4 tips to design your dream bathroom
Photography by Valerie Wilcox
We get it. A bathroom renovation is by no means a glamorous undertaking. No matter what the end result looks like, you can count on an unimaginable amount of dust, loud noises and traffic from tradespeople, who you’ll soon get to know all too well. Despite the stress and costs that come with renovating, we promise you that investing in your bathrooms is worth the headache. Aside from the kitchen, bathrooms are hands-down one of the best ways to increase your home’s value while greatly improving your everyday living.
We tend to appreciate good bathrooms the most on those hectic mornings we’re just trying to get out the door, or those relaxing (and often rare) evenings we take the time to run a bath. The functionality and luxuries of good bathrooms come down to thoughtful design and thorough project management. Here’s a handy guide of what we think you should know before taking on your next bathroom renovation project.
1 Set a budget
Our designers and renovation professionals are always stressing how important it is for homeowners to understand the financials behind the renovation. What can you afford? What can you expect to get from spending that kind of money? Setting a realistic budget early on will help your contractor determine what the budget parameters are for each category required to complete the project. For example, a contractor or project manager will know what percentage of your total budget will need to be spent on different trades, and what can be spent on interior selections. Start by determining what you’re willing to spend and what your priorities in spending are; then be sure to communicate that to your contractor from the start.
2 Determine your scope
Decisions like tearing down walls, rearranging plumbing, or adding more natural light through a skylight or window are bound to increase the cost of your project. The longer it takes to finalize big decisions, the longer the life of the renovation – meaning more money spent. Our professionals agree that an average bathroom renovation will take anywhere from six to 12 weeks, however, much of that is dependent on the scope of work that’s been set and the length of the overall design phase.
As the homeowner, the single most important thing you can do to speed up the design phase is to be quick with approving designs and deciding on interior finishes, fixtures and accessories. Something that people tend to greatly underestimate is the time it takes to choose finishes. Today there are seemingly endless options of everything, so it often becomes overwhelming to commit to one faucet, one tub filler, one shower system, when thousands are so readily available.
Another miscalculation that homeowners often overlook is how long it can take the items they chose and ordered to arrive at their home. Longer lead times can be the result of various things, but it’s often due to items being on back order or the manufacturing process happening overseas that cause orders to take weeks, sometimes months, to get to the jobsite. It is for this reason that our design team always stresses the importance of selecting fixtures quickly and placing orders early on to avoid delays and unforeseeable expenses.
3 Lay it out
Once you’ve determined the budget and scope, you can start playing around with the configuration of the space. Consider how you, or those visiting your home, will use that particular bathroom. Is it a kid’s bathroom that requires a bathtub and height considerations? A main floor powder room or a guest bathroom that will be used by many people. Or maybe, this is your dream master ensuite that you’ve been relentlessly pinning inspiration pictures towards for years. Regardless of which bathroom you’re renovating, maximizing the space and layout to be as functional as possible is of the utmost importance. A fun little exercise to try, that always seems to pay off, is to have your family create a wish list that includes ‘must-haves’ and ‘nice-to-haves.’ Fill out those two sections and present them to your designer and contractor. Lists like these are helpful for everyone involved in the project because they clearly point out the bottom line priorities of the renovation, and what the ‘nice-to-have’ add-ons are.
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4 Make it timeless, not trendy
It’s likely that you won’t be renovating your bathroom every few years, so choosing timeless over trendy elements, tends to be worth it in the long haul. Realistically, if your next renovation provides you with a functional bathroom layout and relatively timeless finishes and fixtures, giving your bathroom a little facelift in a few years might be as simple as swapping out sconces or replacing the shower curtain. All this to say, never underestimate the impact that small changes can make to a familiar space that you’ve grown bored of.
Undertaking a bathroom renovation of any sort may seem invasive and overwhelming, but the results will make it worth your while. One way to reduce the stress for you and your family is to hire an experienced Design Build team to take on the project. This will make the experience more enjoyable because you can focus more on the design side of the project (the fun part), and leave the production side in the hands of your trusted contractor.
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Jessica Millard joined Men At Work Design Build in 2017 while studying at Ryerson University. The Toronto-based firm offers integrated engineering, design and professional construction services for addition and major renovation projects on old Toronto homes. Jessica has been involved in various internal departments within the firm, and is currently the company’s Project Coordinator. |
Mark Cullen is a Member of the Order of Canada. He reaches over 2 million Canadians with his gardening/environment messages every week. Receive his free monthly newsletter at www.markcullen.com Ben Cullen is a professional gardener with a keen interest in food gardening and the environment. You can follow both Mark and Ben on Twitter (@MarkCullen4), Facebook (
It has an IP67 rating for debris and water resistance (meaning it's dust-proof and can withstand water immersion up to 1 metre depth) and two-metre drop protection.
It was a 2016 Pro Tool Innovation Test & Measurement (PITA) Award for the Rotary Laser Level category and selected as a 2017 winner of the Red Dot Award for Product Design.
Green lit: Our three testers all liked the highly visible green light that the DeWalt 20V rotary laser uses and the orderly, stackable case it comes in.[/caption]
As for the unit itself, "The laser feels very sturdy. It has an oversized frame making it easy to handle and durable. Setting up the laser is easy. It's self-levelling so get it close and it takes care of the rest! The green laser is very visible and the rotational speed is adjustable; high speed makes the line seem continuous," says Richardson.
"The overall accuracy of the laser is good. If the laser is knocked out of level it will beep intermittently until it is reset by powering off and back on," says Richardson. "The biggest issue I have with the laser is the receiver that it came with. The receiver will indicate with an arrow that the point being levelled should go up or down. But it does not show the measurement; only up, down, or level. The Stabila LAR-250 rotary laser [that I've used previously] gives a measurement as to how much the surface is out of level making adjustments much easier. This DeWalt laser is good product with many uses, but it falls short of one basic necessity: incremental measurements on the receiver."
"I'd thought of this tool as more for new construction, but I have found it to be a great renovation tool as well," says Stubbs. "We've used it for levelling slabs, floors, and ceilings. We have also used it for a few outdoor projects this spring. It gave us a super-accurate level fence line, and we've used it for deck framing as well as a siding job. With the older housing stock of Toronto levelling things is a big part of our scope and I'm glad to have another tool to help us with that."
