Instead of Renovate, Update: Make a Bathroom More Luxurious Without a Bathroom Renovation

A bathroom is one of the most functional rooms in a home, and yet it's often overlooked during the redecoration process. While the bathroom is essential when living in a home, many aesthetic and functional updates are instead focused on the more public rooms of a house. For that reason, many bathrooms can become neglected, with outdated aesthetics and without the benefit of the latest advancements in design and technology.

However, the style and features of a bathroom can have a big impact on your quality of life when living in a home, and are important to home buyers when selling a home. Updating your bathroom is a great investment in your lifestyle and the overall value of a house, and it doesn't require a full renovation to take advantage of the latest in bathroom design. Here are some smaller projects that reap big rewards:

Update the mirror lighting.

The bathroom mirror goes beyond grooming; it's the place where many people design their look for the day and determine how they look and feel about themselves. Updating the lighting around your vanity unit can make a world of difference in your personal appearance. Add side lighting instead of overhead lighting to avoid unwanted shadows on your face, choose lighting that mimics the natural light spectrum, and update or frame the mirror, to make your bathroom look better, and make yourself look better at the same time.

Refresh your tile.

Replacing tile can be a difficult and expensive job. But you can also simply refresh existing tile without replacing it. Using muriatic acid, you can deep-clean old tile and grout and bring back a nearly-new finish. With some prep work and sanding, tiles can also simply be painted for a whole new look without renovating the bathroom. Or look for peel-and-stick decals that add decorative accents to existing tiles with no effort at all. If you’re up for the challenge though, there are lots of ways to get creative with wall tiles and design something to give your bathroom a whole new lease of life.

Update bathroom fixtures.

Fixtures are one of the key features in bathroom decor, and they can quickly look old-fashioned or outdated. New fixtures can update, modernise, and brighten a bathroom space, as well as add a personal touch that reflects your taste. Small features like your bathroom’s tapware, shower head or towel rail can be updated and coordinated, utilising current trends for a cohesive, contemporary refresh that updates a bathroom without taking it out of commission. Our bathroom display showrooms in Melbourne will give you a hint of what you can achieve with a bathroom vanity unit that’s complemented by tasteful tapware.

Replace the tub.

Depending on your current bathroom layout, this project can approach the cost and complexity of a bathroom remodel, but is one of the most effective updates you can make for improving the functionality and resale value of your home. While a new freestanding bathtub will give your bathroom an instant update and dose of luxury, another option is to swap it out for a shower. Showers are easier to manage for children and seniors, use less water than baths, and are more time and space efficient.

For these reasons, many home-owners may opt to replace the tub with a walk-in shower. Of course, a full tile surround, multiple shower heads, and elaborate doors drive up the cost of this project, but there are also simpler solutions that leverage the location of your existing plumbing features, have drop-in fibreglass surrounds, and make the project faster and more affordable. Replacing an old bathtub with a generous walk-in shower is a great way to update your bathroom to the latest trends, open up the space and make it feel more generous, and give yourself a better shower experience every day.

There are a lot of ways to make your bathroom more efficient, more attractive, and more luxurious without a complete remodel. Small touches like updates to lighting, tile, accents, and fixtures can all help a bathroom reflect current design and decor trends, and make the space more personal. Bigger changes like replacing a bathtub can reap rewards every month in your water bill, and long-term rewards in the home's resale value.