Posted on Sun, Jun. 22, 2008
Admit it: You're thinking about a face-lift. You've noticed the little lines forming here, darkened areas emerging there. Features once fresh and sparkling are looking worn and dull.
No need to feel embarrassed. There's nothing wrong with wishing for a mini-makeover - especially when you're talking about your bathroom.
It is a maxim among real estate agents that improvements to bathrooms and kitchens are likely to bring the best return on investment of anything you can do to a house. A dreary, outdated bathroom can be a deal-breaker.
"People typically assign value to a property based on what the bathrooms and kitchen look like," says Donna Evers of Evers & Co., a Washington realty company.
In the Philadelphia region, a mid-range bathroom remodel costing $17,906 recouped $13,504, or 75.4 percent, at resale, according to Remodeling magazine's 2007 Cost vs. Value survey. At the higher end, a bathroom project costing $55,519 recouped $35,813, or 64.5 percent, at resale, the survey says.
Bathroom renovations can get costly fast. But a few nips and tucks costing far less can go a long way.
"Simply switch out an outdated fixture or pop in a fresh shower curtain. The change doesn't have to break the budget," says Arlington, Va., designer Melissa Broffman.
Los Angeles designer Lytel Young, host of HGTV's
Save My Bath, says three things are important: "Clean, simple and orderly. That's the key for every budget, whether it's $500 or $40,000."
A fresh coat of paint and new lighting are easy improvements that have an immediate impact, Young says. A combination of natural and artificial light is optimal, but for bathrooms without windows, sconces on each side of a mirror plus an overhead fixture on a dimmer will do the job.
Evers' recipe for a quick fix: Take a few hours or hire a handyman to recaulk around the tub and shower. Remove the old-fashioned medicine cabinet - "They holler
outdated at you, plus they're not big enough" - and replace it with a mirror as large as you can make it. "It will double the size of the bathroom visually," she says.
If you're not going to do a full remodel, be careful about what you choose and how much you spend, cautions Herbert Stanwood, senior project designer in the kitchen and bath division at Case Design in Bethesda, Md.
To save money, you might decide to keep an old tub and tile that are still in pretty good shape. But remember that those older elements can suddenly appear much more tired next to a new vanity, countertop, mirror and lights.
If you're concerned about payback, a chorus of experts advises, be conservative.
"Don't do anything that's really trendy or oddly shaped," Young says. "Two years from now, you're going to look at it and say, 'What was I thinking?' "
You may adore turquoise and tangerine, but resist the urge to express it through bathroom tiles. Stick with a neutral base and bring in color preferences though towels and accessories that can be inexpensively replaced.
Popular choices for today's remodels include frameless glass shower doors, stone countertops and vanities that are kitchen-cabinet height, and water-saving dual-flush toilets. And, in a reversal of a trend from 20 years ago, homeowners now want smaller tubs and larger showers.
"People don't have time to draw a bath, but they still want to indulge themselves," Stanwood says. "They want luxury. They want a really nice shower."
A budget of $500 is plenty for small changes such as these:
Paint is the instant freshener. Special effects draw attention to the walls and away from old fixtures. Use painter's tape to mark horizontal bands or vertical pinstripes and combine colors. Or create a tone-on-tone effect using three finishes (flat, semigloss, high-gloss) of one color.
Get a new shower curtain. A polyester or cotton-polyester blend resists mold and mildew better than cotton.
Replace builder-grade strip lights with light sconces on either side of the mirror. Or install a small chandelier.
Buy new towels and accessories (waste cans, tissue holders, soap containers).
Install a wall-mounted shelf over the sink, for a toothbrush, clock and bud vase.
A budget of $1,500 means you can make some larger improvements:
Bead-board wainscoting is an affordable alternative to adding or replacing bathroom tile. Premade panel systems are designed for easy do-it-yourself installation.
Update a worn laminate vanity countertop with natural or man-made stone. Visit a local stone yard and ask about discounted slabs of granite or marble.
Reglazing or resurfacing damaged or dated tubs and tiles with an acrylic coating is much less expensive than replacing them.
Update windows with wood blinds or shutters; bamboo, reed or grass shades add a natural element.
email this
print this
today's