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A Facelift for Your Bathroom: in One Weekend
by Elliott Williams
Description: Tips for giving your bathroom a new look in a weekend.
While you might not think twice about doing things to make
yourself look younger, what about your bathroom? It often
becomes the most used, yet neglected room in the house. Even if
you don't have the time or money, you can freshen up your
bathroom's appearance—in just one weekend. Contemporary bathroom
remodeling no longer has to be a major, time-consuming project.
Before You Get Started
Needless to say, when you're thinking about remodeling, you
need to have a plan in place. Start with a thorough cleaning and
get rid of everything that looks tired or worn. Replacing the
shower curtain, for example, will cost only a few dollars and
take just minutes—but it changes the entire look of your
bathroom. Add a few new matching towels and voila(!)—your dingy
bathroom will be bright and fresh again.
Next, consider what parts are showing their age the most. Your
bathroom faucets may be disintegrating, or your mirrors may have
become cracked or too dirty to give a pleasing reflection. Make
a list of the problematic areas and determine what your budget
can bear—then decide what you want to fix this weekend and what
can wait 'til later. Visit your local bathroom-supply store and
fill up your cart with the things you want to replace as well as
any tools you'll need to do the job.
More Ideas for Freshening Up Your Bathroom in a Weekend
• Try replacing your bathroom faucets. Many of the newer faucet
systems are simple enough for a homeowner to replace. Head to
your local hardware store or an online retailer for a kit that
includes not only the hardware but installation instructions
too. Make sure you understand them thoroughly you so you won't
be left with a flooded bathroom when you're done—or another
weekend repair project to undue the damage!
• Look into new bathroom mirrors. Hanging a new mirror that has
a different frame, size, or shape can have an instant impact on
your bathroom's overall appearance. It will provide not only a
new focal point for the room, but also draw eyes away from any
features you're unable to replace just yet.
• Painting the cabinets. Another idea for a quick renovation
project is to consider painting or stripping your bathroom
cabinets. If you have real wood cabinets, stripping and
re-staining can take a single day, maybe two. Or you can paint
over the existing color to give them a new personality. Neutral
colors are best as they allow you to update other features to
accommodate emerging trends.
• Painting the walls or trim. Nothing beats a fresh coat of
paint to make a room inviting. Choose light colors to make a
small bathroom feel more spacious, dark, vibrant colors to give
a feeling of drama or intimacy. Experiment with a different
color for the walls and any molding as a way of introducing a
decorative accent, or try textured or patterned finishes. And
just to be sure you've picked exactly the right color, don't
rely on paint chips: instead buy a small quantity of whatever
hue(s) you're considering, and paint a different 12"-18" piece
of cardboard with each color. That will give you a much better
sense of how the paint will actually look on the wall.
Just as you might want to nip and tuck certain parts of
yourself, your bathroom might be feeling the anxiety of aging
too. But by adding just a few small touches, you can easily turn
your bathroom from "blah" to "bravo" during a single
contemporary bathroom-remodeling weekend.
And if your bathroom cabinets are so far gone that no makeover
will help, or if your neighborhood stores don't have the
replacement faucet or mirror you're looking for, a great online
resource is: http://www.KitchenAndBathWarehouse.com
Elliott Williams is VP of Marketing at
Kitchen and Bath Warehouse Publishing. Before coming to K&BW, he
had his own home-remodeling business for 15 years. You can learn
more about kitchen and bathroom design at:
http://www.KitchenAndBathWarehouse.com
