An Unusual Bathroom Design Strategy

8/31/2019

Kansas City Bathroom Remodeling has several tricks up our sleeve when it comes to renovating local bathrooms. Styling them is another matter. We can make suggestions, but when it comes to the day-to-day use of the room, it’s 100% your taste that matters!

Still, we’re often asked, “How can I make my plain bathroom look better/more luxurious/nicer…?” There are many variations of the question, but customers are basically asking the same thing. They want to know how to create a stylish bathroom like the ones they see in magazines and online.

We have come up with one simple tip that can answer all varieties of this question:

Put unexpected yet classy items in the bathroom.
By taking a piece of furniture, a home accent or a fixture that would look right at home in the living room, dining room or bedroom and transitioning it to the bedroom, you can effectively create a unique yet sophisticated look.

We’ve seen this trend for a while now. It started with dresser vanities – the kind that are hollowed out so that they hide the plumbing, then a sink either sits on top or is dropped down into the top. From there, the trend spread like wildfire.

Here are a few other examples we like:

Colored tile – Rich purples, blues and greens all look good when bathed in the natural sunlight that your bathroom can possibly provide.
Rug – Not a shower or bath mat, but an honest to goodness rug. The luxury of it will make you feel like you’re in a fancy hotel or spa. Just make sure it’s one that you don’t value too much, because it will likely absorb moisture and need to be thrown out or deep cleaned often.
Antiques – Anything you’d proudly display in the middle of your dining room table or along the wall of your living room is fair game in the bathroom, too!
Skylight – Skylights are usually found in bedrooms and living rooms, but they can be of great value in the bathroom, where you do the majority of your grooming.
Greenery – Think bigger than a potted plant on a stool in the corner. Add an area for hanging plants or place a small potted tree in your bathroom for a surprising scene.
Rough wood countertops – Not so rough that you get a splinter every time you touch them, but unfinished wood that has been slightly sanded and then sealed can make a really interesting vanity.
Drapery – One step up from a basic shower curtain, drapery in the bathroom is more luxurious. Use it to block off a stand-alone tub or as a privacy screen for an outdoor shower.
Ornate light fixtures – Imagine walking into your own bathroom and seeing a sparkly chandelier every single day!

We love sharing our ideas with local customers just like you! Give us a few minutes, and we can provide you with all the inspiration you’ll need to renovate and decorate your boring bathroom!

Concrete Bathroom Floors: Pros and Cons

8/14/2019

Before you dismiss the idea completely, listen to what Kansas City Bathroom Remodeling has to say about concrete floors for your Overland Park bathroom. You may be surprised about some of the advantages and disadvantages, as many of our skeptical customers are at first.

Just the idea of it seems foreign, but we’ve seen beautiful, polished and stained concrete floors in practically every room of the home: converted basements, living rooms, and kitchens. So why not in the bathroom as well?

Before you begin this project, you should have your contractor check out the subflooring to make sure that it can handle the weight of a poured concrete floor. Once this preliminary inspection is complete, you can continue your research to see if a concrete bathroom floor really is right for you.

concrete bathroom flooring installation kansas city

Pros
First, let’s look at the benefits of concrete floors in the bathroom. Many of concrete’s advantages make it a very similar option to tile flooring. For example, it is water resistant like tile, and it is easy to clean and care for. It’s incredibly durable, and with stain and sealant, you’re guaranteed to have a one-of-a-kind bathroom floor.

Cons
Now we’ll cover concrete’s disadvantages. Getting the finish right is tricky. It will either be too rough and uncomfortable on the bottoms of your feet or too slippery and dangerous when wet if not done exactly right. It’s best left with a semi-smooth finish for interior purposes. Concrete, like tile, is cold to the touch, and takes a long time to heat or cool. Also like tile, concrete can stain, so it must be treated with a sealant.

The Verdict
Overall, concrete floors are one of our favorite design elements of the past few years. They are especially great for an industrial style bathroom with exposed plumbing and iron fixtures, and they can also bring a sense of unity to an indoor-outdoor bathroom.
We love the look, and while a concrete bathroom floor isn’t for everyone, we think that they make a great addition to many homes!

One suggestion we give our Overland Park customers is to think about heating their concrete floors. If you’re installing a new concrete floor, pouring it over insulation or adding a heating element such as hot-water tubing will help a lot, since concrete is very slow to heat and cool. This technique is used with tile very effectively as well, and it will keep your feet – and the entire room – nice and toasty even on the coldest mornings!

If you aren’t completely sold on the idea of a poured concrete floor, you could do something really unique and use concrete pavers for your flooring. To pull off such an idea, you’ll probably need some professional help, but here at Kansas City Bathroom Remodeling, the customer’s wish is our command, so we’ll do whatever it takes to make their dream come to life!