The 3 Best Investments for a Bathroom Remodel

Bathrooms are valuable. Their quality has an outsized impact on how much your house is worth. But not all bathroom remodels have equal impact. These three projects will get you the most bang for your buck.

Before you pick up the hammer or nail gun, though, a word to the wise—bathrooms can be tricky. If you don't have experience in areas like plumbing and tiling, it might be smart to hire these projects out. We've seen more than one beautiful house get passed on because of issues like plumbing leaks and warped flooring.

It's really important that when you're taking on a bathroom you take the time to learn the skills required to make the bathroom safe and functional. You want your bathroom to be beautiful, and there's nothing pretty about a bathroom where the electrical doesn't work and there's mold from a million leaks.

1. Flooring

If your bathroom is feeling really dated, updating the flooring can be one way to modernize the look. There are so many affordable flooring options these days that you can fit your aesthetic even on a budget.

We love fun flooring in a bathroom, but even an updated practical flooring makes your bathroom worth a lot more than it was originally. If you decide to update the flooring in your bathroom, make sure to install it carefully so that you don't run into issues in the future.

2. Vanities

Updating the bathroom vanity is our favorite way to instantly give your bathroom a facelift. If you decide to paint your current vanity, a budget-friendly way to improve the look of a bathroom, make sure that you are following all the steps you need to so that the paint sticks to the vanity and you don't get bubbling when the bathroom gets steamy.

You can't just paint over any vanity with any kind of paint, so you're going to need to look into what kind of paint will work for your vanity. Look for something high gloss and moisture resistant.

If you want to purchase a new vanity, there are lots of beautiful options available. We also love the idea of retrofitting an old cabinet or antique piece to fit your bathroom, and if you've got the skills to do that, we say go for it! A retrofitted vanity makes your bathroom look completely custom and unique, all bonuses when it comes to home value.

3. Showers

Everyone has been in a bathroom where there is a shower/tub combo that came pre-made and was just stuck into the bathroom. Chances are if you're living in a home that wasn't custom-built, that's the kind of shower/bathtub combo you have going on in your bathroom right now.

And while there is nothing wrong with these units, if you want to upgrade your bathroom invest in a nice tile shower and separate the bathtub. Now if you don't have space for this, there is a way that you can combine a shower and a bathtub together without using one of these high-end pre-built units.

But if you get the chance, we recommend separating your shower and bathtub and using really aesthetic materials to do so.

Finishing Touches

Like all rooms, bathroom remodels are made or broken in the finishing touches. Consider updating things like the towel bar or toilet paper holder. And consider updating your mirror and your lighting situation in the bathroom, as well. These small tweaks will take your bathroom from looking fine to fabulous.

We understand that these little adjustments can add up, so you may need to make them over a series of months. But when you neglect the details, the bathroom will feel undone. So we definitely recommend making sure that you fine-tune the look. Especially if you're looking to sell in the future.