Once you begin a bathroom remodel project it is very important to take bathroom photos at the beginning of the project, throughout, and at the end of the project.  These will serve as your proud before and after shots to share with guests and you never know, just might be featured on a popular website or TV show someday.  Below is the BEFORE photo of our shower remodel, but unfortunately, the AFTER photo is not ready yet…maybe in another month or so….my husband says these things take time!

As you can imagine, keeping these photos will increase our sense of pride, well mostly my husband’s sense of pride when we get to see the finished project every day.  Our memories of how bad it once was may fade, but this photo will always remind us of how far we came.  Again, don’t forget to take bathroom photos during the entire process of your remodel, but especially at the very beginning because you can’t go back in time after you have completed any part of the project.

Here we are a week later and, as you can see, not done yet.  Ah well, patience is a virtue they say.  I would post more photos, but I really would not want to bore you with yet more “during” shots rather than the “after” shots.  I would much rather wait until the end of the project and show you the After shots and share with you all the funny stories of how we were able to finally take a shower in a bathroom long forgotten as our Master Bathroom.  There must be a reason why they call it a Master Bathroom, maybe because you are supposed to use it more than once a year!

There is no point in ranting; my husband will surely get the shower fixed in time for us to sell the house.  I am saying that facetiously since we have no short-term plans to sell our house.  In fact, we intend to rent it out if we ever have to move away for some reason.  Could you imagine trying to sell or rent a house with a bathroom shower renovation that looks like this?!!?  What kind of rent would you have the gall to ask for, maybe $200 a month seeing as how the tenant can only use one of the two bathrooms that are in the house.

If you are about to embark on a bathroom flooring project, it is important to avoid being tempted into a decision based on the look of it rather than choosing the flooring that can stand up to the demands made of it.  The right flooring will look great, be durable and feel fabulous underfoot.   I think the bathroom is the easiest place to decide on flooring and it will usually be the least expensive flooring project in the house because it is often one of the smallest rooms in the house.  Here’s a summary of the different kinds of material used for bathroom flooring featured on the HGTV website.

TILE

Ceramic is used most in bathrooms and the reason why is because it is the most water resistant of the flooring materials.  It’s usually the least expensive too.  There are some complaints about it, such as ‘slippery when wet’ or ‘cold to the bare feet’ or even ‘difficult to maintain.’  These objections are easily overcome with solutions like radiant heat, and textured tile to take away the slippery effect, also grout can be sealed for easy cleaning.  Other tiles like travertine, porcelain, glass and granite are more expensive than ceramic, but can make the bathroom more dynamic looking.

WOOD

Hardwood flooring can be a wonderful option, providing visual warmth and a comfortable feeling underfoot.  It must be cared for properly, and with a water-based poly finish, the occasional splash or drip will do no harm.  However, water must not sit on the floor for any length of time, or serious damage will be caused.  Pick up those wet towels.

GREEN

Bamboo and cork flooring are “green” alternatives to a wood floor.  Like wood, they must be cared for and they will endure. If you select bamboo for its eco-friendly qualities, be sure the factory finish is formaldehyde free.  Cork provides wonderful sound control; something to consider if the goal is to create a quiet retreat.

LAMINATE

Laminate treated with water repellent is a great way to create the look of a wood floor, and maintain the floor over the years at the same time.  Laminate can look amazingly like real wood, but it will not be as soft and the sound will be louder as a result.

VINYL

For a low-budget bathroom flooring project, vinyl is a safe bet.  Just be aware that vinyl can curl at the edges over time.  Also, the peel-and-stick vinyl tiles are not recommended for baths because water can seep between the tiles and damage the sub floor.

Bathroom Remodeling Pictures – Draw Your Inspiration

Looking at bathroom remodeling pictures is a great way to get inspired to create special new looks for your bathroom or bathrooms.  When you are looking at the pictures make sure you do not get fooled by the difference in size between the bathroom being photographed and your bathroom.

Often, bathroom remodeling pictures are taken in a studio in a “bathroom” much larger than the average bathroom.  This is done purposely but not maliciously.  The general goal of these photos is to help give you inspiration of what can be done, not necessarily so you can do a carbon copy of what you are seeing.

There are bathroom remodeling pictures that are much more to scale.  These make it much easier for you to determine what can and cannot be done in your bathroom.  Some will even provide you with the dimensions of the bathroom in the photos.

How to Choose the Right Ones

Try to find pictures of bathrooms that have the same general pattern as your bathroom.  For example, consider where the door is, where the windows are (if any) and even where the plumbing is.

Some people are able to visualize things better than others.  The more closely the bathroom remodeling pictures are to the layout of your bathroom the easier it is to do that.

Additionally, make sure you do factor size and bathroom elements.  For example, if you are redesigning a bathroom that has a shower stall and no room for a tub, make sure you are looking at pictures of bathrooms that have a shower stall only.

Do Not Fall in Love

Try not to fall in love with the remodeling pictures, chances are duplicating them would be extremely expensive, if possible at all.  Again, the photos are taken for inspiration purposes not for duplication purposes.  There may be elements you simply cannot duplicate.

