The best of my half bath addition and the current full bath remodel:

* black penny tiles! they look awesome in my half bath
* removing the stupid & weird hallway closet to move the wall for the full bath, now we have room for a double sink vanity!
* double niches in the shower! one for DH and one for myself (I'll probably take over both of them soon)

does anyone have a sun tunnel skylight in their bathrooms? do you recommend it?

We have a Solatube sun tunnel in our main bathroom and LOVE it. There is no natural light in that room and it is unbelievable how much light it brings in (and the tube is 10' long to the roof). I also put in the exhaust and it works very well and love the integrated look.

We also put in 2 other tubes in our hallways. We plan on adding another Solatube next year in our half bath when we redo our roof (even though installation is mostly done on existing roofs). And down the pike, when we redo our shower, we plan on adding one over our shower because it is in its own room with the toilet. The window is in the main room with the vanities and jacuzzi.

You will NEVER regret adding one....or two...or three...or more!

susan: we put Solatubes in the kids' bathrooms and you're right - they're great!

Our other best idea was raising all the counter heights to 39". We're tall (the kids are in middle school and already 5'7" and 5'10"; DH and I are taller.)

Our old bathroom counters were only 33" tall. It was like washing your face down by your knees - it just wasn't comfortable. So now all the bathroom and kitchen counters are 39" high. Ahhhh - much more comfortable for us! (And we have more storage room too.)

Here is what is going on now, we are almost done converting a closet into a bathroom! Would love feedback on it! Click here to my blog Happy Renovations

Here is a link that might be useful: Happy Renovations

I would also add one very important decision we made after several disasters over the past two houses: rebuilding our shower/tub surround with "mud" underneath, that is concrete applied to a wire frame, rather than hardi-backer or cement board. The tiles are on the walls for a very long time. It is a strong, stable base, plus the shower pan will not leak for decades, if ever. This is the fundamentally best decision we made.... then the Solatubes. Then white tile. Elegant forever.

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Heated stone floors!

Yup -- heated floor, for sure. I also love the open shelves by my sink for partially hidden storage for everyday items. Oh, and the handheld shower head. And the additional glass tiles around the tub-shower. And my Kohler Expanse tub.

Worst decision was Kohler Memoirs toilet. Should have gone with Toto. Kohler Kelston tub faucet has failed, too.

Another bad decision was the company I used to purchase fixtures. Woman was a complete idiot and got more wrong than right.

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We've renovated two bathrooms in the past two years, and an additional one in our old house 5 years ago. Although there are lots of things I love about the new bathrooms, the absolute #1 best decision was to install radiant heat under the tile floors. We did it the low budget way (DIY, we laid the electric cable -not mats- under self leveling compound, then tiled) so it cost less than $300 in materials for a small bathroom. They are on a timer. It is just sooooooo wonderful and luxurious to walk into the bathroom and have a cozy warm floor. Guests always comment on it, too :)

The second best thing, perhaps, are built-in shampoo niches. I LOVE the way they look, and that they keep shampoo bottles off the tub edges, ledges, and generally out of sight. We have multiple niches including tall, multi-shelved ones that hold a lot of stuff.

Third is bigger shower space. In the small hall bath we accomplished this by using a "Crescent Rod" for the shower curtain on a normal-sized tub. In the master, we made a 3 x 5 separate shower and a separate soaking tub.

Fourth is a good quality handheld shower on a slide bar. In our master we have one in addition to a regular showerhead; in the hall bath it's INSTEAD of a regular showerhead.

Our best decision was hiring a designer and general contractor with the skills necessary to renovate our 1982 master bathroom, with its Olympic-size bath tub "time machine".

{{gwi:1394236}}

Literally, an entire ton of tile was removed, an immense tub so large midgets could easily swim laps....

Here is a link that might be useful: Master bathroom renovation underway...

Getting in touch with a friend in Europe. She gave me the address of the website that supplies her plumber with the cheapest little bathroom makeover/upgrade you have ever seen.

