The bathroom is a safe space in your home where you can get some much-needed privacy. Whether we like to admit it or not, a great bathroom will make or break a home. Your guests form opinions based on your bathroom, and a clean, well-designed bathroom makes your home all the more inviting to live in.

Designing a bathroom is no small task, and sometimes serious mistakes are made. At Homeworx, we’ve been successfully designing flawless bathrooms for years. You shouldn’t have to deal with poor design, but we get it.

We’ll be sharing some common design fails and how to avoid them. Read on before you DIY a bathroom design.

Common Bathroom Design Fails

Sometimes contractors and homeowners keep making the same mistakes over and over. While that might be the definition of insanity, it’s a common flaw with designers, especially when it comes to bathrooms.

Installing Too Many Fixtures for the Space

Bathrooms are often cramped, even when space isn’t an issue, simply because people want to fit in as many different pieces as possible. This can make a bathroom difficult to use and less comfortable overall. To avoid this rather simple design mistake, designers should keep the flow of traffic through the room in mind at all times.

How much room is there through the door and between different fixtures? Is there plenty of room to use the toilet? All of these elements weigh together to cause the problems that homeowners face, making it difficult to sell the home.

Poor Choice of Color

Designers often choose a color with a narrow set of goals in mind. Bathrooms typically need to be cool or very warm. Bathrooms also need to fit in with the house’s overall style unless they are part of a master bath suite that exists on its own.

Different areas you’ll be able to choose colors include:

• Hardware
• Paints
• Floors
• Cabinets
• Countertops
• Toilet
• Tile
• Shower

Darker colors can make your home feel smaller and lighter colors may offer a brighter appearance that helps open the space. Explore all your options before you dive deep into one range of colors.

As you choose colors, air on the side of caution and simplicity. While you need to find ways to make your bathroom original, don’t get too far off the beaten path without seeking several opinions or the opinion of an expert.

Bad Lighting (or Not Enough)

Designers often assume that a bathroom needs a window to stay bright, but this isn’t always the case. Bathrooms have been designed since the Victorian era with low ceilings and dark colors. Bathroom design has evolved from there, but it’s important to recognize that design elements from years ago are still around today.

But, if you’re only relying on a bright window, your bathroom is going to be dark all night long, on cloudy days, and early mornings. It’s critical that good lighting is installed to offer an alternative to natural light.

Poor Design Taste: Unoriginal

Having a good design taste isn’t something that everyone is born with. Some people simply need to learn from their mistakes, and others have a design sense that they never improve upon.

If you’re the type who’s always going with what looks good, then you might want to see if there are better options. Try to find ways to stand out with unique features and designs instead of going with what’s popular or has always worked.

 

No Places for Storage

Storage is often forgotten in bathroom design. Bathrooms are one of the most used rooms in the house. While they might not see as much traffic as a well-used family room, items like towels and toiletries get used every single day.

Find creative and usable ways to store different items needed throughout the bathroom.

• Open shelving
• Cabinet drawers
• Medicine cabinets
• Organizing tools

Each of these elements can help make your storage situation better if you’re left with little to none.

Placing Accessories in the Wrong Locations

Accessories like toilet paper holders, towel racks, and soap dishes don’t seem like they would be difficult to place. Bathroom designers often think that the exact location of these items is minor details that can be addressed later, but why wait when you could add it to the plan before starting the project?

Depending on where you place it, each item has a dramatic impact on its usability and functionality. Think through different ways these items can be placed tastefully before it’s too late.

Fixtures That Are Too Large or Too Small

Finding the right fixtures isn’t something that’s done overnight or in one shopping trip. Take time to ensure that you’re purchasing the best products for the room. Color, size, design style, and other features are critical to layout the bathroom correctly.

A bathtub that’s too big or too small will always feel out of place.

Prevent Mistakes With a Bathroom Design Checklist

If you truly keep from making mistakes, you’ll need a good checklist. A professional contractor will likely provide you with a solid checklist to work through for your design and project completion. Here are some simple steps for your checklist:

Set a Budget You Can Stick To

Decide where the money is coming from. Can you afford to completely remodel? If not, then you can do smaller projects over time. Is it a loan you are taking out, or are you using cash? You need to know how your budget stands to plan accordingly.

One of the worst things that can happen is when you start on a project and then realize that you can’t afford to finish it, leaving you with a less than functional bathroom.

Use a Realistic Timeframe

If you’re looking to hire a contractor, their schedule should be included in any initial information. If you are doing the work yourself or with friends & family, then you’ll need to set a realistic timeframe.

Sometimes these projects go smoothly, and other times they take much longer than you’d expect. But that’s why it’s important to build a good timeline and a timeframe for the project to be completed within.

Measure the Space TWICE

Don’t rush into this. That beautiful antique sink you found is going to look a lot different in your bathroom than it did in the store or showroom. Measure twice cut once is always a phrase to go by. But that’s crucial when it comes to your fixtures, finishes, and cuts.

Be sure to measure the width, depth, and height of everything that will be moved into your bathroom before you purchase.

Choose Your Bathroom Fixtures and Finishes Wisely

After you’ve measured the room, you can choose what will go into it. You’ll want to think about where everything will be placed and whether or not it’s all going to fit. While you’re choosing fixtures, put a mood board together.

Draw some inspiration and create a bathroom that you can be confident and comfortable using. The right fixtures and finishes make all the difference.

Hire a Professional Bathroom Design and Remodeling Team

Your home deserves the best in remodeling and design, don’t settle for anything short of that. At Homeworx, we specialize in home remodel and design, ranging from complete remodel or renovation.

Our team specializes in bathroom remodels. Whether you’d like to add a new bathroom to your home or remodel an old one and make it new. We’ve got you covered.

Reach out to our team of expert professionals today to learn about our processes and options!