Few areas of the house are capable of increasing the overall value of the property like the bathroom.
It is one of the key areas that are closely inspected by prospective purchasers, and while it may not be as spacious and glamorous as many of those featured in home maker magazines, there are some simple things you can do to greatly improve the image and functionality of your bathroom.
An attractive and functional bathroom does not need to be exceptionally large. Relatively speaking, most bathrooms are quite small compared to other rooms in a house.
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In most cases, extending the bathroom is not possible as a result of either cost restraints or physical limitations to the building. As a result you may need to be a little creative in finding ways to improve the appearance and functionality of your bathroom.
Fixtures
While remodeling the bathroom may be expensive it may be necessary to get the most value out of the room. If the room can comfortably manage it there could be benefits to adding additional fixtures. You might want to consider adding a toilet into the bathroom if there is not already one in there.
Adding an extra toilet can be an attractive selling point, especially for large families. There will be some additional plumbing work required and this will need to be done by a registered plumber, but given the plumbing already associated with the room it would be relatively cheap to add this into the remodeling cost. Alternatively consider side-by-side basins.
Shower/Bath or both?
If your bathroom is quite small consider installing a bath/shower combination unit. Having a bath is a definite advantage as there are an increasing proportion of people who find relaxing in a bath important to their overall well-being. In contrast, there are people who prefer to shower and are too impatient to use a bath. When it comes to resale only having one or the other can discourage potential purchasers.
Storage
While not being one of the major storage rooms in the house, every bathroom could do with a little extra storage. Whether it is for personal items, bath items or towels there are always options available for increasing storage. Open shelving may be an option but you will need to ensure that this space will be maintained in a tidy and inviting manner.
You may also consider changing the vanity space. If you have a pedestal vanity it may be worth changing this to a cupboard style vanity.
Heating and Ventilation
One of the best additions that can be added to the bathroom is a combined lighting/heating and ventilation unit. There are a number of units available that can be used for one or all of these characteristics.
They offer superior lighting capacity compared to standard lights while offering the benefit of radiating heat towards the individual after bathing and efficiently removing any steam generated in the room.
Remodeling a bathroom will inevitably involve qualified trades people if you are considering moving or altering fixtures. The results though are worth the expense and can dramatically change the look and overall value of your house.
by Manuel Kupka
