A tasteful renovation can transform a tired old bathroom into a soothing oasis of calm, all while improving everyday living and adding value to your home. 

But don’t start swinging the sledgehammer just yet. With five-figure budgets to balance, multiple tradespeople to manage, and millions of fixtures to sift through, a bathroom renovation requires quite a bit of planning.

Understanding the steps will help you get the ball rolling on your dream reno. Whether you’re doing a quick facelift or a full-blown makeover, here’s how to get started when planning a bathroom renovation. 

1. Defining Your Vision

The first step is working out what you want. 

Will touching up worn-out tiling do the trick? Or do you need a comprehensive renovation, replacing every single fixture and tile in the room? 

Review the top bathroom trends and designs, such as modern, traditional, and farmhouse, then choose a style that aligns with your home decor. Consider how textures, colours, fixtures, and lighting could enrich the design. 

Think about function and aesthetics. Moving major fixtures (namely bathtubs, toilets, and showers) often requires plumbing adjustments that bloat renovation costs. 

Brisbane-based renovators can visit the Bathroom Space Underwood Showroom, where our bathroom specialists can provide a free face-to-face design consultation.

2. Setting A Budget

Calculate how much you can afford to spend and set a realistic budget. In Australia, bathroom renovations (including materials and labour) range from $10,000 for a basic update to $30,000 for a full refresh with a luxurious fit-out.

Your final budget should cover fixtures, fittings, tiling, and joinery, plus all plumbing and electrical work. DIYing certain elements, such as project management and demolition, will reduce costs but add hassle. 

The golden rule is to include a 15% buffer for contingencies. When renovating a bathroom, those could include hidden water damage, pipe upgrades, dodgy waterproofing, or asbestos.

3. Creating A Floor Plan

Crack out your tape measure and start jotting down dimensions. Take precise measurements of the entire bathroom, including the walls, doors, ceiling, windows and distance between fixtures. 

Using good old-fashioned pencil and paper, draft a floor plan, ideally with a scale ratio of 10:1 (1 metre = 10cm). From there, you can cut out pieces of paper to the ratio size of your fixtures and create a workable layout. Remember to leave space for swinging doors and side-stepping other householders. 

Some renovators prefer using design software or outsourcing to a professional. 

4. Handpicking Your Fixtures

Now for the fun part. Select bathroom fixtures that align with your budget and vision. Sticking with the same manufacturer, range, and colour will help retain a neat, uniform aesthetic.

Bathroom Space has a massive selection of high-quality vanities, baths, toilets, mirrors, tapware, showers, basins, and wastes, each coming in various colours, shapes, sizes, and prices.

Keep a rolling tally of the costs so you don’t overshoot your budget, and create cutouts of each fixture, then add them to your layout. 

5. Contracting Tradespeople

Independently managing each renovation phase could reduce costs. But if you don’t have any construction know-how, it’ll also create a big headache. 

Many Australian renovators hire a builder specialising in bathroom renovations, which will have employees and subbies to handle each stage. A good builder will listen to your vision and work with your preferred materials and fixtures, as well as advise on the feasibility of your budget and layout. 

The standard bathroom renovation order of works is as follows: 

• Demolition and strip-out (most tradies, or DIY)
• Building work, adding or replacing windows or doors (plasterer)
• Plumbing and electric rough-ins (plumber and electrician)
• Plastering or sheeting (plasterer)
• Waterproofing (tiler or waterproofer)
• Tiling and grouting (tiler)
• Painting (painter, or DIY)
• Final electrics and plumbing (plumber and electrician)

6. The Finishing Touches

Now that the renovation is ready, it’s time to furnish your bathroom with a few creative flourishes. 

Consider including indoor plants, herbal fragrances, and colour-coded bathmats and towels that complement your design. Thoughtfully selected bathroom accessories, such as soap holders, shower stools, robe hooks, and woven baskets, can complement the look. 

Renovating The Right Way With Bathroom Space

From modern minimalism to timeless classics, Bathroom Space caters to renovators of every taste. Our in-house bathroom specialists can provide customised advice in a free consultation, and help you handpick the perfect fixtures from our extensive catalogue. 

Shop for bathroom products online or come and see us at our Underwood Showroom, just south of Brisbane. 

We can’t wait to start turning your dream bathroom reno into a reality.