We were on the brink of potty training our first born when I made a terrible realization — only one of the bathrooms I designed for our home is ideal for potty training. That is, only one has much room around the toilet and ceramic floor tile. I was cringing at the idea of repeatedly scrubbing the marble floors in the other bathrooms to prevent staining from any potty training near successes. But ultimately, I decided I wouldn’t change a thing. Because I had different priorities — pretty.
Bathrooms are Rich with Opportunities to Express Yourself Through Design
Bathrooms are rich with opportunities to express yourself through design. Floor tile, wall tile or molding (or not), vanities (or not), cabinets, shelving, hardware, mirrors, lighting, art, and bathroom hardware (e.g., towel bars/rings/hooks/racks, toilet paper holders, train racks, and robe hooks). There are few if any other places in your home that afford you with this many ways to give voice to your style.
Bathrooms Require Balance Between Beauty and Function
Sure, bathrooms are style bombs. But they also require us to juggle many necessary elements. At a minimum, a bathroom needs a toilet, a sink, lighting, and usually a mirror. There is also, usually, very little space to squeeze all these things into. This makes them one of the rooms in our homes that require the greatest finesse in balancing form and function.
The First Things to Think About When Designing a Bathroom
1. Your Budget for the Project
The first thing you need to think about when designing a bathroom is your budget. This may dictate the scope of your project and can help you stay focused when thinking about the other items, below. So, setting a budget up front is crucial.
2. Your Functional Needs
Your functional needs is one of the most important things to think about when designing your bathroom.
Write them down so you can keep them front of mind when establishing how you’re going to achieve including these in your space and the look you want for it (see Items 3 and 4, below). For example:
- Do you need a zero entry shower so that an elderly relative can easily access the shower when they come to visit or live with you?
- Or, do you need a bathtub to bathe small children in?
- Do you need a highly cleanable floor or shower wall tile?
- Do you need extra space around the toilet to accommodate a family member?
- Do you need a toilet closet for privacy so that multiple people can share the bathroom?
- How many points of entry do you need to accommodate?
- Do you need to store towels and other toiletries in the bathroom?
- How many vanities or sinks do you need?
Then mark any that are non-negotiable. Those are the things you know you can’t compromise on if push comes to shove when you’re trying to accommodate the pretty stuff in the room and stay within your budget.
3. The Look You Want to Achieve
Next, determine the look you want to achieve in your bathroom. There is usually more play in executing it than in crossing off your functional needs list (those needs are either met or their not). But I would warn against compromising too soon when faced with a conflict between accommodating your functional needs and the look you’re going for. Often it just takes some critical and creative thinking to get everything you want in the space.
4. How to Best Balance those 3 Things – Budget, Functional Needs, and The Look You Want to Achieve
Then you should hold up your functional needs and the look you want to achieve, together, against your budget. Whether you’re able to create your dream bathroom will ultimately hinge on whether you can afford it (or if it makes sense to make that size investment in the home, based on a variety of factors). Here, again I want to encourage you, that sometimes, it just takes some critical thinking and creativity to get your dream bathroom and within your budget.
When doing this analysis, it also helps to have prioritized not only your functional needs but also the design aspects of the space that are most important to you.
Hiring Designer Can Help Cut the Headache of this Process
This process requires a lot of decision-making, and as I’ve said a few times, critical thinking and creativity. Hiring a designer at any point in this process can make it easier. Designers are experts in this process and can often offer a fresh perspective or ideas to help achieve your bathroom goals. And free you up to focus on the other important parts of your life.
If you want to chat about your project, I’d love to talk with you! Don’t hesitate to reach out through my Contact page or by email at elyse@elyselivinginteriors.com. Talk soon!
