So you wanna remodel your bathroom?
Well, how would it help you if I told you the 5 biggest mistakes I made when remodeling our TWO bathrooms last year?
It would totally help you out right? I’m sure it would give you more confidence in doing your own DIY bathroom remodel, so you can create the bathroom of your dreams (on a budget of course).
Well today I am going to cover 5 different mistakes we made when we did our own DIY bathroom remodel last summer. Some of the bathroom remodeling mistakes we’ll cover are:
- Not budgeting enough time
- Not building a solid budget
- Improper planning for storage
- Dim vanity lighting
- Choosing too trendy of features.
We learned a lot, and I wanted to pass on the biggest bathroom renovation lessons I learned to you. So read on, and let’s get started droppin’ knowledge.
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Mistake #1 – Underestimating how much time everything takes to DIY
We are not hard core DIY’ers so everything took longer than expected, and we only took 1 week off work for remodeling TWO small bathrooms (except for the shower/tub area).
We built a little timeline at the beginning (based on loose estimates), but the DEMO day took way longer than we thought. We did find asbestos flooring almost immediately so that put us a stop on one bathroom, so we switched to working on the other one.
Another thing we underestimated on our timeline – tile!
Tile requires TONS of prep work: leveling the floor, laying backerboard (which has to be mortared then dry), laying the mortar and tile (which then has to dry 24 hours before grouting), then applying grout.
Here are a couple of awesome YouTube videos about prepping and laying tile, they should totally help you budget enough time:
Video: Prepping Subfloor for Tile
How to Install Large Format Ceramic Tile
Anyways – make sure to budget AT LEAST an extra day in your timeline to cover for any unexpected delays. Maybe more if this is your FIRST time remodeling a bathroom.
Mistake #2 – Not building out a solid budget
We definitely spent more money than we thought we would. Part of what threw us over is we decided to do a pocket door mid-way through the project. That really threw us over budget.
Sometimes you get going on your project and a contractor might say, “it’s better to do it now, while the wall is open.” Or at least we did.
Maybe you’ll find something nasty that you have to fix: dry rot, termite damage, water damage, mold, asbestos, etc.
Or maybe you want to change something at the last minute, or someone suggests a better finish or newer gadget halfway through the project.
So to stay within a set budget – add at least 10% contingency to your bathroom remodeling budget for the unexpected. Running out of money (or going into major debt) is a major bathroom remodeling mistake.
Check out my post: 9 Ways to Save on a Bathroom Remodel Costs for more on budgeting tips.
Mistake #3: Improper Planning for Storage
Storage is super important in any bathroom – especially if it’s small. Make sure you plan storage solutions for all your grooming supplies, makeup, cleaning supplies, etc.
In the shower/tub area – make sure you plan a spot to put shampoo, body wash, and so on. Just putting stuff on the floor is no bueno.
When we re-did our tiny guest bathroom we left one thing out – somewhere to hang our bath towels! The previous owners had a towel bar above the toilet and I hated it. I just think it’s gross to put your towel over the toilet but there is literally no other good spot to hang it.
We previously had a hook on the back of the door for towels. However, when we decided to put in a pocket door, that option went away.
I did find some suction cup hooks from Amazon that work pretty well for towels. I just stick it to our acrylic shower wall. These are similar to what I bought:
My advice is to think about wall your storage solutions well in advance when you plan out your space – even down to placing towel hooks and bars.
Mistake #4: Dim Vanity Lighting
So we decided to use a “sconce” in place of a traditional vanity light. This sconce has 2 light bulbs with a crystal clear globe shade. When I put the first light bulbs in, it was WAY too bright. So I had to use 40 Watt equivalent warm light bulbs to avoid searing my eyelids off.
Anyways, these “naked” bulbs are not the most ideal light to see to do makeup, grooming, etc. A more traditional “frosted” lamp shade (like below) would help diffuse light properly, and might have been a better choice.
Mistake #5: Choosing too trendy features
So we all want our bathrooms to be “in style” right? Well, I love embracing trends, but I am a firm believer that choosing classic, timeless features will not only improve the home’s resale value, but will help your bathroom design stand the test of time.
One bathroom remodeling mistake I made was buying a more trendy mirror and vanity light (above) that are black metal finishes. I mixed this with my more classic vanity in marble and white.
My thought process was, if the mirror and light go out of style, they are MUCH easier to change than an entire vanity.
So if you want to embrace trends – pick items that are easy to change out: mirrors, lights, faucets, paint, etc.
Pick more classic, timeless finishes such as your vanity, countertop, flooring, and shower/bath design. The patterned tile floors I see so often today make me cringe as I fear they will be out of style quickly. Changing out tile is a huge pain!
Wrap Up
Well I hope this “reveal” of my biggest mistakes helped you out in designing your bathroom of your dreams.
The biggest bathroom remodeling mistakes we reviewed were: Not budgeting enough time, not building a solid budget, improper planning for storage, dim vanity lighting, and choosing too trendy of features.
Check out my full guide for more tips and tricks to make your project a success: DIY Bathroom Remodel: Beginners Guide.
Which mistake makes you cringe the most? I’d love to hear in the comments below! Also feel free to ask me any questions if you think you are making a mistake in your own bathroom design – I’d love to help!
