Makeover

How to bring glamour to your bathroom renovation

December 15, 2021

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Bathrooms, along with kitchens, are where you can spend big bucks when it comes to a renovation. But when it comes to the finished product, it can be worth spending a little more to get the glamour look.

When it came to overhauling the bathrooms in their Coffs Harbour home, The Block: Glasshouse winner Simon Vos and his wife Ash, who are documenting their current renovation project for realestate.com.au ‘Coffs to Cali’ video series, were determined to go all out.

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“They always say that plumbers have the worst bathrooms or the leakiest taps. We wanted to redefine that in this day and age – and have the best bathroom you’ve ever seen!” says Ash, whose husband Simon – yes, you guessed it, is a professional plumber – scored $335,000 profit plus the $100,000 grand prize when he competed on The Block in 2014 with brother Shannon.

Ash says they decided to spend up big when it came to fixtures and finishes, to ensure both their main family bathroom and ensuite had the ‘wow factor’ you’d normally associate with a high-end hotel or day spa.

By all accounts, their transformations have been a great success.

“You have a shower now and you feel like you’re in a hotel. Actually, you feel better than in a hotel!” Ash says. “Everything about the bathroom is just perfection.”

Spend time on your reno planning and budget

Planning your space properly before you begin means in the long run, you’ll actually SAVE money.

Bathrooms are the most complicated spaces to renovate – you need a lot of trades involved, so it’s essential to have those lined up before you begin, Ash explains.

“Before you do the layout, you really need to consult a plumber so you can understand how much it’s going to cost if you need to move things around.”

If you can work with the room’s existing configuration, you’re going to save a lot of money, meaning you can free up your budget for glamorous additions.

Picture: Ben Adams

Don’t scrimp on quality

With the money they saved not relocating pipes and having Simon do the work himself, they spent up big on high-quality tiles for their bathroom.

Ash says they chose expensive tiles, but also didn’t scrimp on the tiler.

“When you do a renovation, you really have to decide where you’re going to put the majority of your money. And for us, it was the bathrooms.”

Marble tiles in their main bathroom and a gorgeous bluestone tile in the ensuite gives a luxurious, glamorous feel.

“In the ensuite we wanted a very relaxed, almost spa feeling, so we chose Bluestone and the herringbone Limestone tiles for the feature, so that everything has a feeling of softness,” Ash explains. “The tapware is chrome, so it really offsets it all. When you walk in, it really feels very opulent.”

Picture: Ben Adams

Opt for custom-made

To get a truly individual, bespoke and glamorous finish, don’t shy away from custom-made.

The couple got all their shower screens and mirrors custom-made by a local glass supplier, which didn’t come cheap.

“You don’t imagine that glass would be so expensive for a shower screen, but it’s that final touch in the bathroom that really gives it the ‘wow factor,’” Ash says.

The curved mirror was also made especially for the space, tying everything together beautifully.

Picture: Ben Adams

Consider underfloor heating

You might think it a costly addition, but Ash says if you’re really after that glamorous, day-spa feel, underfloor heating is a must.

“Hotwire heating under the floor is actually so cheap, and it’s a really beautiful feature in a bathroom – especially if you have a wet area bathroom,” she explains.

To save space, and to include their Kaskade stone bath, the couple decided to create this on one side of their main bathroom.

“Having the underfloor heating dries the floor really quick,” she says. “It feels like such a luxury item.

“It feels like it should cost a lot of money, but it was actually very cost-effective.”

Picture: Ben Adams

Create a glamorous look

Ash did this by incorporating circles into her design, to give the room a softness. Lighting was also used to great effect.

The bathroom incorporates two deliberate features – a curve and a line

“So wherever you look, there’s a curve and a line. It’s a subtle design thing, and I don’t know if anyone will notice, but the bath and the basin, they are both curved. The tapware has both circles and lines, and there is a nib wall running the whole way through the bathroom to make it feel larger.”

The shower screen in the main bathroom is curved, “and the mirror has a curve too,” says Ash. “The lights are circular, and the marble penny tiles are circles, so there are lots of tiny little nods in that bathroom.”

Picture: Ben Adams

Include feature pieces

In the couple’s ensuite, they wanted their basin and vanity to be the stand-out feature. They chose Loughlin vanities in both their main bathroom and this space as the room’s focal point.

“Their work is so incredible,” says Ash. “They have figured out a way to make vanities and post them to you, so they arrive fully done, you just have to install.

“They are great if you want something that is bespoke and ‘luxury’ as a feature,” she says.

Picture: Ben Adams

Add stone

The couple added stone tiles, basins and a stunning Kaskade stone bath.

“For us, personally, we really wanted stone underfoot too,” says Ash. “Our bathrooms all have this, and part of that is because we have wet areas, so we wanted it to feel a bit luxurious.

“Not everyone can afford stone. But if you can put a stone feature somewhere, it looks great.