Bathroom remodel - decision paralysis

I’m going to start paying attention to this thread as today we met with a Realtor who advised something in the bathroom that I didn’t plan on so I need to expand my thinking.

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And that’s why my husband prefers to do this stuff himself. He is the “trust but verify” man. :smiling_face_with_sunglasses:

One example. Our water main had to be rerouted due to the construction on the nearby lot. After catching a licensed plumber do something no chemist would do, my husband took pictures and went to the city and inquired if the passed inspection splicing was really to code. Oops it was not!

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Well, we signed a bathroom remodel contract yesterday - now in addition to “decision paralysis” I have “anxiety paralysis”! :laughing:. I’m fairly picky so each decision, each item is going to feel like climbing a mountain.

While our contractor wanted us to consider the washer/dryer combo (mainly so we’d have more options for storage space) I just don’t think it’s a good decision. I have seen very little positive feedback on the combo. One complaint is clothes not getting fully dry. My H likes his laundry BONE DRY. If he finds one sock even slightly damp he will throw the whole load back in. I can probably buy a stackable unit for nearly the same price.

I may use this thread for suggestions! One thing I need to find is a tall thin (no more than 24inches wide) storage cabinet. I will be going to a local showroom later this week to look at vanity styles and potentially I could also get a cabinet through them - but I think I can save some $ by buying ready made. I want wood look and simple - is it ridiculous to check IKEA???

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Do not do a combo washer/dryer! I speak from experience here. Not only will you have a drying problem, it will be a wrinkled mess. IMO, only do that if you absolutely have no other option.

And no, it’s not ridiculous to check IKEA! They have a lot of space saving things because European baths and kitchens are traditionally smaller. We actually have an Ikea vanity in our powder room because it was the only thing that fit that didn’t have to be custom made. I changed out the cabinet pulls and I think it looks really cute!

Wayfair is another place to look and you can sort by size.

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I was going to suggest IKEA. They used to have something called the Billy bookcase that was as neutral as can be, and I think you could get doors for it. Yep, I just googled and can find it with doors.

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Try searching Home Depot online. They carry cabinets in just about every width, depth, height, and finish. When we were doing the lower-level bathroom at the cabin, I wanted to squeeze in a narrow closet and ordered a 24” kitchen cabinet that fit like a built-in between the shower and outside wall. I posted pics in the photos thread.

(Obviously, you’re not going for rustic, but I’ve found a surprising number of quality home reno options from HD online, especially cabinet sizes in incremental inches.)

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IKEA’s Pax wardrobe system is legendary! These modular boxes come in many sizes and can be fitted with custom doors, too.

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Thanks for that input. I actually thing our vanity and storage cabinet in the bathroom now (probably 30 years old) were probably ikea. The are still functional but really outdated - but they have lasted fine.

Taking my husband to the nearest Ikea a good hour away is going to be a TRIP. :laughing:

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Get a cinnamon roll to ease the pain!

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Swedish meatballs!! That’s our reward for braving the traffic and space continuum :laughing: of IKEA!

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Ikea is more than an hour for us (and on the the other side of Denver, so traffic can be a factor). We’ve never made a special trip. But when or daughter lived in that area, we stopped by a few times.

I would never not use licensed plumbers and electricians. But around here they are required as are inspections of their work.

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We’re starting a master BR remodel soon also and adding a stackable washer dryer. I think I’m going to go with this one from Electrolux- it is only 24” wide and 25” deep. Most other models are too big for our space.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Electrolux-24-in-2-4-cu-ft-Compact-Stackable-Front-Load-Washer-in-White-with-LuxCare-Wash-and-Steam-Refresh-ENERGY-STAR-ELFW4222AW/312839622?mtc=SHOPPING-CM-CML-BNG-D29A-029_008_LAUNDRY-NA-Multi-NA-PMAX-5163653-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-MajorAppl_2025_PMAX&cm_mmc=SHOPPING-CM-CML-BNG-D29A-029_008_LAUNDRY-NA-Multi-NA-PMAX-5163653-NA-NA-NA-NBR-NA-NA-NA-MajorAppl_2025_PMAX-22986820300--&&ppc_keyword=&msclkid=c4973fc2f60911b24b9b56731f6d28eb&gclid=c4973fc2f60911b24b9b56731f6d28eb&gclsrc=3p.ds

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I’m confused. Is putting a W/D in a bathroom a thing? Never heard of it.

Nice reviews! Keeping that on my short list.

I have some news I have to admit - how appropriate on the decision paralysis thread. :disappointed_face: :see_no_evil_monkey:

We backed out of our renovation this morning. I have been up the last two nights worrying, feeling like he did not give us enough information (I had no sketch of the work, no itemized labor costs - just one total labor costs) and I was feeling like I had no idea how much the items we would need to purchase (from vanity to toilet to tile to floor, to ALL THE THINGS) - I felt full of anxiety and OVERWHELMED. H and I agreed we should have never signed the contract without asking for 48 hours to think about it. Our bad. We hadn’t given any $ yet and I took the responsibility to call him. I just was not comfortable enough with knowing what he would be doing, how it would look and how much we’d be in for - if everything even went right! He took it ok - surely he wasn’t happy but he wasn’t rude. My H offered to pay him for his time coming over but he declined.

I AM keeping an appt with the local store he recommended for products and going to go in and price out what we WOULD WANT and see where things land. And probably start the contractor search all over again.

Slightly disappointed but mostly relieved and glad I expressed my feelings about it all!

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We saw plenty of bathrooms with w/d when we were looking for this last house. It is a way to get the w/d out of basements in old houses.

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Our laundry is currently in the basement. Having it on the first floor will allow us (with age) to live completely on the first floor. Older homes did not have laundry on main floors! Laundry in the bathroom right next to our bedroom seemed like a great idea to me as we were going to need to gut anyway and are getting rid of a HUGE bathtub for just a shower - so there is room for the stackables. If that helps us to be able to age in our home which we love we are ALL IN!

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Sure is! Our washer and dryer are in the hall bathroom upstairs at our house. Very conveniently located where most of the laundry is.

Our house has the washer and dryer in a hallway off the living room and completely visible from the living room and dining room. So stupid. We added pocket doors to contain them.

I don’t want this to turn into “abasket’s bathroom Reno” - especially since I didn’t start the thread. But I gotta ask…… when you hired someone to redo your bathroom did you get a “blueprint” of sorts of how things would be laid out” - measurements and all??? Did they break down dollar by dollar (to a degree) the labor charges - not just one big figure? Am I wrong to expect these things??? This was not going to be a $100K Reno but it was looking like it was going to bypass $40K plus - shouldn’t we get a little more thorough info!!!

We have never done a full room Reno - did a bathroom freshen up once but not a gut.

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