Bathroom Upgrades to Rethink Before Renovating
Drawing inspiration from a luxury hotel experience may seem like a good idea, but those upgrades may cost more and require more maintenance.
NEW YORK — Some homeowners want to upgrade their bathrooms to mimic the hotel or luxury home experience, but some of those upgrades may not be practical.
For instance, soaking tubs can be difficult to exit safely, while rain-style shower heads can be expensive with anemic water pressure that can make it difficult to rinse out shampoo and conditioner. Traditional, wall-mounted showerheads can provide the option of just washing the body and avoiding the hair.
For bathroom sinks, wall-mounted faucets can lead to messy walls or wallpaper when the faucets are not at the correct height or the water creates splashing that can dampen the walls.
Traditional shower drains may seem like a locker-room style, but the "linear drains" can cost up to five times more and end up needing more maintenance.
Kevin Bilo, of Bilo Plumbing & Heating in Ipswich, Massachusetts, warns that linear drains “come with a tool that looks like a little fork to remove the cover, some of which are tiled to match the floor and are heavy, so there’s a risk of damaging the tile.”
When renovating a bathroom, homeowners will often ask for niches to be added to hold shampoos and body washes, but those areas also increase maintenance needs as soap scum and mildew buildup. Bethany Adams, a designer in Louisville, Kentucky, indicates that bathrooms should have a floating shelf screwed into the tile or a ledge on a short wall that's easily cleaned.
Fancy mirrors can make bathrooms look elegant, but these mirrors often cannot handle the humidity and will de-silver, which is why medicine-chest mirrors are the best option.
Source: Wall Street Journal (05/01/25) Vaglica, Sal
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