Most diamonds in the rough requite at minimum a bathroom remodel, if not an entire gut job. This is a room we recently completed on a pretty strict budget and I think it has a lot of lessons for the average homeowner. First of all, if you are doing a project by yourself and don't have a tons of construction experience or knowledge, just keep it simple. Tiling is not that hard, but highly detailed designs are simply outside the scope of most of our skills. You don't want buyers to spot a poorly done job because they simply will not want to purchase the home.

I'm curious as to what people think of our current master suite -- I feel like it is outdated and in need of a facelift (much like myself) but we are intimidated by the bathroom remodel cost. I would love to be able to bring some new contemporary touches to the room to give it a more modern and trendy feel, but I am not quite sure what areas I should focus the budget on and what types of features would give us the most bang for our buck. I'm thinking that I should steer clear of any bathroom ideas that involve tearing out major elements like tile, tubs, showers etc. Our existing pieces are quite neutral so I am pretty sure that I can work them into a new design. We have considered both replacing the vanities or, alternatively, painting them in a fresh white shade to brighten up the space. I think one of the bigger problems that we have is that the room currently feels dark and dingy. The main goal of a bathroom remodel would be to brighten things up and make it look clean and crisp. Are there any contractors or interior designers out there that have any thoughts on what we should do?

We love sharing recent jobs so that home owners can get ideas for designs or project they can take on on their own or with help from us. This recent small bathroom remodel is one of our favorite examples of how you can bring great style to a space no matter the size. Most interior designers say to avoid dark colors in small spaces, but rather to keep things light and area to give the illusion of a larger area. We threw all of those rules out of the window, and instead used dark grey bathroom shower ideas as our inspiration in order to create a cool modern look. The walls of the entire bathroom were covered in this cool hexagon shaped tile, and we used a coordinating mosaic marble on the shower floor and ceiling for a nice contrast. Rather than continuing the dark shade to the floor, we used a light grey wood look tile to brighten up the space, and kept the vanity and countertops very light white and grey. Despite the unconventional color scheme, we think that this small bathroom remodel turned out fantastic, and encourage everybody to think outside of the box with their designs. Remember the rules are meant to be broken!

My team and I have a final update regarding the bathroom overhaul we finished up for a client last week. We were able to exceed expectations and came in under the average bathroom remodel cost for a project of this size. The two significant features, the shower, and the bathtub were the toughest. Though we had to rip out the previous piece, the shower remodel was a complete success. We added two new shower heads with many customization, a marble interior, and benches along the side. A new piece we incorporated into the room to give it some variety was the curved tub, an ideal option for every family member. The lights were the final addition to our bathroom remodel. They surround the back wall, each with a series of unique settings designed to match anyone's mood at the end of a day. More to come, soon.

One of the top jobs we get at our contracting firm is a master bathroom remodel, particularly in older homes that do not already have a spacious suite. As you probably know, bathrooms (especially in the master) are one of the main things that buyers look at and remember when they are viewing homes for sale. For this reason, we are often asked to do bathroom makeovers right before homeowners get ready to list their home. If you are thinking of undertaking a similar project, I would suggest keeping a few things in mind. First and foremost, stay away from any crazy or "out there" trends that may not last for more than a year or two. While you may love the idea and expect others will as well, it make not be the case. Plus, if your house does not sell as quickly as you anticipate, you do not want to undergo another bathroom remodel just to update those outdated trends. Another tip is, when in doubt, ALWAYS go with a neutral color palette especially when it comes to the costlier elements like flooring, tile, cabinets and countertops. Again, you may love a particular color or style, but it could turn off a large portion of your buying audience.

Bathroom renovations are one of those home improvement projects that I absolutely dread taking on because they are always so involved and require a ton of decor decisions (more than I think are involved in a bedroom for example). For this reason, when we began our master bath update, I knew I wanted to go into the project with some clear style decisions made and several inspiration pictures to base them on. This beautiful modern design is the space that I used as the primary source of our bathroom remodel ideas this time around. I love the use of traditional marble tile alongside very modern floating vanities and a lovely soaking tub. We have a similar floor plan (minus the stunning vaulted ceiling), so we gave these photos to our contractor and told him to work from there. With this being said, this project has actually been the most simple home improvement project we have taken on and (so far) the most successful bathroom remodel project we have completed. Although the room isn't finished, we love how it is shaping up.