Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa July 2013 | Page 34

IMPROVING

BY ANGELIQUE REDMOND

Bathroom Remodelling
From bare basics to absolute excess

T

he t hought of remodel l ing you r
bathroom will either fill you with joy or
have you crying in the corner. Regardless
of which image enters your mind, you can turn
your loo and bath into a luxurious centre of calm.
There are 13 top trends in bathroom remodelling
you can apply to your home.

Remodelling on a budget
If you are constrained by a budget then don’t
despair: there are a number of ways you can
make your dreary bathroom look almost new.
The first thing to look at is your f loor, if you
have a tiled floor, then fix old, cracked or broken
tiles. It doesn’t take long to learn how to fix a
tile or grout, the main thing you need to have is
patience and accuracy. There is no point fixing
the tiles only to have gaps or skew tiles mar your
effort.

A new coat
A new coat of paint can instantly revitalise your
bathroom. If your bathroom walls are covered
in wallpaper, get rid of it, hire a steamer and
take it down, then apply a fresh coat of white
paint to the walls, this will open up the space
and instantly update your bathroom’s look and
feel. If the paint needs a new coat, then ensure
you don’t just paint over flaky, sticky or peeling
paint. Rather remove the old paint before
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July 2013 SA Real Estate Investor

adding a new coat. Make sure before you paint
that there is no sign of mildew, if you spot some
mildew, add a mildew inhibitor to the paint
before you start on your walls.

Sand them down
If you have existing bathroom cabinets, sand
them down and either paint them or stain
them, depending on what look you are going
for in your bathroom. Another idea is to
whitewash them, and keep the colours in your
bathroom neutral. Whatever paint you use
make sure it’s waterproof.

Fix the fixtures
Replace all your hardware fixtures. New cabinet
or door handles and towel racks and light
fixtures will transform your bathroom without
costing a fortune. Your new could be someone
else’s old, so look at online auctions or markets
for either antique fixtures or modern fixtures at
a bargain price.

It’s all in the plumbing
It’s no good updating the whole look and
feel of your bathroom only to have painfully
slow dribbles of water ruin your bathroom
experience. If you have a water pressure
problem, get a plumber to have a look at it, it
may be something quite small causing the

sluggish water pressure. I once lived without
hot water and a trickle of water coming out my
shower for 2 weeks because the new shower
fittings were too modern for the old pipes.
It took my plumber one hour to remedy the
situation and restore the flow of hot water to my
showering experience.

Accessorise!
Throw out all the old threadbare towels, the
mismatched curtains and worn rugs. It’s time
to go shopping for new towels and hampers and
maybe even a few pictures or plaques on the
wall. You don’t have to buy matching sets, but
try and keep the colours complimentary. Buying
new towel racks and bathroom organisers can
also add that special touch to your bathroom.

When budget is not an issue:
tubs or showers?
While it is ideal to have both, if you have limited
space it’s better to go with either a large airy
shower or a soaking tub. Gone are small little
cubicles with curtains or sliding glass doors,
the showers of today are big ?????????????)??????????????????????????????%????????)????????????????????????????????????????)???????????????????????e?????????????)????????????????????????????????????)???????????????????????????????)??????????????((0