HOW TO DISCOVER YOUR INTERIOR STYLE

JANUARY 2026

You’re planning a bathroom renovation but don’t know where to start?

The first question is, does your current bathroom serve you well? Is it practical and does it meet your needs? You might be refurbishing your en-suite and only want a shower in the space. It might be a deal breaker that you make room for twin basins. Write a list of the pros and cons of your current room and your wish list for the new space.

The next step is to research what style you would like the new bathroom to have. Pinterest and Instagram are such good tools for this. Start saving images of rooms you like, then filter these down to your top five favourite. Quite often we are drawn to lots of different styles so make sure your top five are consistent.

So you now have your wish list and you know what style you want your bathroom to have. The next step is to work out a floor plan. When it comes to plumbing there are some restrictions on where items can be placed so if you’re unsure it’s always advisable to seek advice from a plumber. Generally the position of a toilet is fairly fixed unless there is the opportunity to extend the soil pipe to the left or right and hide it within a half or full height stud wall. Think outside the box here, if there is the opportunity to lay the room out differently then make sure you consider all options; it would be a shame to go to all that effort to end up with the same bathroom design as before.

Once you have designed the floor plan then I would take some time to think about the lighting. This is something that is so often overlooked but can give a space that luxury feel. Position recessed spot lights in practical locations then on a depressed switch, add soft feature lights in places such as shower recesses or below wall hung basin cabinets. Where possible, add dimmers to your lighting circuits to give you the flexibility on the mood you want to create.

It’s now time so source your products. If you’re not familiar with bathroom products then make sure you ask a professional to double check you have included everything you will need. For example, you will need a basin and a tap but don’t forget the plug and bottle trap. Order tile samples so you can see them side by side to make sure the colours work in harmony. This will make it easier to choose paint colours to complement the tiles as well.

You can now use your floor plan, product list, tile spec and lighting design to seek quotes from contractors. Always ask them to specify what is and isn’t included in their quote, you’re not the expert in their field so it’s easy for items to be missed out the price due to misunderstanding. Questions you may want to ask are; will you include removing and disposing of the old bathroom, can the lights be on dimmer switches and specify if you would like cool or warm light bulbs, let the tiler know what size tiles you are using, where they are going and how you’d like them laid out. You will also want to choose a grout colour that works well with your selected tiles.

When you have all your prices in and you are confident all the relevant questions have been asked then you can go ahead and book the work in. Order your products slightly ahead of time so that they are ready to install and don’t cause any delays. Always check off deliveries straight away, even tiles! If anything has arrived damaged you will need to arrange replacements asap. And my last piece of advice is to build in a financial and time contingency. It’s very common that unforeseen issues arise once a project starts so try not to let this surprise you if it occurs. 

If it all sounds too complicated and stressful then you can always hire an interior designer to do the work for you.