DIY is a fantastic hobby and a great way to improve and add value to your home. As a nation, Britons will spend around £79bn on DIY this year (2014).
Home improvements are essential and enjoyable for millions of us. A lot of us spend time remodelling kitchens, bedrooms and living rooms. These are the most important rooms in most houses. They’re where we spend the majority of our time. It’s understandable that they’d take up a lot of our time.
It’s important that we don’t overlook other spaces in and around our homes. Lots of houses that look great in all other respects have a nasty bathroom.
It’s easy to neglect a bathroom. After all, we don’t spend long in them each day and unless you are a dab hand at DIY, they can be a bit of a problem when it comes to redecorating.
Let’s take a look at some of our options when it comes to revamping a bathroom.
Bathroom Suite
The first thing to remember when revamping a bathroom is the style. It’s important to settle on a theme before you start. Think hard - a bad choice can knock thousands off the value of your property.
Avocado coloured bathroom suites, which were hugely popular way back in the 70s, are not the way to go. Not that anyone would opt for that or a similar colour these days, but if you are in the buying houses game and come across an example in immaculate condition, rip it out. Don’t be tempted to leave it in place to save a few hundred pounds.
The best and most stylish colour bathroom suite for most homes is white, of course. They’re clean, cheap and go with any colour to care to mention. Try mixing in touches of blue, black, silver or even green. Bathrooms can look a bit samey, so it’s a good idea to be original when decorating.
There are tons of interior design and crafty blogs for you to look at for inspiration. Pinterest is another great source. You could spend hours on there looking at ideas.
Function and Design
You can improve the look and function of your bathroom by fitting heated towel rails and/or new shelving. These touches will make your bathroom a more pleasant place to be.
The shelving will increase your storage space and allow to you to keep all your shaving gear or moisturisers together and within easy reach.
Electrical
Rigging anything electrical in a bathroom can be a little tricky.
Ensure you’re careful when messing around with bathroom electrics. Water can be an issue in any room in your house, but especially so in the bathroom space. It’s easy to cause a leak if you don’t know what you’re doing: drilling into pipes in the most common cause (and yes, I’m guilty of doing that).
Some leaks are not quite so obvious. Leak detection services are available if you do think you’ve made a mistake. And if you think you have, don’t leave it too long before having it checked as water can cause a lot of damage.
Decorating
When decorating a bathroom, tiles are the best choice. That’s obvious to most people who do a lot of DIY. They’re easy to clean and aren’t damaged by water.
Just make sure that they’re level and that you use the right equipment when you’re tiling. Take care to measure out the area before you start. Ensure you’re using the right amount of tiles and that you’ve got the pattern right.
You can always paint some of the bathroom wall and use tiles for the remaining part. Just be sure you’ve got a plan before you start.
Bathrooms aren’t that complicated to improve. The electronics and the plumbing can be awkward, but not if you’re careful. A good DIY expert can revamp a bathroom over the weekend with the right planning. We think the bathroom makes a perfect DIY project. They’re less hard work than a kitchen or living room, but they provide great results to the feel of a home.
Make your bathroom your next project - the results are plain to see.