Here is a link that might be useful: Basin/sink overflow covers

My best decision (in addition to many of the others cited in this thread--Toto washlet, heated floors, etc., etc., etc.) was putting two separate hampers in my double vanity--one for darks and one for lights. Doing laundry is so much easier now--virtually no separating required. We have a five bank vanity. On the extreme left and right we have a shallow drawer with a hamper underneath. Under the sinks are two pullout shelves. The middle is a bank of stacked drawears.

Installing a variety of lighting options, each on their own switch. Our electrician had a lot on input on this- lighting is 'art' to him. We used good Lutron equipment.. worth every (extra) penny!

there are 3 vanity lights on a dimmer, can light over the toilet, lit makeup mirror, a ceiling fixture, tub reading light on a dimmer, tiny LED lights throughout the bathroom and shower niche and 2 fantech dimmable halogens in the shower. We also put a dimmable motion sensor in the master closet so the light turns on as you're opening the pocket door.

Tied for first would be the bain ultra tub with lights.

2nd would be the beverage fridge. A close 3rd, the in-wall stereo/ipod/cd player with ceiling speakers.

Biggest regret is not putting in a heated floor. A friend kind of talked us out of it and we thought about it a lot this past winter. I'm sure I won't miss it in the heat of summer!

So much good advice here! A few things I am happy about - we nixed the fireplace in the master bedroom, which helped to square off and enlarge the master bath because we did not have to accommodate a chimney (I am thankful for that everyday since I use the bath every day but would not have used the fireplace that much).

We went with a high end, low profile glass door but not a frameless door. Since our shower is not huge, I do not even notice the difference but it saved us $1k.

We went with custom cabs which maximized our storage. It also enabled me to hide the outlets in the cabinets - which cleaned up the aesthetics and is perfect for toothbrush chargers, etc.. (I love having my hairdryer already plugged in, so I can just grab it in the morning).

We added a skylight at the last minute and I love being able to look up at night and see the stars - our roof has a high pitch so leaves, etc blow off and it does not get dirty from all the trees (which is something I was worried about).

After having shared a bath with two little boys (we live in a 1920's colonial) it is heaven on earth to have a spacious masterbath. It was worth the 7 year wait!

very smart question...its good to do careful planing.
whan my clients ask me what to add in terms of bath accessories i usually recommend the flooring heating system.
i refer my clients to this unique web site shop...
they got some nice hard to find stuff

Here is a link that might be useful: For bath remodeling

Just_julie: Tell me about this "in-wall stereo/ipod/cd player with ceiling speakers" that you included in your bathroom! I've been wanting to find something like that. Can you share pictures? Information about what you bought and how it's installed? Thanks!

We are in the process of remodeling a bathroom. The skylight over the shower has been installed and I totally love it. It's 2'x 2'. We are putting an outdoor/wet rated light fixture on the wall. I am waiting for my second sky light that will go over the vanity. It is 30"x17". We got Velux, frosted skylights.

My best decisions were as follows:

--Kohler Mendota cast iron tub
--Carrara marble look-a-like tiles in the tub surround
--Moen Curved shower rod instead of a glass door
--Expresso Framed mirror

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I don't know how I got an update to this thread TODAY when the last post was Oct 14, 11.

I guess my BEST decisions in the master bath were Bain Ultra air tub, Washlet and Tapmaster. And altho it broke my heart to do so, using a porcelain travertine-look tile vs real travertine. No one that has come into the bathroom to look at it has realized it wasn't real travertine :)

Yes monica, this is an old post. I haven't read through but probably some very very helpful ideas.

I moved a wall to enlarge the room. I moved all plumbing and electrical to enhance the function.

I used porcelain in my shower and am so happy I did, so easy to clean and care for. The printed patterns on procelain are so realistic, I would do it again.

Drawers in my vanity that are deep. I put towels and underwear in there :) 2 shallow drawers for first aid, tooth care supplies, and makeup.

I love my advanced toilet seats too.

I put a small stacked laundry set in one bathroom and love it. So convenient.

I like the heated floors.

