How to turn your dream bathroom into a reality

While a typical family-style bathroom consists of a vanity, bath, shower and perhaps a toilet – do you really need all them? Removing the bath for a large, frameless shower can make a room appear significantly larger and gives the room an instantly-modern feel. Showers have come a long way in recent times and are available in a variety of modern and visually appealing options such as frameless (no frame around the shower at all and made of thicker glass than a framed shower), semi-frameless (metal around the structure but not the door), or completely open with no walls at all.  Perhaps there is a spa bath in your existing bathroom taking up room? Although it might look impressive, if you find it fills up with dust more than it does water, it might be time to remove it to free up some space.

As self-proclaimed lovers of designing and building beautiful bathrooms, we’ve put together a quick step guide of how you can turn your dream bathroom into a reality.

Dream Bathroom Tip #1: Budget

The very first thing you want to do when planning your dream Sydney bathroom renovation is to set a realistic budget that you can stick to. This budget will shape and guide your entire project and determine which inclusions can be added. To prevent a budget blowout, it’s best to err on the side of caution and leave aside a small safety net for yourself in case you do come into any hiccups along the way, whether it is more labour hours than you originally expected or perhaps something unexpected needs replacing. Towards the end when you can see the finish line, then you can happily put that money back into your project whether it is perhaps upgrading an item or maybe you can use it for some new furnishings.

While we are on the subject on budget, we know how sources such as Google images and Pinterest can open our eyes to other beautiful and opulent bathrooms, so we recommend having a consultation with our award winning design team to chat about your budget and what you would like to include in your dream bathroom project. We love using inspirational guides to really get an idea of what you want.

Dream Bathroom Tip #2: Choose a style

Now that we’ve figured out our budget, we can start choosing a style for our bathroom! We recommend matching the design to the rest of the house so that it complements the other rooms. If you do want to go in a different direction from the rest of house, try to blend it in to keep the house feeling harmonious and not such a stark contrast – think using a similar colour scheme or perhaps the same trimmings that are elsewhere in the house.

2020 trending bathroom styles include calm and tranquil oasis’ that take notes from hotel spas and beauty parlours with deep soaking tubs and relaxing colour palettes and also bold, dark luxurious bathrooms boasting the newest in high technology. Other style options you could choose include

• Traditional – a timeless classic brimming with character and a cozy, homely feel.
• Modern – Sophisticated and oozing the latest in trends and technology.
• Eclectic – stepping away from conformities, eclectic bathrooms embrace a variety of styles and time periods and really allow your imagination to have fun.
• Contemporary – with clean lines and geometric patterns, contemporary bathrooms have a minimalist design. (could be very wrong there!)
• Retro – get funky and pay homage to the past with pops of colour and interesting baths and vanities.

Dream Bathroom Tip #3: Functional Inclusions

It’s at this point that we want to consider who will be regularly using the bathroom. If it will be a family bathroom, then ensure that is will be functional for all members. If multiple people will be visiting the space, then the toilet should be well hidden. Consider how much storage space each person will need – every person will need their own space for towels, toothbrushes and other personal accessories. If multiple people will be using the bathroom at the same time, then consider installing dual sinks on the vanity but if not, perhaps that space where a second sink would sit could be better utilised kept bare for workspace.  You also might need to consider a bath or an appropriate way to bathe small children.

When considering where to place each item, keep in mind that it is going to be a lot more cost effective if wet walls – the walls that the plumbed in items (shower, sink and toilet) – are backed onto and plumbing fixtures do not need to be moved or created. Also consider the traffic flow – keep the wet and dry zones separate and allow easy access for both the home occupants and visitors to the vanity.

Dream Bathroom Tip #4: Luxury Inclusions

Also consider what luxurious functions you may want to include into your dream bathroom before the construction begins. While your only your imagination and budget are the limit, possible inclusions are

• Bidet – with heated seats, sensors and different settings, bidet’s are wildly popular.
• Bluetooth speakers – whether you like to sing along in the shower, dance or even take phone calls while scrubbing the day away, bathroom Bluetooth speakers have great sound and some even have coloured lighting. Always make sure that you’re speakers are bathroom safe.
• Niche shelving – instead of bulky caddies and shelves, niche shelving gives a sleek and polished look. Niches can be installed inside the shower or on the bathroom walls.
• Skylight – why not use the glorious sun and moonlight to light up your dream bathroom? Skylights are energy efficient, allow more wall space and look fantastic.
• Steam room – Relax and get the health benefits of a steam room in your very own home.
• Mood lighting – to really tie the bathroom take your lighting one step further with a chandelier or feature lighting.

Remember that is going to be a lot easier and more cost effective to add some of these functions into the bathroom during the construction then after so really do some research such as looking at the internet and magazines and chatting to bathroom designers to see what is available.

Dream Bathroom Tip #5: Think about the future

Now that we have a plan, picture your bathroom in, say, 10 years. Will you still be happy with the colours and items you’ve chosen? Will you still even reside in this house? We ask because if you are planning to sell in the future, you will need to take your choices into consideration for the new potential buyers. Things like colour schemes, décor and removing or including functional and luxury items might have an impact on the house sale.

With more than 30 years’ experience, we love turning dreams into reality and relish in our customer’s delighted responses to the bathrooms we carefully curate. As a leading licenced builder, designer and renovator for award-winning bathroom designs and renovations in Sydney, you can be assured that with Brindabella, you will forever be in love with your custom designed and built dream bathroom.