Modernizing a bathroom can be complicated and costly or easy and affordable – all it takes is some imagination and savvy shopping. For most folks a total renovation is simply not in the budget but there is still a lot you can do to spruce up a tired tub or a dated vanity – new bathroom faucets and modern drawer pulls are two examples and there are plenty more. Assuming you need to live with the existing bathtub, sink and toilet, this means your floor plan will remain largely unchanged but it still leaves lots of room for improvement.
The best place to begin is by clearing out the room. It is also important to figure out how to thoroughly clean your room. Discard or donate any toiletries, towels, bath mats or other items you no longer need or want because they take up valuable storage space. Take down any window treatments and try to clean during daylight hours so you can really see what you are doing. Use a glass and hard surface cleaner to make windows, mirrors and metal fixtures shine. Also, make sure not to forget to clean the light fixtures. Take the time to replace any burned out or missing light bulbs with new ones at the highest wattage recommend for the fixture; this is a good opportunity to make the switch to energy efficient CFL or LED bulbs if you have not already done so.
Naturally you can paint or paper the bathroom to give it a new look but you can also make dramatic changes by simply replacing textiles such as the shower curtain, window treatments, rugs and towels. A new toilet seat coupled with a new flush handle can be used to modernize a dated toilet; replace drawer pulls and cabinet knobs to update medicine cabinets and vanities. When selecting new bath hardware you can also pick up coordinating shower curtain hooks and bath accessory sets to create a designer look.
Often it is the bathroom lighting which can make or break a room – a harsh overhead light fixture does not do much to add ambience to a bathroom yet they seem to be standard issue. Most light fixtures can be easily updated with new shades or globes or simply replaced if they are out of style or no longer functional. Not only is the light fixture an important design element, the type of bulbs you use and the amount of light each fixture puts out has a lot to do with how well you can see and use the bathroom.