I love the cast iron shower pan!!!

Blocked for grab bars in the shower and the toilet. Have grab bars up too.

Large rainshower head is great. Handheld shower in there as well.

Fan in the shower with a light, as well as another one over by the toilet. Both meet up in the attic to a motor.

Best: Shower niches, oversized porcelain tiles ( fewer grout lines to clean), gutting and replacing rotten floor boards, installing recessed light over shower, pebble shower floor (with flattened pebbles, more comfortable that way), hiring professionals who came recommended by a friend who is a commercial contractor .

Regrets: not installing a window on the shower wall (really could have used the extra ventilation and light, ceiling fan just isn't as good, and we ended up having issues with the installation), reusing old shower fixtures, losing the install template for the toto toilet, and not having done all this a decade earlier.

This post is so old, we've had time to build a new house! For that one, best ideas were:

heated floor (hydronic this time, b/c it's the whole house, but the electric version was even better because it was warmer and only heated when needed.)

linear drain and no-curb shower

splurged on the low-iron glass this time

"fake floating" vanity-- it's actually a really deep toe kick, but you can only tell if you get down on your hands and knees. Prevents things that get dropped from rolling to the back wall.

Night light below vanity to light up just the floor, enough light to get to toilet at night

Reading light over tub

tile to ceiling

Controls at door and opposite shower head (read that here, thank goodness!)

Just finished my husband's bathroom...taller vanity, Tapmaster and single handle faucet mounted at the 2:00 o'clock position. Wood look porcelain tile. Beautiful look of hand scraped wood without all the hazards of wood in a wet area.

I suggest using a tile leveling system to make sure your tile is lippage free on both floor and walls...in my experience this is a very important decision when remodeling your bath or kitchen. These small imperfections like tile lippage can be very significant. The ATR tile leveling system is an easy one to use...i`ve tried a few, but this one is the best in my opinion.

I am glad I saw lori_inthenw's comment about the electrical plug under the sink to hide away Sonicare toothbrushes. I had thought of this prior to our reno and then just dismissed it. We are just getting ready to put up drywall and I mentioned it to the builder and he will have an outlet in our cabinet so we can put ours away and out of site too!

Best functional decision - We put in a plug behind the vanity, and an outlet strip in each of our drawers, to house the hair dryers. Best design decision - putting the sconces through the mirror.

Best decision for us was biting the bullet on the expense of buying and installing a Toto toilet with bidet. My wife thinks it's our worst because it ruined her for the other bathrooms in the house.

I understand that decision perfectly. When we installed the Toto in our basement, I made certain it had electricity, so we could add the washlet at a later date.

This is a piddly thing, but it was installing a curved shower rod. I can't believe what a difference it makes when taking a shower. And I'm loving a plain cloth shower curtain (washable, yay!) after living with nasty glass door tracks on the tub edge.

The curved shower rod adds so much room inside the shower!

great ideas bump

Kohler Expanse bathtub, best tub for a shower/tub combo in existence. Makes for a roomy shower with low step over height and the interior size makes for a pretty good bath, too. If you need to do the shower/tub combo because of space limitations, I have not been able to find anything that balances the two needs better.

First, thanks to everyone and all your coments. We just finished a gut remodel of our 1921 5.5' x 10' bathroom, and used so many of your ideas. Things I never want to live without again:

1. Heated floor. Heaven when getting up to pee at 2 AM.

2. Swash 1000 washlet on a Toto toilet. Personal hygiene is way up and TP use way down ever since. Heated seat is great, too. And Finally one flush use for my DH (the only bathroom in the house where this is true. Kohler toilets in other two bathrooms.)

3. Kitchen height vanity top. Better for aching back.

4. Built in hamper in custom vanity. Right by the door, so easy to use.

5. Custom vanity, including vanity stack for towels, since we have only a small linen closet in hall, now for exclusively sheets.

