When focusing on your home’s interior design, bathrooms are often overlooked and neglected spaces. Reclaiming your lavatory as a stylish space that fits well with the rest of the house not only increases the value and enjoyment of your home, but it can also turn a functional space into your personal sanctuary.
Read on to learn how to spice up your bathroom space for functional, visual, and sensual enjoyment!
To help you navigate this list, it’s broken into the following categories:
Asian designs are minimalist and serene. Open layouts and flowing design incorporate natural elements such as wood and bamboo, stone, natural light, accented with oriental indoor décor.
The above project makes a normal-sized bathroom seem very spacious and lush. It incorporates a skylight to create a sense of natural light shining onto the waterfall that is your bathroom. With the skylight already in place, it’s all about wrapping bathroom walls and the tub with natural wood. It’s a simple design, but it’s not trivial and requires masterful work to complete. Estimated cost of this minimalist bathroom design and remodel is $20,000 to $30,000.
With Asian-inspired bathrooms, minimalist design doesn’t mean small. The project below is a great example of a spacious, oriental style bathroom where walls become curved, showers transform into waterfalls, and stone motifs make you feel as though you’re in a garden.
Steuart Gray: This projected consisted of redesigning a small bedroom next to a master bedroom into a master bedroom bath and connecting to the master bedroom, creating a large master bedroom suite.
This is a major remodeling project with an estimated cost of $75,000 to $125,000.
2. Spa-Inspired
Spa-inspired bathrooms bring the feel of being on vacation to your home. The design is modern, yet tranquil and luxurious. It turns the bathroom into a place of escape and rejuvenation.
The above project features His-and-her vanities resting opposite of each each other in this luxurious master bath with a spacious walk-in shower and freestanding soaking tub that overlook the ocean. An adjoining makeup vanity and cushioned seating area add to the elegant design.
The cost of this entire project is not for the faint of heart, and is estimated at between $100,000 to $200,000, depending on the initial setup and the amount of work required. But the concept can be replicated for significantly less money. The central element of this design is the freestanding soaking tub overlooking the ocean, something that can be realized for a lot less.
3. French-Luxury
French designs are luxurious with modern elements. It incorporates modern comforts and richness with marble, wood vanities and crystal chandeliers. Think glamorous dressing area.
Regardless of the style, open space is the key feature of modern bathrooms.
5. Large Showers
Large, open-framed showers with waterfall or multi-showerheads are another key element of modern design.
6. Large Free-standing Tubs
Built-in tubs with jets are being replaced with large, free standing tubs such as a hammock-shaped, bowl-shaped, vessel-shaped, or Japanese soaking tubs. Image Credit: Splinter Works
In this guide, we’re exploring countertops and solid surfaces for kitchens and bathrooms.
Selecting a new countertop for your kitchen can not only be exciting, but it can also be a bit overwhelming. After all, there is such a wide variety of materials to consider, along with their thickness, benefits and drawbacks, colors, costs, and other options.
It’s not at all surprising that many homeowners are easily dazed and confused by the wide array of choices and options. In fact, many people who have already been through the process of installing a new countertop in their kitchen or bathroom will readily attest that it’s not at all an easy choice! 😉
Some of the top questions being asked by many of the “quality and cost” conscious consumers, have to deal with the cost of materials and installation costs for most common surfaces including granite, Formica, quartz, marble, and the good ol’ laminate.
If you have not faced any major remodeling decisions before, then you should know that all modern countertops have their inherent strengths and flaws. It’s up to you to decide which particular factors and material characteristics are most important to you.
Yes, it’s all about your wants and needs! 🙂 — Some of the main ones to consider are: durability, luster, heat resistance, maintenance, price and style.
In this guide, will cover the top ten most common materials for countertop surfaces. We’ll give you the necessary information, so you can make an informed decision.
For years granite has been one of the most popular surface choices among the US homes, owning to its natural beauty, durability, and ruggedness. It’s a natural stone, so every individual slab is 100% unique in its hue, pattern and shading.
Since each piece is different in appearance and size, many consumers will often have go to their local granite warehouse and select the actual pieces of granite that will go into their kitchen or bathroom.
Each slice of granite is approximately 9 to 10 feet long and 5 to 6 feet wide. There are some places carrying granite slabs as large as 12 feet long for those extra long open-space kitchens.
If your countertop is larger than this, the granite will need to be installed in pieces, thus inevitably resulting in some seams.
Pros:
Durable
Unique – One of a Kind!
Scratch-resistant
Stain resistant
Heat resistant
Water resistant (when sealed)
Easily cleaned
Variety of colors and patterns
Cons:
Expensive
High maintenance
Can break when exposed to excessive stresses during transportation or installation
Price: Granite has an average material cost of $55 to $100 per square foot depending on the size, pattern, and thickness of the slab. Although, some select species of granite can be as expensive as $150 to $250 per square foot! It will be a grand total of $3,000 to $6,500 for an average 40 square feet granite surface installed.
