Photo: House Beautiful

If you think about it, our bathrooms are one of the most used spaces in our home. From taking a shower every day, to brushing our teeth, and using the toilet, the importance of our bathroom should never be underestimated. If your bathroom is in need of a little TLC, follow our five steps to a newly re-decorate sanctuary you will love to enjoy!

Choose New Bathroom Instalments

Photo: Decorify

If your vanity, toilet, and shower system are old and out-dated, it may be time to rip them out and install modernized systems that look stylish and also conserve more water. Keep in mind that you can purchase a full bathroom suite or a full shower enclosure with numerous essential accessories included in your package, which may be the cheaper route instead of buying everything separately. My fave place to purchase these things are at Hudson Reed.

Conserve Water and Electricity

Since you are already remodelling your bathroom, why not educate yourself about modernized bathroom systems that will actually help you save more money in the long run? There are tons of options like combi boiler systems that heat water as and when it is needed, and then feed it directly through to the faucet or shower head. There are also systems that work at low water pressure which means you won’t need that extra water pump to enhance your home’s pressure capabilities.

Accessorize your Bathroom

Photo: Bloglovin’

This year, it’s all about showing off your metals. That means exposing the pipes under your sink, installing a shiny chrome shower head, as well as adding details like vanity handles and brass chandeliers. Adding a few shiny details to your space is definitely one way to transform your bathroom into a luxurious private sanctuary.

Choose the Right Tiles and Flooring

Photo: Decozilla

To make sure your bathroom stays relevant and stylish for a few years, choose monotone hues for your wall and shower tiles such as white and grey marble paired with dark flooring. Dark hardwood flooring has been in style for years and we are seeing it being used more and more in the bathroom. To make this trend work, consider installing laminate flooring that can withstand moisture and humidity far better than real hardwood. This way, you can make sure to extend the lifetime of your flooring.

Choose Monotone Wall Colors

Photo: Style me Pretty

This is one low-cost bathroom upgrade that will work miracles. A thin coat of paint is a great way to refresh your bathroom on a budget and make a HUGE difference to your overall look. Pair your walls with your neutral tiles, choose off-white or dove grey paint and your wallcolor. It will look stunning with black flooring and a beautiful chrome chandelier hanging above. Stay away from wallpaper in the bathroom, it doesn’t make a good mix with humidity and it’s not very of-the-moment.

Remember to have fun with your décor and not skimp out on luxurious pieces. Marble may be expensive, but when you have little square footage to cover it doesn’t end up so expensive after all. Splurge and make this sanctuary your favourite place in your home!

Add Some Allure

Photo: Fresh Home

This is probably my most fun part of updating a bathroom is adding a splash of wow factor – it makes such a bold difference. A large beautiful mirror, a romantic chandelier, glass shelving and chrome towel bars can take a cheap looking bathroom to a whole other level. Bathrooms are an important space in our home and are a great place to experiment with some lovely new trends.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”#ff005d” class=”” size=””]Suzy’s Tip: What’s even better is that all these things can be found at your local Home Goods (loads of gorgeous mirrors there) or at Home Depot (bathroom essentials galore).[/perfectpullquote]

Buy a New Bathroom Suite

Photo: Al Thoughtful Place Blog

A suite is a set of coordinating fittings for your bathroom: bathtub, vanity sink, and toilet. If you think your suite is becoming a little dated, it’s definitely time to update it. These bathroom sets come is all kinds of different styles and are sometimes much cheaper if you buy the whole set rather than individual pieces. There are tons of cheap places like the bathroom suites from betterbathrooms.com, where they offer a price match guarantee and regularly hold sales. So shop around, until you find a fitted bathroom that suits your decorating as well as your budget.

Update Your Fixtures

Photo: Hadley Court

It is also easy and relatively cheap to replace your bathroom hardware and fixtures. If you buy a set, you will not have to pay much for a towel rail, toilet roll holder, soap dish, and toilet brush holder. Replacing these is easy and it should only take you an hour or so to get the job done.

[otw_shortcode_quote border_style=”bordered” background_color_class=”otw-pink-background” color=”#ffffff”]Want to choose something trendy? Brushed bronze hardware and fixtures are so hot right now. Just make sure you never mix and match metal fixtures to avoid clashing and have your bathroom look like you fixed pieces of it rather than updated it. [/otw_shortcode_quote]

Restore What You Have

Photo: Anchors and Cardigans Tumblr

If you are not able to afford to replace these items, do not worry because there is still a lot you can do to update the look and feel of your bathroom. Giving everything a deep clean can make even an old suite look good.

