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A bathroom is the wettest room in a home, and that is the test every design idea has to pass. A look that works in a living room can fail within a year in a room that fills with steam each morning. Here are five popular bathroom ideas, each with what it needs in order to last.
First, make the room dry out
No finish survives a bathroom that stays damp. The Environmental Protection Agency puts it in one line: the key to mold control is moisture control. Its advice is to run the bathroom fan or open the window when showering and to keep indoor humidity below 60 percent (EPA). New York City’s building code requires a bathroom to be ventilated either by a window or by a mechanical exhaust, and many apartment bathrooms have only the exhaust. If yours is weak, fix that before you spend anything on the ideas below.
A spa-like calm
The idea is a bathroom that feels peaceful, and the usual advice is candles and a clear counter. Those help, but calm that lasts is built in. A niche recessed into the shower wall holds the bottles. A vanity with drawers takes everything off the counter. Lighting on a dimmer, a quiet fan and a narrow range of colors and materials do the rest. Clutter is what makes a small bathroom feel busy, so give everything a place behind a door.
Bold wallpaper
Wallpaper with a strong pattern, floral or otherwise, was everywhere in the 1980s and has come back. It is a good place to be bold, because it is among the cheapest things in the room to change later.
The water test decides where it goes. In a powder room with no shower, almost any paper will do. In a full bathroom, choose a wall covering made for humid rooms, keep it out of the splash zone, and put it on the wall farthest from the shower or above a band of tile. And it depends on the fan: paper in a bathroom that does not dry out will peel at the seams.
Marble
Marble never fully goes away. White with gray or gold veining is the classic, and black marble has its admirers. It is also a costly choice, and it asks for care. Marble is softer and more porous than porcelain. It needs sealing, and acidic cleaners and some toiletries will dull its polish. On a shower floor it will show its age. Some owners like that; many do not.
If the price or the upkeep is out of reach, porcelain tile with a marble pattern is the honest alternative. It needs no sealing and takes any cleaner. A sound compromise is real marble where it stays dry and gets seen, such as the vanity top, and porcelain in the shower.
Whichever you choose, remember that tile and stone are the finish and not the waterproofing. On our jobs the floor and the shower area are waterproofed to the ceiling before any tile goes on.
Plants
Plants give a bathroom a natural, restful look, on a sill, in a corner or across a whole wall. Humidity suits many of them. Light is the limit. A bathroom with a window can keep most low-maintenance houseplants. An inside bathroom with no window cannot keep a living plant for long without a grow light, so be honest about which you have before you plan a wall of green.
Color-blocked zones
This idea gives each of the three areas of the room, the sink, the toilet and the shower, its own single color of tile. It is lively, and it is the most permanent choice on this list, because tile is the hardest thing in a bathroom to change. If you love the colors, build it. If you are less sure, tile the room in a neutral and give one zone, usually the shower, the color. In a small bathroom two colors are plenty.
The order to spend in
Spend first on what keeps water where it belongs: ventilation, waterproofing and sound plumbing. Spend next on what is fixed for years, the tile and the fixtures. Leave fashion to the layer that is easy to change: paint, paper, mirrors, lights and plants.
For the work itself, see bathroom renovation in NYC and our bathroom remodel timeline. Finished rooms are in the bathroom gallery. If space is your first problem, read our 10 design tips for small bathrooms.
Thinking about remodeling your bathroom? Call us. We will tell you which of your ideas the room can carry and what each would take.
Questions people ask
Can you use wallpaper in a bathroom?
Yes, with care. Use a wall covering made for humid rooms, keep it away from direct spray, and make sure the bathroom is ventilated by a working fan or a window. In a powder room with no shower almost any wallpaper is fine.
Is marble a good choice for a bathroom?
It is beautiful and it needs upkeep. Marble is porous and fairly soft, so it must be sealed and can be dulled by acidic cleaners. Porcelain tile with a marble pattern gives a similar look with far less care, and many bathrooms use both.