Tips: Save money by using a thinner slab of granite, or use granite tiles for a fraction of the cost.
Quartz can give granite a run for its money (especially considering the cost of higher-end granite) surfaces, with the durability and look of natural stone, minus the maintenance. It’s a very hard, impervious to water drops or moisture stone quarried out of the earth, ground into small pieces, mixed together in a sheet layer and held together in a resin as part of its manufacturing process. As with all countertops, it has some advantages and disadvantages.
Like granite it will have seams, but they will be less noticeable. Its consistent look and pattern allows the seams to blend more easily.
Quartz is a nonporous pre-engineered material, so it doesn’t need to be sealed. However, it’s not completely heat resistant. A hot pot can be sat on the counter, but it can’t be left there for very long, as the heat will react with the resin and leave a burn mark!
Pros:
Durable
More flexible than granite, which makes it stronger and more tolerant to stress
Available in glossy and matte finishes
Non-porous
Stain and crack resistant
No sealing
Wide range of colors
Easily cleaned
Antibacterial
Cons:
Not heat resistant
Seams
Price: $65 to $100 per square foot. It will cost you in the range of $3,500 to $5,500 for an average 40 square feet pre-engineered quartz surface installed.
Corian comes in a variety of colors, hues and patterns that can be designed to fit anyone’s style. Choose a stone pattern for a warm, traditional decor, white or black for a minimalist style or brighter colors for a more eclectic look. Custom colors are also available.
Its look is consistent and lends itself to soft curving designs and integrating features like sinks, drain boards and backsplashes.
Wood countertops have been used for hundreds of years. They’re unique, natural and add warmth to any space. Various types of wood and finishes can be used to fit different decor and lifestyles.
For a traditional style use cherry, teak, yellow cedar, mahogany or white oak with an oil finish. For a modern or more carefree wood countertop, you can finish the wood surface with a waterproof varnish. For an eco-friendly, rustic style, reclaimed wood can be used.
Wood naturally contains enzymes which attack and kill bacteria, making it an excellent choice for the kitchen. Although it’s very durable, it’s not impervious to damage.
While the thought of using a butcher’s block countertop as one long chopping block may sound convenient, it’s not advisable. It would cause scratches, chipping and damage to the surface. Other options are to have a separate chopping block or have one built in.
Pros:
Appearance
Works with all designs
Durable
Gentle on glasses and dishes
Heat resistant
Recyclable
Cons:
Maintenance
Requires special care
Must be kept dry
Not scratch and dent resistant
Price: $50 to $100 per square foot installed
5. Laminate
Although it’s often scoffed at by natural material lovers, laminate is still a widely used countertop option. Not only is it budget-friendly, new designs are helping laminate make a huge comeback.
Manufacturers are teaming up with top designers to create amazing on trend designs.
For a fraction of the cost, you can have the look of marble, granite or wood. Or, if your tastes are more modern, you can choose to go with bolder, brighter colors and patterns.
Pros:
Budget-friendly
Variety of styles
Low maintenance
Easily cleaned
Stain resistant
Cons:
Laminate can crack, scratch and scorch over the years
Today’s top two upscale countertop options, granite and quartz, are competitively priced with one another. Granite and quartz are quite different materials, one being a natural stone and another being an engineered composite made to resemble the natural stone.
This guide covers unique properties, pros and cons, looks, maintenance requirements, durability aspects, and pricing considerations for each option.
Cost
Granite countertops cost between $48 and $135 per square foot installed. The cost is largely based on whether you choose tiles or slabs. When going with a full-sized granite slab, its thickness, size (length and width), color pattern and degree of flawlessness or lack of imperfections will affect the overall price on a per sq. ft. basis.
Quartz countertop cost ranges from about $75 to $125 per square foot installed, and engineered stone slabs are used.
Granite
Quartz
Low Cost:
$48 to $80 per s.f.
$72 to $94 per s.f.
Average Cost:
$70 to $104 per s.f.
$84 to $112 per s.f.
High Cost:
$100 to $135 per s.f.
$105-$125 per s.f.
Avg. Total Cost:
(64 sq. ft. of material)
$5,568 or $84/s.f.
$6,272 or $96/s.f.
Did you know? A decade ago, quartz was much more expensive than granite. With higher demand came an increase in production and with it, more cost-effective manufacturing process. That’s why you’ll find outrageous prices for quartz from many pricing sites. The days of $200+ per square foot quartz are gone, but many sites haven’t updated the information in years. 😉
Cost Factors
The cost range for quartz, also known as engineered stone, is narrower than costs for granite. This is because there are fewer variables in quartz. It is a manufactured material, so quality tends to be consistent, and there are no rare colors or types.
The costs above are divided into low, average and high. The more of these factors apply to your project, the higher your cost will be on the spectrum.
Japanese bath house inspired bathroom via Right Arm Construction
via Steuart Gray
