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Instead of paying an arm and a leg for a designer bathroom that someone else has designed for you why not do it yourself? Designing your bathroom yourself isn’t as difficult as it might sound, it might save you a quite a bit of money and it’s a very satisfying feeling to know that it was you that created it.
Measure and draw your bathroom to scale
The first thing you should do is measure and draw out your existing bathroom on a sheet of squared paper. Try to be as accurate as you can because every inch might count depending on what you want to get in your new bathroom and how much space you have to play with.
Measure the distance between opposite walls on both sides of the room in case the room is wider at one end than the other. Measure floor to ceiling and the position and size of windows including the depth of the window. Also measure the size, position and shape of any irregularities in the room such as pipework.
Draw a floor plan of your bathroom from above and a plan of each wall. When you’ve finished you will have 5 drawings and a set of measurements. Make sure that you take these and a tape measure with you wherever you go because you will need to use them often.
Forget about bathroom showrooms and magazines for now
Magazines and showrooms are trying to sell you something and they will naturally go out of their way to show things in the most appealing way, which may not always be the most practical or realistic way for you. You will be using these resources of course but leave them until you have a better idea of what it is you want in your new bathroom design.
Make use of a digital camera
Take a digital camera with you whenever you’re in bathroom design mode and use it to make a visual record everything you come across. Note down what each image is about and file it away carefully on your computer for later. This is an excellent design technique and most people don’t do it.
Visit your friends
Most people are happy to talk about their bathroom especially to a friend and especially if they have recently remodeled their bathroom. Make a point of visiting all of your friends and start to build a folder full of ideas based on what they have done in their bathrooms.
Ask as many questions that you can think of to find out what their ideas were, how their ideas changed, what they like about their bathroom and just as important, what do they dislike about the room. Make good notes that you will understand when you read them later.
Most people will either have remodeled their bathroom in the last few years or know of someone who has. If your friend knows of someone with a new bathroom ask them if they can arrange for you to go and see it. The more you see the better.
Look over some houses for sale.
Real estate agents in your area will arrange for you to go and view properties for sale and if you tell them that you are looking for a great bathroom they will try and find them for you.
If you don’t feel comfortable doing this because you have no intention of buying a new property then I suggest that you try and get over it. It’s a great way to get ideas for your own bathroom and who knows what might happen when you start looking. You wouldn’t be the first to do this kind of research and end up buying a new property so don’t feel bad about doing it.
Buy some magazines
By now you should be feeling confident about what it is you are looking for. Now is the time to find a few good magazines on remodeling and home improvement to crystallize your ideas.
Visit showrooms
Now that you know what it is that you are looking for it’s time to visit the showrooms in your area to see what is available and match your ideas to items that you can buy. Make notes and take lots of pictures with your digital camera of everything interesting that you find.
Pick up brochures on home improvement and bathroom remodeling
Always pick up as many brochures as you can find when touring the showrooms. Circle the items that you are interested in and make sure you write down prices and thoughts that you have at the time.
Research the Internet
Last but not least, make full use of the Internet to find product specifications, contractors and ideas on web sites all over.
Have fun remodeling your bathroom.
