard lighting is fantastic, in our opinion, and it means you don't wake up half the house. 

• Prioritize the storage that you have, and be bold and creative with creating new areas that work for your needs. 

• Putting a shower stand in one corner of the shower means that you don't have different products over every edge of the tub and falling onto the floor if they get bumped.

• Inside the cabinets, you have to make sure to maximize your vertical space. This can mean everything from having different baskets for different purposes to utilizing stacking boxes and shelves.

• And since you're redesigning, the spaces between studs can be turned into narrow nooks for storage. We've seen this put to Great use for giving every child their own cubby for their towels, robes, and grooming products.

The Host Or Hostess’s Bathroom

You may not have a house full of children at this point, but you may have family and friends that visit often. For the host or hostess, a proper bathroom would look different. Instead of being a catch-all for keeping your family healthy and clean, it becomes a place to ensure your guests have all that they need during their stay.

• You'll want an all-in-one shower as well as a deep tub. You can add on mood lighting to the shower head or get one with a Bluetooth speaker to make the experience relaxing for your guests.

• A smart mirror that allows for increasing or decreasing light by voice command is fantastic for giving your guests a private area to get dressed for whatever the day might hold. They are also able to tell the weather!

• Having a fully equipped first aid cabinet. While we never want our guests to need it, having a stocked cabinet on hand ensures that whatever your guests might need, you're prepared. 

• Putting in storage for plenty of oversized towels, wash clothes, bed linens, and robes. Having a cabinet like this ensures that not only can your guest make themselves comfortable, but they don't have to feel that they're bothering you if they need something in the middle of the night.

The Utilitarian Bathroom

If the other three haven't looked like you, you might be looking for something more utilitarian. For when you're done working on your latest project, be it metal, wood, paint, or any other messy endeavor. You may like to work on old cars and need a bathroom that isn't the same as the main house one. A utility bathroom would be more your speed. 

• For that, we start off by recommending a curbless shower. This is a shower that has a linear drain at the back edge to make it easier to drain. It also means that there is no separation between you and the rest of the bathroom, be it curtain or door. Not only does this maximize the size of your shower, but in this case, it means you aren't tripping over something if you need to rinse something off immediately.

• Having a solid counter with a deep stainless steel sink and a high faucet is another consideration if you regularly work with messy, staining, or caustic materials. Ensuring that you also have plenty of counter space around that sink means that you can put any specialized soaps in easy reach without having to hunt for them when you're in need.

• It's also handy to have a separate and dedicated washer and dryer in the same room. This way, as you get clean, the clothes you were wearing can as well.

• Putting a secondary sink next to your washer and dryer is an easy way to leave clothes to soak if you get anything on them that you'd rather not keep. 

• Installing an exhaust fan in this bathroom is another necessity, not only for keeping mold out but also for airing out the room.

• Installing either a solid floor, such as polished concrete that is then sealed, or installing large tiles that need very little grout, makes it much easier to clean a bathroom like this. With that, you could run a hose from either sink and wash everything towards the drain that you already have in the shower.

These are only some of the possibilities for what you might want in your bathroom. You might focus more on bringing in a sauna or mixing together two of the ideas. There's nothing that says you can't have a utility-oriented bathroom with a bit of spa thrown in there. Whatever you decide, let us know over on our Facebook page. As always, we love to hear from you.

If your washer and dryer that you have are giving you trouble and are perhaps smoking or flooding the space that they're in currently, give us a call. We service everywhere from Addison to McKinney, from Dallas to The Colony. You can give us a call at ((214) 599-0055) or by heading over to our contact page. We'll work with you to set up a time and date that fits your schedule for when our technicians can come and help. Appliance Rescue Service is always focused on getting your home running smoothly again.