When designing a new layout, new fixtures, and new decor for your bathroom, you’ll want to be careful you don’t run into tricky issues. These are the kind of problems that slow a bathroom renovation down, and often involve having to rip things out and starting again!
And when you’re on both a tight schedule and a tight budget, you really don’t want to have to pull up all the work you’ve done and pay for things to be corrected.
But if you have run into a bit of a bathroom design disaster, it’s not the end of the world. There’s always something you can do to save yourself some time and money and still get the bathroom redesign you originally planned.
And if you’re still in the midst of the planning stage of your bathroom renovation, this is your chance to include steps that’ll prevent you from making some design mistakes that’ll leave you with a gaping hole where your bathroom once stood!
As such, here are some of the most common bathroom design disasters you might have to deal with during your project, as well as what you can do about them.
No Space for Pipes
When putting new fixtures into a bathroom, you want to be careful about where you’re going to pipe them into your plumbing system. Even in a larger bathroom, it’s difficult to put a toilet or bathtub just anywhere.
You have to know there’s a space for the new pipes to go, and you’re not going to be dealing with an overwhelming amount of visible piping all around your walls. When you’re trying to relax in a bathroom, you don’t want to see lines of copper everywhere you look!
If need be, consult some plumbing services for a bit of specific advice here. You’ll want to ask an expert about your home in particular, and you can send them some pictures of the room and your desired new layout for it. Whatever they say about where the pipes are actually able to go, be sure to factor it into your project.
A Lack of Lighting
Bathrooms can be quite dark and dingy places when there’s inadequate lighting. And trust us, it’s easier than you think to place too few lights in the room! You’re going to need plenty of illumination within a space like this, to ensure you can always see any puddles on the floor and don’t slip on them.
On top of this, you should have multiple types of lighting sources. This will allow you to control the level of ambience that accompanies something like a long soak in the bath or a quick 5 minute shower before heading to bed.
On top of this, think about how you’ll be able to use light within your bathroom. For example, if you want to surround your tub with candles and turn the overhead lamps off, make sure there’s plenty of room for you to set the candles up safely!
Lots of Moisture After Bathing
No bathroom will last when there’s too much moisture in the air. When you turn the shower off or finish draining the tub, there’s likely to be quite a bit of manmade humidity lingering around you. This is what steams up the mirror and leaves stains on the shower glass that you’re always cleaning off.
But when this humidity is allowed to build up, and there’s not enough ventilation to let it drain out of the room, you’re going to see mold spots in the grout and on the ceiling.
Now, this isn’t exactly a problem you’ll be able to see straight away, but it’s one to pay attention to if it crops up. If you get out of the shower and notice it feels very stuffy, and you really weren’t in there long enough for the room to feel this warm, open the window and leave the door open when you leave.
Then, try to get a new extractor fan installed, or double check that your bathroom vents aren’t already clogged up. The more ventilation you can get inside the bathroom, the cleaner and cooler it’ll remain!
Overdecorating the Space
Bathrooms can be whitewashed places that have very little visual interest. As such, many homeowners go out of their way to make the room more lively and colorful. This is a lovely little project to get on with, but it has a bit of a double edge to it.
Indeed, while it may seem like a good idea to add some interest to the space, you really do have to be careful not to go overboard.
This will be a problem for anyone who has a particularly small bathroom. Putting too much focus on the decor will make it feel even smaller. Plus, you’re more likely to leave the room with a headache, thanks to how much color and noise surrounds you!
Buying Materials Not Suitable for Wet Rooms
And our final problem: don’t buy any paint, paper, or fabric to decorate your bathroom that wasn’t designed with bathrooms in mind. If you use material like this, it’ll probably slough off of the tiles within a month.
The moisture in bathroom air will quickly un-peal it, or make it a lot easier to rip, and that’s not the kind of shabby chic look anyone should be after! Even when you vent the place as much as possible, this will be an issue.
Don’t Make These Mistakes When Redesigning Your Bathroom
They’re quite common, so you wouldn’t be the first person to run into this kind of trouble! But even so, they can be hard to deal with, so you don’t want them on your plate.
Remember the issues above as you go about your renovation process. The more minor you can keep the problems, the easier it’ll be to save your budget, keep your house in good condition, and be able to use the bathroom of your dreams when the work is done!
