It’s easy to get caught up in the popularity of bathroom remodeling trends, especially when those trendy elements look so gorgeous in magazine photos. However, it’s important to remember that no one uses the bathrooms in those glossy photos in the same ways that you and your family use yours on a daily basis. Before those magazine photos are taken, the rooms are professionally lighted and perfectly accessorized. Those magazine bathrooms don’t need to be practical; they just need to look amazing for a few hours.
Your needs, however, are probably different. You want your remodeled bathroom to look beautiful, but you also need it to be practical for every member of your family who will be using it. There are plenty of remodeling trends that look fabulous in magazine photos but might not be right for you and your family members in real life. If practicality is important to your budget, here are five bathroom trends to avoid.
Trendy Sinks and Vanities
1. Vessel sinks: These focal elements can look magnificent in the right surroundings, such as in an extra-large bathroom or a fancy hotel restroom. However, they can be impractical for many home bathrooms. Their higher-than-usual faucets and taller-than-expected bowl sides have been known to splash unsuspecting patrons if the water pressure is too high, and no one likes to emerge from a bathroom looking splashed. A vessel sink can also be difficult for small children to reach. Plus, if the adults are not used to a bathroom sink being raised several inches, it’s easy to knock belongings into the bowls, possibly cracking the basins. Before you install a vessel sink, see a few models in use to be certain they’re right for your household.
2. Pedestal sinks: A pedestal sink is essentially a sink without a vanity. They consist of the sink basin and its matching stand, and they are usually made of porcelain or ceramic. Pedestal sinks can be lovely focal pieces in bathrooms, but remember that they do not provide storage space. If you are considering a pedestal sink because your powder room is small, that plan might backfire because you will need to add a cupboard or other type of storage area for toilet paper and other guest essentials. This could crowd your small bathroom and leave you and your guests feeling cramped and dissatisfied.
3. Floating vanities: Wall-mounted vanities or “floating” vanities are elevated off the floor and attached directly to the wall. They typically have clean, modern design lines, which can look fantastic in contemporary, streamlined bathrooms.
Floating vanities can be a blessing and a curse, depending on the ages of your family members. If you have small children who tend to routinely splash water out of the tub and all over the bathroom floor, a wall-mounted vanity can stay high and dry. However, if your family members are getting on in years and tend to drop their belongings, those items can roll or get kicked under a wall-mounted vanity.
Plus, floating vanities don’t often provide as much storage space as traditional vanities. If you opt for a floating vanity, see if the manufacturer offers a matching, wall-mounted storage unit. Finally, if you are considering removing a traditional vanity and replacing it with a wall-mounted unit, remember the previous vanity’s footprint. That floor space will become exposed and will need to have flooring added, which could be an added expense to your remodeling budget.
Dreary Colors
4. Gray walls with gray floors and white trim: This color combination is a polarizing palette — people either love it or they hate it. Gray on gray is popular in living rooms and family rooms but can make small rooms seem cold and dreary, especially if those small rooms are windowless bathrooms or rooms that have only a north-facing window. On a cold, winter morning, you typically want to feel warm and cozy, not drab and dreary. If you’re a fan of this gray-on-gray color combination, consider reserving it for a larger room that has more windows instead of your bathroom.
Extra-Large Bathtubs and Showers
5. Oversized tubs: Not everyone enjoys taking bubble baths. Plus, as home prices increase, many people look at the amount of floor space that an oversized tub or shower takes up and imagine all the other things they could do with that space, such as install a stackable washer and dryer. A giant tub may not be a great selling point if you’re looking to relocate in the next few years.
As you collect photos for your bathroom remodel inspiration board, be certain to take practicality into account. Visit a Modern Bathroom showroom in person and get a feel for how a vanity, sink, tub and shower might work together in the daily lives of your family members. Doing so could save you money and a few headaches in the long run.