Typically there is little to no budget for bathroom remodeling photo shoots.  They are meant to highlight one or more of the bathroom elements and to make you fall in love with what you see.

Make sure you understand what you like specifically in the photos.  Is it a particular style fixture? Is it the décor? Is it the tile?  Determine which element or elements are really getting your attention so you can start to craft your design with the bathroom remodeling pictures as your inspiration.

The bathroom tiles are amongst the most dynamic part of the bathroom in my opinion.  Tiles can be arranged in a plethora of patterns and the colors are too numerous to count.  Before replacing the flooring in your bathroom or the shower or tub area with tiles, give some thought as to what kind of tiles you want.  There are many types and each serve a different purpose and will look very different once installed.

Ceramic is the most practical, especially for the shower and tub area because it is the most water resistant of the tile types.  Some objections might be that ceramic is slippery when wet or that it is tough to maintain because of the necessity of grout to separate the tiles.  These common objections are easy to overcome with some creativity.  For example, ceramic with a textured surface is less slippery and grout can be sealed to make it easier to clean.  If you also choose ceramic for the tiles that will serve as floor covering, you can combine the material with limestone tiles or a wood inlay to create added safety from the slippery factor.

If ceramic is just not your cup of tea, other types of tiles include porcelain, glass, granite, marble and travertine are a little more expensive, and can also be arranged in an infinite number of patterns.  They can certainly add some spark to the look of the bathroom.   Any chips to the tile will be less obvious with porcelain and stone because the color goes all the way through.  The slippery factor can be even worse with granite, so you would want to consider the combination suggested for ceramic tile flooring.  In the shower or tub area, these tiles are more feasible because the largest surface is often the wall rather than the floor.

Once you have chosen your tile of choice, installing it is another task altogether.  If you are not experienced with tiling, it might be best to hire a professional to do that part for you.  Although there are some pretty handy DIY solutions you will find at the hardware store.  One option, the one that my husband and I have chosen for our shower tile, is to pick a ceramic tile that has a backing on it that will adhere easily and quickly to the wall.  This cuts down on your cutting and your placement, saving you tons of time and energy.

We are, right now, in the middle of rebuilding our shower and my husband is talking about the project as though attempting to create a whole new bathroom design.

Of course, the fact that the toilet and the plumbing, among other things, already exists means that he’s really limited in any sort of design capacity.  We could take on a project bigger than ourselves and attempt redesign of the basic layout.  I, for one, am not up to that and I owe my thanks to some angel up in heaven who has made it so that my husband is really too busy with work to be able to do it either.   When you have a full time job that actually pays you rather than requires money to be spent by you, it’s hard to argue in favor of spending money versus making money.  Another thanks I give is that this particular bathroom is our second bathroom and not our common bathroom.  Especially since it has been over one year that we have been working on this renovation!

Don’t get me wrong, I do wish we had the money, time and other resources to completely alter the bathroom to fit our more modern (the house is thirty years old) needs and to provide a more spacious feel when you are “spending time” in there.  But then again my husband and I have two very different outlooks on what resources are.  In my fantasy world, one or our resources would be a team of experts who we hired right off the set of HGTV and we would go off to the beach with our dog for an afternoon of fun, frolic and sun, and later return to a brand new beautifully designed bathroom that we could use right away.   In my husband’s fantasy world, he is the expert and he has the ability to create a whole new bathroom design AND the physical ability to do the job of a team of bathroom experts.

Ah well, the shower will soon be finished, well at least in a month it should be completed.  Heck, these things take time.  By then, never mind the design, it’ll be just fantastic to be able to hop into a brand new sparkly shower and know that the shower I am standing in is as squeaky clean as I want to be when I step out of that new shower door and onto that brand new tile floor.

This article was provided by Melissa, a guest author who is going through the trials and tribulations of a bathroom renovation.

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A lot of consideration must be put into bathroom design because it is one of the most expensive and most used rooms in the home.

Not only is the actual layout of a bathroom important, the way it is designed or decorated is also very important.

One type of wallpaper may look terrible in a bathroom and give it an overall non inviting look, but some fresh paint and some new accessories will liven it up and make it look like a totally different room.

Most of us don’t think about it, or want to think about it, but we spend an awful lot of time in the bathroom so designing a bathroom is very important.

If you are remodeling or building a new home you should spend as much time designing the bathrooms as you would on the kitchen.

Right now big Jacuzzi tubs are very popular, as are garden tubs, showers with two heads, and a bathtub separate from the shower.

Many homeowners are opting to put the toilet in its own little room for privacy and a clean look to the room. A pedestal sink works well, but a vanity is also nice and often adds to the resale value, especially if it is a double sink vanity.

The layout of these items will typically depend on where you can get water and the actual shape of the space. Even if a bathroom has the most ideal layout for the space, it can be a very cold room if not decorated well. Good bathroom design usually involves simple accessories and a good use of color.

If your bathroom has very little light you choose light colors and mirrors to make the room look brighter and bigger than it is. If the room has natural light you can go for a darker color.

Accessories don’t have to be anything that isn’t functional but matching accessories such as towels, bath mats, rugs, and shower curtain can bring a whole new look to your bathroom. Accessories should say something about you and who you are, so that you can really own the space and feel comfortable in it.