If your bathroom is tired, old, dark and grim, a full renovation would ideally be the best way to modernise it and to allow it to reach its full potential. However, if you don’t have thousands to spend on a renovation, there are simple and inexpensive things you can do. The good news that after giving your bathroom a facelift with our five steps you’ll still have money left over to splurge and perhaps install that heated towel warmer you’ve always wanted!
Five quicks ways to rejuvenate your bathroom
1. Clean
It might sound a bit too simplistic, but clearing everything that’s not bolted down out of your bathroom and giving everything a thorough clean can make a world of difference.
When it comes time to put everything back after cleaning, take time to sort through your items and throw out anything you don’t use or has expired. Ideally, to keep your bathroom uncluttered and cleaner, everything you have left will fit into your storage, whether it be a wall cabinet, vanity or open shelving. If you don’t have enough storage, consider purchasing and installing more.
2. Paint
Painting any room can give it a new lease of life and the same goes with the bathroom. Colours such as olive green, blues, pops of pinks, yellow and orange, and dark colours are currently in trend. So is classic white, which looks clean, can help brighten a dark bathroom and is less likely to ever go out of fashion.
Don’t stop at the walls and ceilings. If your tiles, vanity, benchtop and other items are looking tired, you can paint them too. In most cases you will need special paint so seek advice from a hardware of paint store. You can also get these items professionally resurfaced if you have a little extra money to spare.
3. Light
A lack of natural light is a common issue in many bathrooms that need a renovation. If you had a few thousand dollars you could add a skylight or create a larger window space, but on a budget there are still things you can do.
The choice of paint colour is one simple thing and, as we mentioned in the above point, white or another light colour combination will help. If you have glass shower screens, cleaning them will also assist as the natural light you do have will be better reflected.
For many bathrooms, adding additional lights will also be necessary. This isn’t exactly cheap, as it will require an electrician, but it will need only a relatively modest amount of money and will make a huge difference to your space.
4. Fixtures
While fixtures such as new taps, shower rails and shower heads can get expensive, it can be worthwhile to replace any that are very outdated. Your vanity mixer or taps and faucet will be a good starting point because it’s the most obvious. Most larger cities have bathroom warehouses where you can purchase quality fixtures at cheaper prices.
5. Towels
Towels and bathmats are relatively inexpensive and purchasing a new set or two is also a great way to add pops of colour. New towels won’t just look better, they’ll also feel great following your shower or bath.
Splurge a little with a new heated towel warmer
Regarding towels and bathmats, as we mentioned in the opener, with the money you’ve saved you’ll be able to afford one or two luxuries, such as a heated towel warmer.
While stepping out of a shower and wrapping yourself in a warm towel is a luxury, there are practical reasons why adding a heated towel warmer to your bathroom makes sense. For example:
- Towels and bathmats that don’t dry between use, or take a long time to dry, provide perfect microclimates for bacteria such as mould. Bacteria can make your towels smell and be unhealthy.
- Heated towel warmers are perfect for colder climates and humid conditions as well.
- Heated towel rails are a more efficient and cheaper way to dry towels, compared with using a dryer.
- If running costs are a concern, choose a super-efficient heated towel warmer like Eskimo’s Gordon. With a Gordon, you can dry four large towels and bathmats for around 30 cents a day.
- Heated towel warmers also look great and provide a statement that many old, tired bathrooms are crying out for.
