Renovating your bathroom can have a profound impact on your life since you spend a huge amount of time there every year. It’s one of your home's most functional rooms but not always the most comfortable or convenient. But that can change.

If you have been considering a bathroom renovation but umming and ahhing about whether you should remodel or not then why not kick start the process and start planning right now? You aren’t committing to anything and you will end up with a bathroom design ready for the future.

Don’t think too far ahead right now, there is no need to schedule the builders, plumbers, tilers or waterproofers. 

Let’s bring it back to square one - planning. Because as the saying goes if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.

Our team of bathroom renovation experts have put together these industry tips and tricks together to make planning your bathroom renovation easy as possible. 

Budget

It’s important to start planning your bathroom renovation by calculating your budget since it will add context to all your future decisions. It will be easier to filter your bathware options, decide on tile ranges and set limitations on yourself.

There are obvious things you will want to budget for, such as a vanity, bathroom tiles and towel racks so we won’t go over that right now. 

Instead, here are some often forgotten items you need to allow in your budget for the bathroom renovation:

Pipe Fixtures: consider any plumbing position changes or structural alterations because moving your shower from one side of the bathroom to another will require pipes to be moved.

Rubbish Removal: Your tradies may include this in their quote but if you’re a DIY hero and wanting to lift some of the load yourself then you may want to add skip hire to your bathroom renovation budget.

Moving Walls: If you plan on knocking down a wall just keep in mind it might be load bearing. The cost of removing a wall might not be large but if it bears load then contingencies must be planned and built. 

Unexpected Costs: Chances are something will arise during the process that will cost you money. What that something might be is impossible to say right now. We suggest adding a buffer to your budget to cover this.


Travertine | Sand <pictured above> or visit the Travertine Range page

Emerging Budget Trend - Splurge Items!

Alright, so budgeting for your bathroom renovation might be a mood killer but this emerging trend will get you through the pain.

Our tile showroom bathroom renovation experts have helped countless families plan their bathroom reno’s and have noticed this emerging budget trend: even though couples have a set budget they will allow extra budget for one key-design piece for their bathroom (or to ‘splurge’ on) that will make the bathroom pop.

For some couples it is a highly decorative bathroom tile that adds flair to their bathroom. For others it will be spending extra on a showerhead to really invest in the enjoyment of having a shower. 

What will yours be?



Bathroom Dimensions

Get the tape measure out and a pen and paper.

Here are the things you will want to to include in your measures to get get an accurate layout of the existing bathroom:
  • Walls (height and length)
  • Doors
  • Windows
  • Ceiling fan location
  • Plumbing points (where taps/drains are)

Now you have a canvas! Plus, understanding your limitations will assist you filter down your options to simplify and streamline the bathroom design process.

Straight away you might notice you can’t fit a double vanity, spa bath, shower, toilet and an elaborate six level heated towel rack. Good - progress already.

Your Peronal Critera

The fun part - picking the elements of the bathroom you want and need.

Since you’re in the planning phase this is where you can throw around your aspirations and discover what you want to see in your bathroom renovation.

There are a few requirements with every bathroom renovation, such as bathroom tiles, vanity, mirror, ceiling fan, a towel rack and probably a shower.

After that the real fun begins with the variety of bathware available to you. Think of it as the ‘this or that’ questions like going with a free standing bathtub vs built in bathtub, tap syles, tap colours, mirror sizes, floor tiles, wall tiles, decorative tiles, shower heads, colours of shower heads - the list goes on and your creativity will flair.

You can really delve into the design process and create a mood board. Volare will even give you tile samples at our tile showrooms, or contact us to have tile samples posted to your home.

Bonus Tip: When browsing inspiration there are some things the influencers on Instagram tend to gloss over that you might require. Here are a few things that might slip your attention: lighting, ceiling fans, shower curtains, power point locations, etc.



Get Hands-On With The Tiles

Choosing tiles for your new bathroom is non-negotiable because you aren’t going to be lining your wet room with carpet. 

The good news is that Volare Tiles are the absolute experts in the area and have tile ranges online, tile showrooms and free online design consult services standing by to help you pick the perfect bathroom tile.

And don’t forget to plan your bathroom tile grout colour! It’s often overlooked when planning a bathroom renovation but does need to be considered. You can learn all about it in our comprehensive tile grout resource.

Anything Else to Consider?

Take some before photos! You don’t want to finish your project and realise you never took before photos to compare your wonderful bathroom renovation to.

Visit a Volare showroom - the tile experts are awesome to bounce ideas with. Plus, they’ll guide you through the showroom and allow you to get hands-on with the tile ranges, sizes and colours you can consider using for your bathroom.  


Need more information on Bathroom Tiles? We have written an Ultimate Guide to Bathroom Tiles here that covers all you need to know about bathroom tiles, from types of tile materials and finishes, expert cleaning tips to how to choose them.