Good decisions but not (yet) life altering:

1. Sconces at eye height on each side of vanity. Much better lighting for makeup application.

2. Light in shower. Now I can see to shave legs.

3. Bench in shower. Sometimes it's nice to sit, but mainly anticipating its use for aging in place.

4. Also for aging in place: low profile curb for shower, grab bars for towel racks and slider bar in shower.

Worst decision: heated towel rack. Jeeves seems to be better for heating clothing while showering than for heating towels to any noticeable degree. To be fair, maybe our mammoth bath sheets are too big and thick for it to work with them.

Splicing in some mosaic tile while still keeping the majority of our old tile. Only cost $250.00, love it! New bypass shower doors. So much easier to clean, no leaking, so much better than the hinged door that I had my heart set on. No reaching around stationary panel, etc.

K Sissy, what brand and model are your new bypass shower doors? I'm looking for some too.

thanks

Hi mtnfever,

Don't have a brand. We got them from (custom glass shop) Ryan's All Glass in Cinti OH. They get their glass from a shop in Michigan. We also got hydroshield on the glass door. This is terrific, if I don't have time to,or forget to squeegee, when I go back, there are no water spots, etc. Well worth the $100.00 it cost.

I've said this before but I'll say it again. One of the best things I did was stop using a squeegee and started using a large auto detailing microfiber towel to wipe my entire shower after I shower (except the floor). I got a big fluffy one off of an auto detailing site called The Rag Company. It takes about 60 seconds. I wipe all the chrome too. Quik. I hang it over the shower door to dry and its ready for the next day.

Hi enduring,

i have a new pkg of microfiber cloths, I just haven't used them yet on my new shower doors. I'm planning to though. They wk great on my mirrors...goodbye windex.

@k Sissy, I dry all my shower walls, caulking at the floor junction, and corners at the floor. Info this every time. I have not had to "clean" my shower in 3 years. I have only cleaned the cast iron floor as needed, because I don't wipe that down daily. Love the microfiber towel. Mines very thick and is 20x40". It is so absorbent it could dry 2 showers before I'd have to wring it out. It's hard/slow for me to hold the squeegee just right to make the perfect swipe on walls and glass. The towel is a breeze. I've asked people if they had to wipe down a nice car, would they squeegee it? No, they'd use a towel.

No connection to this company. I've read that Korean microfiber is the best. I wash mine in very warm water, 120f.

http://www.theragcompany.com/edgeless-avalanche-20-x-40-super-plush-drying-microfiber-towel/

Thanks for the info enduring. I'm going to use my microfiber towel on my shower walls also. That would be great if I didn't have to clean my shower walls, etc. I could say goodbye to the Clorox foaming cleaner!

@K, That has been my experience. It does take daily care. I just do it. I like the larger sized microfiber so I don't have to stop and wring it out. But that wouldn't be the end of the world. I'm always trying to fly through the shower and get off to work, but this is not a difficult routine to insert into my schedule.

Sounds great. A little wk/maintenance daily beats hr plus cleaning wkly!

Several people have mentioned "porcelain" tile in their list of good decisions. I'm curious; are you saying you're glad you chose porcelain tile vs. ceramic tile? Or porcelain vs. something else?

I chose porcelain vs something else for the ease of cleaning and so I don't have to worry about something staining or etching it. I chose porcelain over ceramic because it is more durable and it's a through body tile, so if there is a chip someday, it won't show as much.

To help clarify, porcelain is ceramic, but not all ceramics are porcelain. Porcelain is much harder than the clays that are used in typical ceramic tile, such ceramic subway tiles you see at Lowes for walls. The clay body for porcelain is fired much higher and has almost no absorbency. While the clay used for typical "ceramic" tiles are fired at a lower temp, and are more absorbent. The glazing helps with absorbency.

I don't know a lot about clays, but I've read there are 2 basic types Porcelain, Stoneware, and earthen ware.

Here is a slide show on ceramics. Interesting too:

https://www.slideshare.net/niranjanamadan/ceramics-and-clay-products

Great thread.

For me: heated electric floor wire and DOUBLE BYPASS glass doors for ease of cleaning in a small.shower.