Basement Remodeling

Today’s basement bathrooms: small spaces  that can have big design

The bathroom in your basement is one of the smallest but it typically sees the most traffic, especially when you’re entertaining guests. It is the perfect opportunity to take a risk and design a space your guests won’t soon forget.

Before you start construction on the basement  figure out the floor plan of your space. Then figure out your personal style. Do you want contemporary or traditional decor ? How will it fit in with the rest of the basement. To get great new ideas and keep current on trends, look at remodeling magazines, search for basement remodeling images on Picasa or Google images, visit a local plumbing – bath showroom, or check out home improvement websites. You can find articles on recent trends  and new bath products that can help you determine what products best fit your needs.

When working with a relatively small space every styling detail counts. Some manufacturers product sets are making it  easier for homeowners to coordinate their pieces. This way each element in the room is designed to perfectly match each other.

Lavatory Sink & Faucet

Most homeowners we deal with are trying to maximize space in their basement bathroom. Usually a pedestal sink is the best way to do that. A pedestal sink provides a clean, open look to the area. The only drawback is a loss of storage space. You can offset that by installing custom built ins or a small closet. If a pedestal sink isn’t your style you can use a sink base cabinet with a granite top and under mount sink. You can also use a  vessel sinks. This is where the bowl sits on the top of a vanity cabinet. Vessel sinks are becoming one of the latest trends in bathrooms and add a unique design to the space.

There are many different styles of bathroom faucets. Popular versions include wide-spread faucets ,vessel fillers and wall-mount faucets. The faucet and finish you choose will help pull the decor together . Many of them have matching accessories for towel bars and toilet paper holders.

Toilet

The toilet is one of the most important elements. You want to choose a model that is not only stylish but also highly reliable. Again many  toilets are now designed as part of a collection to  match your sink and the other pieces in your bathroom. Most popular choice is the elongated bowl model with a good water efficiency.

Shower Surround, Doors & Valve

The shower can be the centerpiece of your bathroom. The latest trend is accented tile walls with borders or inlays and poured pans with  tile floors. Add a seat or built in wall niche for a little pizzazz.  The shower valve should match your faucet or you could even upgrade to a unit that has body spray jets.

The shower doors are also an important aspect to the bathroom. Our favorite and again most popular is a frameless shower door system. It has a track on the top, bottom and two sides but the glass has no frame around it. This makes it not only were appealing visually but also easy to clean. You can get the doors and the glass in several different finishes so make sure that the finish you choose compliments the rest of the bathroom.

Accessories

You’ll still have to pick out a mirror, light fixtures, cabinets and hardware along with toilet paper holders, towel bars, etc. That’s usually easily done after you get the rest of the bathroom fixtures picked out. Check out the recommended bathroom remodeling books below.