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Tips for Small Bathrooms from Orange County Bathroom Renovation Company

By Inspired Remodels / Bathroom Remodel / Comments Off

Small bathrooms are always a challenge. How do you make the most of the space you have? Do you know what to do and what not to do? Inspired Remodels, an Orange County bathroom renovation company, shares tips to make the most of a small bathroom. Small bathrooms don’t need to skimp on style. Just get creative with the space.

Avoid Shower Doors

Does your small bathroom include room for bathing? The standard shower/tub combination saves on space. Most combos only need 60 inches. Then, just hang a shower curtain and forget the space needed for doors to pivot open. Pivoting shower doors are space hogs and sliding glass doors are notoriously hard to keep clean. If you don’t need a tub, a Roman shower is also a great space saver. These open design showers take up little space and because of their open design, make rooms look and feel larger. As a bonus, Roman showers are easy to keep clean!

Floating is Fabulous

Floating is fabulous for tricking the eye. Float vanities to make a small space look larger. When the vanity doesn’t touch the floor, the eye interprets that space as additional space in the room. Now we all know you aren’t going to do so much with that small amount of space between the vanity and the floor, but your eye doesn’t know that and tells your brain to see more space than there is.

Floating isn’t just for vanities. Float sinks for an even greater optical illusion. Add a vanity stool under a floating counter/sink combo and not only does the room look larger, but it also looks more luxurious. A crafty bathroom renovation company knows how to float sinks, vanities, and counters to make the most of a small space.

Mirror Mirror On the Wall

Even the smallest spaces look larger with mirrors. More mirror space also means more usable space. With a large mirror, more than one person can use the mirror at a time without jostling for space. Mirrors don’t need to be confined to the sink area. The mirror can extend far beyond the sink area to increase usable space in the room. This is especially important for bathrooms that are shared by multiple occupants. One shaves or brushes their teeth while the other has plenty of room for hair styling or other grooming activities.

Vanities with Storage Shelves

Vanities with storage shelves make a room look larger while providing additional space for linens or toiletries. Just like a floating vanity, the open space created by a shelf is interpreted by the eye as extra space. And that “extra” space is put to good use. Place extra towels on the shelf so you always have linens on hand.

Hooks Not Bars

Speaking of towels, towel bars are handy but they are also space hogs. Hooks aren’t just for robes anymore. Hooks provide adequate space for hanging towels to dry. You can hang two towels on hooks in a much smaller space than a single towel bar.

The Bathroom Renovation Company that Knows Small Spaces

Big or small, Inspired Remodels is the bathroom renovation company that can do it all. At a loss how to maximize your small space? Let Jason and Joe Mueller create and execute a bathroom design that provides utility and beauty while making the most of the space you have. Small spaces don’t need to skimp on style. Effective use of color and pattern along with the tips shared here make small rooms look big. Call (949) 716-1938 or Contact Us to schedule a consultation today.

What Your Renovation Contractor Knows that You Don’t

By Inspired Remodels / Home Improvement / Comments Off

Starting to think about a renovation in the kitchen, bathroom or bedroom? Whether the job is a major addition or just a remodel, here’s a few things your renovation contractor knows that you don’t.

Why Bids Vary Wildly

Behind every bid for a renovation or remodel is a renovation contractor. The contractor’s bid is influenced by many factors. But, the chief factor is their overhead. If you hire a contractor that has a large staff and large offices, the contractor has a large overhead to cover. That bid will be higher.

In addition, some contractors take shortcuts that can end up costing you more in the long run. If the job requires the work of a plumber, but the contractor doesn’t use a licensed plumber for the work, you can end up paying extra in repairs.

You Can Judge a Renovation Contractor by Demolition

If you think it’s hard to judge the quality of work a contractor will do before the work starts you are wrong. Renovation contractors know that you can begin to judge the quality of the work that will be done during the demolition phase.

If a contractor treats your home as a job site, it shows a lack of respect and a willingness to cut corners. A quality contractor treats demolition with the same care as they treat construction. The work area should be isolated with plastic sheeting where possible to retain dust. Protective coverings should go over floors to guard against damage from worker’s boots and debris carried through the house.

If the contractor asks you to pull any permits during the demolition phase or later in the project it is a large, screaming red flag that cannot be ignored. This is a sure sign the contractor has a problem with their license or has allowed their license to lapse.

