BATHING BEAUTIES
‘Spa’, ‘pamper zone’, ‘sanctuary’ — we’ve gone bathroom mad, so it pays to spend on getting your space right before you put your house on the market, says Fran Power
WHEN Jamie Douglas of Hunters estate agents prepared his D4 home for sale last year, top of his agenda was to redo his bathroom. “I’d say I spent €7,000 and it probably added €30,000 to €40,000 to the value of my house in particular,” he says.
The Irish bathroom has come a long way from the chilly, functional space of many of our childhoods. Now, it is ‘a sanctuary’, ‘pamperzone’ or ‘spa’ and just as important a factor in swinging a decision to buy as the kitchen. And post-purchase, it sits high on the builder’s to-do list.
“It’s often the case,” says Jamie, “that if the bathrooms aren’t up to scratch, viewers say, ‘I’m not going to shower or bath in that’. Probably more so than the kitchen, buyers will look to do the bathrooms up first when they move in, or at least one of the bathrooms. If they’re not up to scratch, it will be factored in as a cost.”
Interior designer Suzie MacAdam agrees that bathrooms have become increasingly important spaces in our houses. “People really care about the details now — before they were happy to get a suite and taps all from the same brand. Now they want attention to detail so they source particular taps from a certain brand, a suite from another — it creates a more textured approach to the bathroom.”
A few constants crop up on her clients’ wish-lists — an opulent master bathroom, a show-stopping guest loo downstairs — “I like to add a vintage light or chandelier and print wallpaper for fun” — and then a good working family bathroom.
What’s the biggest trend? “Dare I say it, colour is coming back in,” says Suzie. “It’s more subtle than the avocado suite — it might be a coloured enamel under-counter basin but with a white stone top.” She is also using a lot of digital prints blown up on to ceramic tiles to run super-sized on walls.
Walk-in showers, double vanity units, textured finishes and greenery are all becoming bathroom staples. But if you are planning to sell, Jamie has a word of advice. “It’s lovely to have a very snazzy walk-in double shower and I would have far preferred that to a bath in my house, but you have to make sure that you’re appealing to as many possible buyers as possible.
“The practicality of having a family means you need a bath if you’ve got small kids. You will alienate buyers or your buyers will have to cost in the price of a new bathroom if you don’t have one. If you’re doing up a bathroom to sell, it’s not about your needs, it’s about the buyer’s needs.”