People will always tell you, at least people who know what they're doing that if you fail to plan then you can plan to fail at whatever you're doing. The same is true of doing or planning any kind of interior decorating for your home or apartment - you need to plan this well in advance. Otherwise you run the risk of getting halfway through the remodel and realize that you don't have anything left in your budget or just that you're not seeing the results you were expecting.
Plant It All Out in Advance
The first and most important step in any bathroom remodel or design is to plan what you have in mind but get the ideas of your mind and down onto paper instead. You might have the most incredible vision for what your bathroom is going to look like after the redesign but when you get it down on paper you might not be as impressed as you were before or you might realize that what you wanted to do is simply impossible - as much as you'd love it. If you're struggling to map everything out then you could always use some bathroom design software to help you create the layout that you want and you can work from that as a sort of blueprint. Whatever method you choose make absolutely certain you get your bathroom design ideas down on paper or in a digital format before you even start thinking about a color scheme.
Set Your Budget
Once the design itself is locked down, or you're at least happy with it, then the next step is put your budget together and when you're doing this there are two important things to take into account. The first is to be completely honest with yourself about how much you can afford because if you run out of cash halfway through the project nobody is going to be happy. And secondly leave some slack in your estimates or basically look at your final costings for everything and then add about 10% - 15% extra to your budget. I kid you not things can and do go wrong and you'll be glad you had this extra emergency cash to "play" with if the time comes. And if you don't use the cash on the remodel or bathroom design then you can put it either back in your bank account or treat yourself to something nice and it won't really cost you anything because you'd already allocated this extra cash to your budget.
Which Contractors Will You Need?
When you're putting together your budget for your bathroom design project make sure you take into account all the different types of contractors or trades people you're going to need - plumbers, electricians, tilers etc. Even the very best DIY guy winds up needing a little bit of professional help or advice now and again when doing this type of work. So even if you don't think you're doing to need outside help it would be wise to budget for it. Before you hire any contractors or get any quotes it's a good idea to price the project yourself - a trip to 2 or 3 DIY or hardware stores is all that will take and if some contractor tries to overcharge you at least you'll be able to question how much he's charging for the materials if nothing else.
Here's just a quick list of things you'll need to consider when it comes to design your new/existing bathroom:
- Overall theme
- Paint color scheme
- Flooring choice - tiles, stone etc
- Window coverings
- Shower or tub?
- Lighting
- Mirror choices
- Type of toilet
- Type of sink
- Type of faucets
- Heated floors
- Heated towel rails
- Vanity unit or not?
These are all potential elements of your redesign or remodel for your bathroom so it's worth giving each of these careful consideration as part of your overall bathroom design plan folks.
A bathroom isn't always the easiest part of any home to decorate and the fact that it's not really a room that people live in makes any effort in decorating it all the more difficult. Then you have to take into account the fact that the tiling and floors in your bathroom are usually slightly different colors which means you're going to have to work a tiny bit harder to make your bathroom color scheme work with the decor and furnishings you already have - like, for example, if your bathroom suite is green then you'll need to find a color scheme to complement that.
The one very neat thing about updating the color scheme used in your bathroom is that it gives you a lot of scope for bathroom redos on a budget. Sure you can tear your entire bathroom apart and put it all back together again to give it a new look but more often than not some new blinds and an updates color scheme is all that most bathrooms needs to come back to life again. One big tip when choosing your bathroom color scheme, and with bathroom design ideas in general, is to pay attention to the psychology of colors.
An example of this is that if you ask most people what color scheme they think they'd use for their bathroom they'd probably say something blue or shades of blue. From one point of view this makes perfect sense because blue has an aquatic feel to it and considering your bathroom is all about water blue seems like an obvious choice. Except for one small detail that is - blue itself is a very "cold" color, so although it might make your bathroom look very clean and tidy it also gives your bathroom a cold feeling to it - even when the room itself isn't cold. So even though orange might not seem like your first choice when it comes to a color scheme for your bathroom this color will instantly make any room it's used in feel far more warm.
If you check a few websites or read any magazines on the topic of choosing a color scheme you'll probably wind up reading quite a bit about the latest bathroom color trends but the most important part of choosing a color scheme for your bathroom is choosing the colors that you're happiest with. After all these's no point in choosing a color scheme or paint color that you hate just because you read somewhere that it's in vogue at the moment with home decorators.
So what are the basic color combinations that you can choose from? When it comes down to it most people tend to choose a neutral color for their bathroom walls and ceiling, if for no other reason than just to make sure that your new bathroom color scheme will blend in with everything you already have in your bathroom - from your rug to your sink. You can also go to the opposite end of the color scheme spectrum and choose an incredibly loud paint color for your bathroom and if you're a little bit eccentric and quirky this can work really well. But it can also backfire completely if or when you try to sell or rent your home because the last thing you need is for potential buyers or tenants to look at your bathroom and go "Ewwwwwwwww". So that bright purple base color with gold accents might not be a great idea for the long term value of your home. You do always have the option thought of painting one feature wall a bold color and then use a neutral color on the other walls and ceiling also.
So let's have a look at what color palette might suit your fancy.
Brown and cream
Most people shy away from the color brown because it's seen as being too dark for interior decorating but when it's contrasted with cream it can create a very cozy feel to your bathroom. Using lighter shades of brown will make a lot more sense than mahogany tones of course.
Peach and white
It's important to not get peach and the color pink mixed up when using this color scheme - pink is just overpowering in even the most feminine bathrooms. Peach used to create accents over tiles or on wall borders adds a definite feeling of warmth to any bathroom.
Green and cream
Use light pastel shades of lime and similar shades of green to create a very calming atmosphere in your bathroom and can look surprisingly well too. Green isn't everyone's first choice when it comes to decorating but it does look very well when used sparingly.
White and gray
Most people would never dream of using gray in their bathroom decorating scheme but it can give a very stylish and sophisticated look and feel to any bathroom especially if marble or marble-effect tiles have been used in it.
Orange and white
Going back to our earlier example of using orange as part of your color scheme this zesty color adds an instant sense of "life" to any bathroom it's used in. Obviously you do not want to paint every single wall bright orange but again having one feature wall painted in orange and some orange accents like towels can really lift even the most drab of bathrooms.
Hopefully we've given you some color scheme food for thought and that you'll have fun digesting our ideas to come up with your very own bathroom color scheme.
