Posted on: March 12, 2007

Better Baths for Better Living, Resale

The choices you make should please your pampering needs, as well as address real estate market trends.

By Matthew M. F. Miller
CTW Features

Smart design choices in remodeling your bathroom will get you the most satisfaction now – and the best returns later.

Before buyers commit to purchasing a house, they like to imagine themselves living there. A worn, dated bathroom can create the kind of mental block that leads to lower – and fewer – offers.

The popularity of bathroom remodels shows that plenty of people are willing to buy a home with dingy baths, but most will factor in the cost of the needed remodel when they make their offer. “Most people today want the new or updated house so they don’t have to fool with it,” says sales agent Mary H. Raymond of Greenville, Del.

Kathy McCleary, a regular contributor to HGTV, advises homeowners on the type of renovations they should choose: "So exactly what should you improve when you redo your kitchen or bathroom? Think traditional: all-wood cabinets, commercial-look appliances, natural wood or stone floors, and stone countertops."

According to Mortgage News Daily, Dallas, Texas, the average American home is 32 years old and regularly needs maintenance and upgrading. This consistent need means that the home improvement market has boomed in the last decade, with expenditures growing from $153 billion in 1995 to about $233 billion dollars in 2003.

The Federal Reserve Board reports that 30 percent of the $333 billion drawn from their home equity between 2001 and 2003 were spent on home renovations.

Here are design tips to update your bath in ways that enhance your living space now and also add to your home’s resale value later.

• Avoid down lights at the vanity. Instead, provide a pair of decorative light sconces flanking the mirror for even illumination.

• Use simple tile patterns and accents to liven up the character of the room.

• Always use a pressure-balanced shower faucet to avoid scalding.

• Consider a banjo countertop that extends over the toilet for more counter space and built-in shelves for towel storage.

• Use a shower curtain rather than a glass enclosure to make the room feel less closed-in. A large mirror also can make a small bath feel bigger.

• If the full bath is to be used only by adults, raise the height of the vanity to 36 inches to make its use more comfortable.

• If the toilet is next to the vanity, consider a banjo countertop with a full mirror at the vanity. It will maximize the sense of space.

•You can give a bath a custom touch by adding a few decorative or hand-painted tiles as an accent within a shower wall or backsplash.

• You can use glass block to replace the window, or as a divider wall between the sink and the toilet. Sometimes it’s possible to replace a section of solid wall between the shower and master bedroom with glass block.

• If budget tradeoffs are necessary, look for ways to save money on things that don’t read as either high- or low-end. Specify a budget toilet, for example, and use the savings to buy a nice faucet that will add a touch of class.

Below are just a few of the questions posed by the National Association of the Remodeling Industry that you should ask yourself when considering the design and function of your new bath. What features would make the bath more comfortable for you?

• How would you like to use your bath?

• Is this a family bath or master bath?

• How many people will be using it?

• Are there enough sinks and counter space for everyone?

• Are there enough baths in the house or should you consider adding another room? (This is usually a concern as children reach their teen years and also as families expand.)

• Do you prefer to take showers or baths? If you like baths, would you prefer a tub and shower combination unit or separate facilities? Have you always wanted a claw-foot tub or would you rather install a whirlpool?

• Do you have adequate storage? (Make a list of all the items you need to store in the bath to ensure proper storage space in the plan. This list also should include cleaning agents, toiletries, linens, first-aid items and medications. Indicate on this list where in the room you would like to store each of these items. For example, you may want some of the toiletries in the shower area, while others will be used by the sink or dressing area. Storage is one of the biggest concerns in any design, particularly in rooms as small as the typical bath. Carefully consider this aspect of the room during your preplanning phase.)

• Have you considered the lighting in your bath?

• If the bath in question is a shared bath for the family, would a separation of the sinks from the rest of the room be helpful?

• Have you considered newer water-saving fixtures? (You still can obtain a water-rich environment with water-saving features.)

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Matthew M. F. Miller, author of “Maybe Baby: An Infertile Love Story” (HCI, 2008), is a syndicated fatherhood blogger

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