12 tips for planning your next bathroom remodel

cabinet or in a rug.

When it comes to color in bathrooms, nothing is off limits.

4. Lighting

Chandeliers used to be light fixtures we though of for dining rooms, living rooms or other formal spaces. Now, though, a primary bathroom isn’t complete without a chandelier, regardless of your décor style. You can use them in the center of the room, but hanging a chandelier over a bathtub is a perfect place, too.

Sconces are essential fixtures in every bathroom, especially on or alongside mirrors where we might brush our teeth or put on makeup. LED technology is partly responsible, but much of the style improvement comes from manufacturers hiring top interior designers to design new lighting.

5. Wallpaper

There has never been a better time to love wallpaper. Vintage styles are all the range, from grasscloth (in a variety of colors) to iconic banana leaf patterns such as Dorothy Draper’s “Brazilliance” and Don Loper’s “Martinique,” which date back to the 1930s and ’40s. Floral designs come in fresh iterations, with oversized petals or colors so lush you’d swear they’re real. Flip through current wallpaper books and you’ll find it hard to choose your new favorite.

And don’t just think of wallpaper for your powder bathroom; there are great patterns for kids and others appropriate for guest

bathrooms.

6. Statement walls

Freestanding bathtubs have become so popular that they’ve brought statement walls into the bathroom. Bookmatched slabs or stone or walls covered in beautiful tile can be the centerpiece of a dazzling bathroom and make your designer bathtub — yes, designer tubs! — look even better. So when you remodel, don’t just think about which tub you want, think about what you’re going to

12. Kids’ bathrooms

Some parents write off their kids’ bathrooms, figuring they’ll fix them up when the kids are grown. My advice: don’t wait. Even if you just install better lighting or pick a cute color for paint, make it a bathroom your kids will remember. If your children love it, it might make them brush their teeth a little longer.

1. New floor plan: Sometimes you walk into a room and wonder why it was organized that way. This primary bathroom was redesigned to take advantage of wasted space for a larger shower.

22. Fabulous fakes: Porcelain tile looks better than ever, with patterns made to look strikingly similar to much more expensive marbles.

4. Add visual interest: This bathroom features interesting floor tile and a dramatic bathtub in a bay window.