Tips for a Bathroom Remodel

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Before you start, it’s important to know the costs for doing your bathroom. Know the measurements of your bathroom and any specific demands it may have, like past issues with plumbing or pre-existing problems. Use the measurements to estimate the amount of materials you’ll need, and what you plan on replacing of your sink, toilet, shower, bathtub, cabinets, flooring, and light fixtures. A remodeled bathroom can add value to homes in St. George.

While this is definitely the time to be crafty and use your own home improvement skills, know what your limits are and when to hire a professional – especially when it comes to things like wiring or plumbing in the bathroom. Here are some additional tips to take into consideration when remodeling a bathroom in St. George.

Bathroom in St. George

New lid and top for toilet

Instead of completely throwing out a toilet and purchasing a new one, consider replacing the toilet lid and top cover. These small changes could make an old toilet look new.

Open shelves instead of cabinet

Give your bathroom a bit more breathing room by installing open shelves instead of a large cabinet. Not only are these lighter to move and easier to install, but they can provide just as much storage space for your towels, soaps, toilet paper, and other items.

Use reclaimed materials

Use reclaimed wood panels, unused tile from Craigslist, or old materials from past projects to make a bathroom look vintage without paying the price of new materials. Pull old items out of your storage unit in St. George, or use recovered pieces from yard sales to get antique items at a low price.

It’s easier to splurge in bathrooms

Since bathrooms are some of the smaller rooms in our house, it’s a lot easier on your wallet to splurge on premium materials than if you did the same in other rooms of your house. The cost of replacing your kitchen countertops with granite is a hefty sum, but installing a granite countertop for your bathroom sink is going to be a small fraction of the price. Other premium items, like backsplash tile or beautiful lighting pieces, only need to be bought in small quantities. You may be surprised by a few of the premium items you can fit in your budget.

More lighting with new light fixtures or skylight

Lighting is everything for any room. While natural lighting from windows and skylights is ideal, you can still spruce up an old bathroom with beautiful new light fixtures. You can find a wide variety of fixtures like vanity lights, rustic lights, or modern light fixtures online to bring more light to your bathroom.

Brighten up the paint

Old bathroom paint is often the grungiest of all rooms you’ll find in a house, considering the amount of humidity the paint has to withstand. A simple paint job – using light colors or bright colors – can have a huge impact on the overall feel of a bathroom. For tight budgets on a bathroom remodel, use paint as one of your first go-to’s.

If you have a tiny bathroom, consider a corner sink

A simple solution for small bathrooms, but often overlooked. Moving your sink to the corner and utilizing a corner sink can free up a lot of elbow room in your bathroom.

Downsizing Houses – Is It the Best for You?

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Everyone wants a bigger, nicer home, don’t they? As much as large houses are desired by homeowners, it might be a good idea to consider downsizing if you are at the right stage of your life. If your kids are moving out or you find that your current house size is too much effort to maintain, you might want to consider a downsize for your next home. Here is a list of things to consider when looking for your next home or you’re thinking about a downsize.

Less maintenance

Having a smaller home means that it takes less energy to heat and cool down, less effort to clean than a large house. Not only will this save you more money on top of having a lower house payment, but it will save you time as well. Other basic maintenance tasks, like cleaning windows, fixing the roof, painting the house, will likely be less expensive and less timely. Smaller homes will also likely have smaller property taxes and utility bills to save you money.

If you move frequently for work

If you are constantly shuffling cities every few years for work, it’s more convenient to downsize on your stuff and pick a smaller home for your next place. This makes it easier for each move – less rooms to pack up, less furniture and other belongings. Once you become more settled and are more confident in the permanence of where you want to live, then that is a good time to start looking for a larger home. Temporary homes that are unnecessarily large create more hassle for you when moving. Likewise, if you plan on moving again in the future, for whatever various reasons – work, children, etc. – it’s best for you as the homebuyer to stick with smaller homes until you’re ready to settle down for a long period of time.

Pay off your other debts faster

With a smaller house (and usually a smaller price tag), you can focus on paying off your other debts faster, saving thousands in the long run. By switching to a smaller house with 2/3s of the mortgage payment as before, you can divert that extra money to paying off your vehicles, student debt, etc. At the same time, you can divert that money to your retirement funds or other investments that will pay off greatly down the road.

Less stuff = less stress

Is less more? Many people find happiness in simplicity, and simplifying your life can start right in your home. Eliminating your stuff into only what you actually need reduces stress and can lead to a happier household. You can always start by storing what you don’t need in a storage unit, and coming back to it later to see if it’s something you want to keep around. Have a garage sale, pass on unneeded clothes and furniture to family or friends, or donate them altogether. A smaller home is a smaller mental investment, and might help settle your mind. And since a smaller home means less materials and resources, it also means that it is a greener home and has less of an environmental footprint.

Other tips to take into consideration:

-Take emotion out of the decision

-Consider location. A smaller house in a more expensive area might end up costing you more than a large house in a rural area.

– Take into account other fees with different housing options on top of rent when calculating how much money you’ll be saving