Are You Making These Bathroom Design Mistakes?

Does your bathroom feel cramped, cluttered or just a bit off? It could be that you’ve fallen prey to one or more design mistakes. Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us. While some may argue that planning a bathroom entails nothing more than the selection of a few fixtures and finishes, design-minded folks know that it is much more complicated than that.

Every detail matters – from the height of your shower head to the size of your tile, and everything in between. We know, it can be a lot, which is why we’ve outlined six common design mistakes to ensure you don’t wind up with a brand-new bathroom that doesn’t feel just right.

1. Copying the Showroom: Carefully crafted showrooms designed to combine utility and luxury are admittedly hard to overlook. While it’s certainly not wrong to derive inspiration from a showroom, you will run into some problems if you try to replicate it entirely. Why? Showrooms are designed with perfect proportions in mind, so that none of the fixtures look cramped or out of place. Unfortunately, most bathrooms aren’t built with the same type of proportions. For example, let’s say you fall in love with an oversized soaker tub in a store showroom. It oozes luxury and inspires daydreams of long, relaxing baths. The trouble is that the footprints of most bathrooms just aren’t suited for a bathtub of that size. So, unless you are completely redesigning yours or taking over a neighbouring bedroom, it’s best to think twice before adding all of the elements that work so perfectly in a showroom. It may end up cluttered and cramped once installed in your space.

2. Ignoring Your Future Needs: If you are renovating a bathroom in your forever home or even a home that you intend to stay in for several years, it’s important to think about the future. While you and your partner may envision an oversized glass shower rather than a bathtub, you might feel differently in the future. Maybe you plan on having kids and will need a bathtub to bathe them. Or, maybe you’ll need the soothing warm water of a bath to ease your worsening sore back as you age. Whatever your future holds, try your best to choose long-term logistics over short-term style – your future self will thank you.

3. Overlooking Subtle Measurements: Measuring a space is often one of the first steps you take when deciding to renovate. You need to know whether you can fit a separate shower and tub or if a combination will have to do. Of course, these measurements are incredibly important, but they aren’t the only ones that matter. Things like the height of a showerhead or the depth of a bathtub are measurements that can easily be overlooked but greatly affect how your bathroom functions for your family. Keep in mind the needs of your tallest and shortest family members so that everyone has access to what they need.

4. Not Having Enough Storage: We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, bathrooms need storage! Without it, even the chicest bathroom can quickly lose its appeal. Think about your family’s toiletries, cleaning supplies, and towel storage and plan out where you will keep it in your new space. Don’t forget to consider counterspace as well. You may optimistically think that your family will put away their belongings if there is enough storage near the sink, but that probably isn’t going to happen. Make sure your vanity has enough space for everyone to leave at least a few things behind without it looking overly cluttered.

5. Choosing the Wrong Type of Finishes: When designing a bathroom, choosing compatible finishes is one of the most important decisions you can make for the longevity of your bathroom. Unlike every other room in your home, the bathroom deals with a lot of moisture and humidity. This doesn’t mean you can’t use design elements like wallpaper, but it does mean you have to carefully consider where you place it. Although you can use regular wallpaper in a bathroom, you must have a highly-functioning ventilation system to ensure that the humidity doesn’t cause it to peel over time. It’s also important to avoid placing wallpaper in a location where it will come in direct contact with water. If this all sounds like too much or your design requires wallpaper in a splash zone, choose a waterproof wallpaper and you won’t have to worry about it.

6. Not Having a Tiling Plan: Tile plays a massive role in most bathroom designs, which is why it can easily make or break a space. Choosing tile that’s too small can make your bathroom feel cluttered and small. But tiles that are too large for a small space will require numerous cuts that can end up looking messy. The pattern and finishing edges of tile can also make a massive impact, so you’ll want to communicate your desired aesthetic to whoever is handling your installation.

While bathroom design may not be considered an exact science, it certainly involves many moving parts. Keeping these common mistakes in mind will help ensure your bathroom becomes the perfect oasis you’ve always desired.