Top 12 Bathroom Refit Ideas to Inspire Your New Bathroom

1. Turn a Small Bathroom Into a Sprawling Shower

As professional bathroom fitters, our team is well-placed to notice and report on the latest trends in bathrooms. One that we are seeing more and more is smaller, cramped and compact bathrooms being turned into spacious, sprawling and open shower rooms.

Bathrooms that are on the smaller side often fall victim to becoming cluttered and cramped rooms that are no joy to use. However, by de-cluttering a small bathroom – by removing the bathtub and potentially reducing the size of other fixtures, such as the basin and toilet – you can create a decent amount of space. This space can then be used to fit a brand-new shower. And because of the amount of free space achieved, you will likely be able to fit a large and luxurious shower. Therefore, creating a grand shower room out of what was once a small bathroom.

2. Go Down the Supply Only Route for Your Bathroom Refit

A supply only bathroom project holds many benefits to people hoping to build a new bathroom. With this kind of project, instead of having an expert bathroom fitter supply and install your new bathroom for you, you’d only have the bathroom products supplied.

Why do it like this? If you have the skills and knowledge to take on some DIY and fit a new bathroom yourself, you can save a lot of money on labour costs by just having the products ordered and supplied to you. Alternatively, if you have a friend or trusted local fitter who can install the bathroom for you, it may make more sense to have the bathroom products supplied by one company and then have this person fit them for you.

Read more about our Supply Only Bathroom service >

3. Use a Character-Filled Wallpaper to Brighten Things up

Bathroom renovation is a big job…sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, most bathroom projects take a decent amount of graft to get finalised and some take whole teams to finish. That being said, there are some cases where a full bathroom refit isn’t necessary or at least one that isn’t too intense.

Sometimes, all you need to change the vibe and feel of a bathroom is to make it more visually appealing. If you think your bathroom has fallen into the trap of being too drab and dull, one way to reverse this is to put up some new wallpaper. But not just any wallpaper, we’re taking wallpaper that offers something different, something unique. Think bold colours, intriguing patterns, and wacky illustrations. The result will be a bathroom that holds some character and charm and will make quite the conversation starter.

4. Add a Ledge or Shelf to Your Shower for a Pleasing Shower Experience

As we briefly touched on earlier in this article, shower renovations are rising in popularity with more people choosing the shower over the bathtub. If you plan to fit a new shower as part of your bathroom refit, then it may be a good idea to include a ledge or shelf of some sort in your shower design.

You know how it goes – to keep bottles of shampoo and conditioner and scrubs and brushes handy, we tend to store these in the shower itself; most of the time resting a collection of shower essentials on the shower tray. Not only is this an eyesore, but also a dangerous slip hazard. To eliminate this entirely, include a ledge or shelf in your new shower design where these important things can be kept close by in a safe and tidy way.

5. Save Money on Your Bathroom Refit With Low-Cost Replica Materials

Materials play a huge part in bathroom design and so they can make up a large portion of the overall cost of a bathroom refit.

To save money, yet still wind up with a bathroom you’re happy to call your own, consider using lower-cost lookalike materials in your bathroom refit. For example, vinyl flooring can replicate a wide range of materials such as wood and stone, appearing as the real thing for a fraction of the cost.

If you’re set on not using such an approach, instead of seeking the most expensive materials to create a particular style/vibe for your bathroom, consider more affordable options. For a dark, striking and dramatic effect, choose gunmetal. Or for a trendy, gold-like material, you could go for brushed brass.

6. Paint the New Bathroom Yourself

The first and main advantage of this bathroom refit idea is the fact that you’ll be saving some money on the overall cost of your new bathroom. But also, by taking on the paintwork yourself, you can take more time to decide on a colour and take a trial-and-error approach which may not be possible if someone else were painting for you.

Also, no one knows you and your taste better than you, so painting the bathroom yourself will ensure you capture the style you want.

7. Eco-Friendly Bathroom Refit: Choose Low-Flow

If sustainability and being ecologically friendly are important to you, then the good news is that there are opportunities for you to explore these further in your bathroom refit. A great way of doing so is by introducing low-flow fixtures to your bathroom.

