What you need in a bathroom renovation, according to the experts

The grout is crumbling, the taps dribble and, frankly, the bathroom tiles are giving the 1970s a bad name. It’s high time for a bathroom blitz.

Emma Mitchell, an architect based near Anglesea, approaches bathroom design with one key question in mind: How do you want to use the bathroom space?

People have different needs, depending on their age, interests and life experience, says Emma. For an older couple she installed a doorless shower without a threshold, and a bench seat outside the alcove.

For another couple, she slid a bath into the main bedroom, concealing it under a window seat so they could bathe with a view.

Emma says people shouldn’t be afraid of splitting up the bathroom’s functions. For instance you could have a separate wet room for the shower, with the vanities outside the bathroom.

“It comes down to the user’s needs and the spaces you have to work with.”

So what are the latest must-haves in bathroom renovations and what are simply unnecessary extras? We asked the experts for some advice.

The architect’s answers

Do you need to install double showers and double vanities?

“Get a clear idea of how the household functions and whether it really is necessary,” Emma says.

Bree Leech & Heather Nette King for Dulux Colour Trends 2017 – Entwine Palette. Photo: Lisa Cohen

Is an in-built cistern better than a freestanding loo?

“It can reduce cleaning and give the illusion of space, but you can also buy streamlined toilets that are easy to clean.”

Do I need a bathtub?

“Well, do you have baths and do you have space?”

How do I select a colour scheme?

“Consider the bathroom in terms of your preferences, the whole house and its location,” says Emma. She specified yellow for the bathroom ceiling in an Anglesea house in a landscape where the wattle bursts with colour, and used a concrete vanity to reflect a client’s travels to Sri Lanka.

Bree Leech & Heather Nette King for Dulux Colour Trends 2017 – Chroma Palette. Photo: Lisa Cohen

What the agent says

Bathrooms can be a deal breaker when it comes to selling your house, says Jarrod Leonard of Buxton Real Estate. “Bathrooms can really put people off a home if they are in the wrong spot or will be costly to fix.”

What do buyers want?

Expectations differ depending on the price point, Jarrod says. “At the higher end of the market, people expect double vanities, double showers to a degree, frameless shower screens and spa baths.”

On the other hand, first home buyers have flexible expectations. “As long as it is nice, light and bright, a single vanity is fine and a bath with a shower is great,” Jarrod says.

Bath time

“There was a trend towards removing baths some three or four years ago, but now everyone wants one,” Jarrod says. “Freestanding baths are very popular. Even if they don’t use the bath, buyers want a bathtub for resale.”

Bree Leech & Heather Nette King For Dulux Colour Trends 2017 – Construct Palette. Photo: Lisa Cohen

Double up

“Double showers provide the wow factor, although some buyers feel they take up too much space.”

Heads first

“People can be wowed by the big round or square shower heads, but it’s not a deal breaker.”

Statement piece

“Wall cisterns are something people would absolutely love. But it’s a high-end finish and we haven’t seen many in the mainstream. People have to decide if they are going to spend an extra $1000.”

Tile style

Floor-to-ceiling tiles are becoming more and more popular, Jarrod says, most likely thanks to the boom in TV renovation shows. “People used to tile around the shower and bath, only to a certain point.”

– Domain Geelong