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The Basics: Your Master Bathroom

This is the year of master bathroom remodels. It’s a great time to talk to a professional interior designer about the process of transforming your dated bathroom into a magazine spread-worthy update.

To get off on the right foot, consider a realistic budget and stick to it. New cabinets, new tile, new plumbing fixtures and lighting are major upgrades to your home that add not just style and flare but comfort and value. These upgrades, and the professionals to install them correctly, must be considered an investment. A realistic budget, set by you and your designer, will prevent a gap between expectations and results.

Then, to get started, consider both the style of your home as well as your own style preferences to find the correlation between the two. Even if your home is extremely traditional, and you have caught the mid-century bug, there are correlations. Talking to your designer will help you find a balance to create the look you want within your budget.

The next step in the process is finding the “finishes” — tile for your shower as well as a decorative accent tile, plumbing fixtures, lighting, counter top and wall colors. It’s best to select samples of these, take them home and live with them for a few days and look at them at different times of day to see how the light in the bathroom changes the color of each of these components and how they work together. This is also the time to decide if you want to add tile heat to the bathroom floor for your cold toes in the winter.

If you are using a designer, they can help coordinate all the finishes to make sure they will be the right look for your space. They can also help you find the right contractor to complete the project. Most designers will be involved for the duration of the project to assure the ideas you both decided on will be executed correctly.

The best way to approach a bathroom remodel is to plan it well—with adequate timing, money and the right expectations. You’ll then end up with the bathroom of your dreams.