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Inspiration vs. Reality: 3 Steps to Getting Your Perfect Bathroom Remodel

There’s nothing wrong with being slightly addicted to home renovation shows on TV.

So many homeowners of ours come to us with stylistic inspiration pulled straight from reality TV, Houzz or social media. It’s great for homeowners to have a physical depiction of what they want. It helps to create a visual sense of their design preferences.

Inspiration needs to be just that, though—a starting point. The key to a successful bathroom remodel is to go beyond inspiration and design for your needs.

Why Inspiration Isn’t Quite Enough

Bathroom remodel inspiration helps cut out miscommunication between contractors and homeowners. In a perfect world, homeowners could just deliver a few pictures, wait a month, and have the perfect replication in their own bathrooms. However, there can be unavoidable limitations that prevent such a perfect transformation.

The beautiful bathroom remodel that you see on TV is so great because it was designed with the specific homeowners in mind—their available space, the number of people in their family, usability preferences, and more. 

It’s important to remember that while style and aesthetics are important, functionality is equally critical to a bathroom remodel. That’s why inspiration isn’t quite enough. You need that practical side to balance your ideas in order to get the perfect space.

Unfortunately, that’s where many homeowners run into problems. They end up working with bathroom remodeling contractors who simply promise to make their dream a reality only to find it doesn’t quite fit.

The 3 Steps to Your Perfect Bathroom Remodel 

Just because a design is pretty doesn’t mean it’ll work for you. Homeowners may not realize this going into the planning stages, but a contractor should have the experience to find the balance between your inspiration and the right design for your needs.

The best way to achieve this balance is to follow three simple steps before the project ever starts:

  • Walkthrough and Ideas: The first is the initial meeting between a contractor and potential client. This is when you can present your ideas and inspiration and let the contractor know what you hope the scope of the project might be. But throughout this initial phase, the contractor should be assessing the space and determining what’s possible for your bathroom.
  • Preliminary Design: After the walkthrough, the next step is to sit down with a professional designer. They know what the space looks like and can help you select fixtures, finishes, and materials to fit your needs. A professional Design Consultant (rather than a salesperson) can identify where you may need to compromise on inspiration for function.
  • The Proposal: Your last step before starting the project is to receive a proposal. This will detail the complete scope of work required to build your vision. And because the first two steps are so detailed, you can be sure you know what you’re investing in. Here at Brothers, we include a 3-D rendering of your bathroom so you can actually see the dream come to life before moving forward.

These are the steps we take for our clients. While every contractor will be different, this is the level of detail and assistance you should expect regardless of who you work with.