Using a good grout cleaner, even a homemade one, can restore your walls to their former glory. You can even make your own. All you need is baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and some liquid soap. Check out this magic cleaning recipe from Pop Sugar.

Restore an Enamel Bathub

Photo: Simplified Bee

If you have an enamel bath that has seen better days, you do not necessarily have to replace it. There are low cost kits available that will allow you to re-enamel areas where it has worn away, without having to take the bath out to do the job. You can restore an enamel sink in the same way.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”#24b507″ class=”” size=””]If you are stuck with an old enamel bathtub, re-enamelling your tub is your best bet to stick within a budget. Re-enamelling will make the surface look like NEW again and most kits you buy can make your bathtub last for another seven years![/perfectpullquote]

We put SO much love into our homes, so it’s not surprising that many of us develop the property improvement bug. With thousands of fabulous and easy DIY projects on the web, it makes us want to try everything to make our homes look the best. Even when you move into a brand new space, it’s rare to think that everything is perfect – there’s always something you can do to put your mark on it. And if this is your home for years, changes can be made as your kids grow up and your tastes evolve.

Since summer is one of the perfect times to start a home reno project, we’ve searched the web for some of our favorite inspirational ideas. Check them out:

A Balcony Pergola Retreat

If you have a large balcony, deck, or patio, installing a pergola is a smart way to create a magical atmosphere and transform your outdoor space. Pergolas create shade, add ambience and are perfect for climbing plants and wrapping twinkle lights around. Roll out an outdoor carpet, arrange comfy looking outdoor furniture and you’re on your way to paradise. No vacation time? No worries, this will be your own at-home outdoor retreat.

Photo: Lucy Interior Design

Powder Room Makeover

A powder room or guest bathroom is a easy home reno project that makes a big impact. You want your guest bathroom looking it’s best to give off a great impression to visitors. Not to mention, it’s a fun place to decorate! If you have your eye set on a expensive wallpaper, no worries you won’t need to buy much of it anyways. Choose some new pretty light fixtures, a glamorous looking mirror and some shiny new cabinet hardware and you’ve got yourself a bathroom reno in a snap!

Photo: Lucy Interior Design

Easy Mirrored Kitchen Backsplash

Ever since debuting in the kitchen of Kris Jenner on Keeping Up With The Kardashians, mirrored backsplashes have been all the rage. We LOVE this look, and it’s a super easy way to give your kitchen some instant glam-factor. This kitchen reno project is simple – order mirrored tiles and stick em’ on. Find a few tutorials online to help you along the way, but this is definitely a project you can tackle yourself.

In an interview for HiPages, celebrity home renovator Cherie Barber shared some of her top tips for people planning renovations to sell their homes. According to Cherie, the way the bathroom or kitchen is designed and fitted can often be the clincher when it comes to selling a property. So if you are planning on selling your home, the kitchen is definitely one place to plan your next reno!

Photo: Home Bunch

Create Your Own Glam Room

Glam rooms are every girls must-have! If you are blessed enough to have a spare room or even a bigger sized closet area or bathroom, you can create your own glam room. Full with a mirrored wall, makeup lights, makeup chair and all of your diva essentials, you will leave your home feeling like a celebrity, ever time.

Photo: Architectural Digest

Install a Wall Unit

Wall units are a practical, and stylish way to display your books, artwork, prized possessions, and sneak in some much needed storage space. Believe it or not, but you can create your own wall units using Ikea bookshelves. Look up: “wall unit Ikea hack” and you’ll see what I mean! For a fraction of the cost, you can make your own customized built-in wall unit. If you plant to sell your home, this can also be another high-point to boost it’s value. Wall units are expensive, and if you can cheap out on your own customized version you’ll save lots of money in the long run!

Photo: Sita Montgomery

Dress Up Closet Doors with Molding

Add some glam to plain closet doors with cheap molding! You can buy this strip molding at your local Home Depot and cut it to form any shape you like. Just glue it on and paint your whole doors in a classic white color for some serious glam on a budget!

Photo: Driven By Decor

Under Stairs Storage

Take advantage of every square foot of your home, even under your empty stairs! Under stairs is the perfect place where you can install convenient storage space that is practical and out-of-the-way. For example, if you’re short on storage space, you could get creative with the space under the stairs and turn it into a series of pull-out cupboards, where you can store anything from children’s toys to the family shoe collection. Alternatively, add a built-in bookcase to the side of the stairs to create a mini-library.

Photo: Terracotta Design Build

BDB Tip: Before your start your home reno, make sure to plan out all of your costs and set a time frame. And when you get to the point of refurbishing and need expert help, source local tradespeople through sites such as HiPages. Make sure to use the site’s search function to filter down just the person who will help you for the job you need done.