These fixtures are designed to reduce water consumption by using a lower flow rate of water. The amount of water that can be saved each year with low-flow fixtures is incredible. Contrary to what some may think, low-flow fixtures such as low-flow showers, low-flow faucets, and low-flow toilets don’t always offer inadequate water pressure or flow. In recent years, the designs of these fixtures have improved greatly and work just as well compared to fixtures with standard flow rates.

8. Recess to Save Space

If saving more space is something you want to achieve in your bathroom refit, then you will need one or two great storage solutions to help. This is easier said than done. Sometimes it can be tricky to find an ideal storage solution that can hold plenty of storage but also doesn’t take up too much room itself.

That’s why we love the idea of recessing to save space. Also known as wall niches, recessed walls are best described as walls within walls. Instead of a shelf or ledge protruding from a wall, recessed wall niches are built into a wall, creating a sort of built-in shelf. The best thing about this storage solution is that it basically takes up no internal space as these are indents in the walls.

You can use recessed walls to store bathtime essentials, like shampoo and conditioner bottles, soap, towels and toothbrushes.

9. Bathroom Refit With a Focus on Lighting

You may not realise it but the lighting in a bathroom is so important. With a bathroom refit that focuses on lighting, you can practically create any vibe you want for your new space. With all of the different bathroom lighting options available, you have a whole host of lighting methods to choose from.

For example, if you would like to create a spa-like bathroom, one where relaxing and unwinding come easy, then lighting can play a massive part. If we think of a spa setting, the lighting will likely look a particular way, such as being warm, slightly dimmed, and almost giving off a golden hue. There is a reason behind this and it’s that lighting plays a big role in making us feel relaxed.

A blaring, white LED light that resembles the lighting seen in a dentist’s operating room may make someone feel guarded or uncomfortable. However, soft lighting that is not so bright but just enough to see comfortably creates a much more pleasing environment.

10. Ditch the Ordinary Bathroom Mirror and go for Something Unique

Bathroom mirrors are such an important part of the bathroom, and lately, it seems more people are realising this bathroom staple is a great opportunity to give their space a flair of something different as part of a bathroom refit.

Back in the day, mirrors were noticed just for their functional value – their ability to cast a reflection was all that was needed. Yet, this no longer seems to be the case. Like other bathroom accessories, the mirror is something that can be customised, tailored to suit an individual’s taste or to add to a bathroom’s overall design. At The Bathroom Place, the bathroom mirrors in our brochure are proving to be very popular, specifically the ones that come in varying shapes (as opposed to the regular square design), and mirrors that can come with customised borders or LED capabilities.

LED mirror cabinets are also a great addition to a bathroom refit, offering a two-for-one solution as both a mirror and storage solution.

11. Reimagine the Bathtub: Modern Freestanding Thin Edge Baths

If you are more of a bath lover than a shower enthusiast, there are plenty of ways a bathroom refit can benefit you. You could create a new bathroom that is designed around bathing.

And if you really want to treat yourself, have a modern, freestanding, thin edge bathtub supplied and fitted with your bathroom refit. A freestanding bathtub is something that is incredibly sought after by bath lovers for its elegance. To go a step further, and to really achieve that luxury bathing experience, choose a thin edge bathtub.

Thin edge baths offer a sleek, modern style and they’re functional too. By having a thin edge, there is a little more internal space for bathing without compromising on floor space.

12. Washroom Refit: Elevate This Underappreciated Space

Do you have a washroom in your home? If you’re not sure what a washroom is, this is typically a smaller room that includes only a toilet and a sink.

As washrooms are usually used solely for relieving oneself and washing hands, they tend not to receive the same amount of attention as a bathroom or en suite would, and it’s understandable why. After all, we tend not to spend too much time in washrooms unless we need to use the loo and wash our hands. However, this doesn’t mean washrooms have to be dull and bland.

Think about how marvellous it would be for your washroom to look as good as a new, freshly rejuvenated bathroom. Even if this is a room in your home that doesn’t see much regular use, it’s still a room in your home, so wouldn’t you want to make it just as good as the rest of the home? Plus, your guests will love it.