The Actual Contractor is Rarely on the Job

The job of the renovation contractor is to see that the work is done as contracted and to the proper specifications. The contractor will hire and schedule subcontractors that perform the actual work.

Your contractor will assign a project manager to your job. The project manager will be on-site regularly. That’s a good thing, because the project manager will know the details of your job better than the contractor will.

Both the contractor and project manager should be available to answer your questions. A sign of a good renovation contractor is the willingness to return phone calls and respond to emails. It’s a sign of a great project manager as well.

Some Renovation Contractors Pass on Jobs

Repairing a DIY job gone bad can be a bigger hassle than building from scratch. Don’t be surprised if many renovation contractors take a pass on this type of work.

Frequently, the DIY horrors only get worse once walls come out and shoddy wiring and plumbing are exposed. This is why many contractors won’t take a job repairing bad DIY work. It’s better to hire a pro in the beginning than hire someone later to rescue the project.

Orange County Renovation Pros

For your renovation project, call Jason and Joe at Inspired Remodels. You’ll get a professional renovation contractor and an awesome project manager. It’s the team that’s creating functional and fabulous indoor spaces, one renovation at a time. Call (949) 716-1938 and schedule your consultation today.

Three Things the Bathroom Remodeler Knows that You Don’t

By Inspired Remodels / Bathroom Remodel / Comments Off

Thinking about your next dream bathroom? Can’t stop pinning more and more ideas to your bathroom idea boards? Well when it comes to planning your bathroom remodel, there are a few things that your bathroom remodeler knows that you don’t. Except we’re going to clue you in. So, take notes. Here are three things that your bathroom remodeler knows that you should know.

Hide the Toilet

Seriously. It doesn’t matter how beautiful you think your new Kohler porcelain throne is, no toilet is a work of art. The things that happen at the toilet aren’t exactly beautiful either. Give your toilet a little privacy please. The people that use it will thank you.

Use a room-within-a-room or a dividing wall to create a little privacy. In the bathroom, a little privacy goes a long way. Even a piece of furniture like a storage armoire can create a welcome bit of privacy without the added expense of framing and finishing a wall or adding a door and door frame.

Go Wild in the Shower

Soaking tubs are all the rage but be honest with yourself. Will you really use that soaking tub every day? Will you use it 3 times a week? Probably not. But you will jump in the shower at least once a day. Chances are the shower is where you will either end or begin every day. So go wild in the shower.

Invest in multiple shower heads, rain shower heads, and detachable shower heads. Give yourself enough room to go wild. Make your shower around 4 x 6. Larger showers can actually save you money. You may not need two shower doors if the shower spray can be directed so that it doesn’t extend beyond the first door.

Go wild with niches and shower seats. These make showering easier, more organized, safer and even easier to clean.

If the budget allows for the splurge tub, splurge away. But make sure you’ve devoted the lion’s share of the waterworks to the shower.

Skimping on Storage is Pennywise and Pound Foolish

Nothing is worse than dashing from the warm shower to the cold hall to grab a towel. That won’t happen if your bathroom design includes plenty of storage.

Closets, cabinets, armoires are essential. Make room for more than just toiletries. A bathroom with room for towels and cleaning supplies may cost a bit more but will return value when its time to sell. Buyers evaluate bathrooms based not only on sinks, tubs and showers. They are looking for storage solutions too.

Your Bathroom Remodeler Matters

Picking your bathroom remodeler is a big job. Make sure you take your time. Ask friends and neighbors. Then go online and check licenses. Don’t forget to look for honest review and references. Yelp is a great place to start. That’s where Jeffery V shares his story.

“After a detailed search and a narrowed down shortlist of (5), we settled on Inspired Remodels for our master bath. Choosing them was fairly easy – they were by far the easiest and most professional of any of the other choices we looked at, and I could tell that they would handle ANY challenge (and everyone knows that happens in construction sometimes) in stride.
We were not disappointed. Great work, great people, and a genuine commitment to the customer.”

That’s the kind of glowing review you want to read about your potential bathroom remodeler.

Want to professional inspiration for your bathroom remodel? Contact Joe and Jason at Inspired Remodels.

Author: Inspired Remodels