My parents old house is a rental, as the market has been lousy in their area. I plan/hope to sell the house in a few years. The shower in the master has failed, after nearly a year of trying to fix leaks, we have finally determined that the 1990s style tile must be redone.
If we redo it, we might as well bring it into the new millennium. Any recommendations for the best choice to update? Nothing so trendy it would be dated in 3-5 years, I am looking for the least expensive way to modernize it. It’s a simple 3/2 1800 sq feet, nothing fancy, but currently quite dated.
Stall shower, jacuzzi tub, floor and counter tops all need to be done. Thinking a nice neutral tan color scheme.
tear out the tub and put in a nice big glass enclosed shower with a seat instead,
use all brushed nickel for hardware and fixtures, marble floors and marble slab top for vanity. 2 sinks, led vanity lights
go for a whiter color than tan
Glass shower enclosures, while beautiful, are expensive to install. If you want to flip the house cheaply, there are more value-conscious alternatives. Shower wall surrounds are quick & cheap to install and there is a wide range of looks available to suit every style & budget
Marble is porous & stains easily. Not the most practical nor cost-conscious choice.
Tan is neutral and in offensive, but it’s so “beige”. Maybe jazz it up w a simple checkerboard (white & black, or white & tan) tile floor. Ceramic tile is cheap in terms of materials. If it’s laid out in diagonal, that gives it additional visual appeal for very little additional cost.
Hmmm, I guess we could tear out the tub and turn it into a shower; the shower is a stall shower, probably 3x3 or so, I suppose that could become…a linen closet?
I’m a dissenting voice. I would not get rid of the tub. I would not buy a house without a tub (preferably a deep soaking tub) in the master bathroom. I live in Southern California and bought a new house about a year and a half ago. I passed on a few places that had only a giant shower in the master bathroom. It is one of the few non-negotiable items for me.
Think about how many master baths in housing tracts have big tubs. Those places are designed based on consumer-preference data. Developers would not be spending the money on such an expensive amenity if the market data did not support the importance of the feature. Same with high-end hotel rooms.
We’ve been house hunting for a retirement home in DC, and a lot of newly renovated houses we saw had white bathrooms w a retro look. White tile on the walls and black-n-white mosaic tile on the floor. Chrome fixtures. Lots and lots of chrome.
Granted, these were colonial style houses. But the look is timeless… The hotels we stayed in also had this look in the bathroom. It looks classy.
We just redid our master to get the house ready to sell. We were not looking to spend a lot of money. We replaced the jetted tub with tile surround with a free standing tub - white. We got 12 x 24 inch floor tile (Grey), we did the shower in 6 x 12 tile and bought a clear shower door. We got a new taller toilet in white. We updated the vanities to stand alone in the dark espresso color. We bought everything at Lowe’s and Home Depot.
We used this picture as our model, and it turned out nicely.
I don’t know how to link a picture, but the tile was Leonia Silver. You can see lots of pictures if you google that.
I don’t know if this would be cost effective but I would ditch the Jacuzzi tub. They are so hard tokeep the jets clean. I would put in a free standing tub with no jets.
I used brushed nickel fixtures in a house we built about 10 years ago. They looked nice at first but now are kind of drab. Also, I have a Toto toilet and tub, and that hardware is chrome, so there is a mix of finishes. In a later house I used all chrome and am much happier with it.
BerneseMtnMom is right on with current choices and best bang for the buck
Modernize the house by installing 12 x 24 tile from Lowe’s. Several color choices available and good prices. Also, you can find 10% off coupons online to use when you purchase the tile.
Design the new shower so that you can use the prepackaged clear glass frameless shower panels and doors available at Home Depot or Lowe’s (or inexpensive special order). If you do a standard size it will save a lot of money. This does not mean that the stall shower has to be 3 x 3, it can be larger. Plan on installing a long grab bar in the shower area (appeals to the aging buyer pool). If you do not use the clear glass available at Home Depot or Lowe’s you will be spending $1,000 just to get custom glass panels and door.
Get the ‘chair’ height toilet (appeals to aging buyer pool).
Keep your color choices in the whites/greys. This is the current trend and it looks cleaner and fresher than tans and browns.
Half my clients are ditching their tubs as long as there is another tub in the house. The other half are getting cool looking free standing tubs for soaking. Large tiles are definitely in, I’m not that big a fan. I’ve got a gray slate like large tile on the floor in one bathroom and an old fashioned mosaic in the other. White subway tiles and then a pretty border of glass tiles. We have a walk-in shower in our master bath which I love. I agree a bench, a niche for the shampoo and put in reinforcement for a bar on the wall, but you don’t need to install it now.
Get rid of the jacuzzi. If anything…enlarge the shower so that it can have a seat…and maybe put in a regular old tub.
Go with neutral. Grey seems to be “in” now with white. So I would go with some very plain tile…maybe a subway style white tile…with a grey accent or border. White toilet, sink and tub.
My favorite bathrooms are Four Season Hotel bathrooms. Most of them are tan color. I find it to be very soothing. I don’t really care for all white bathrooms, a little bit too bright for me.