would you invest money and hire a bathroom/kitchen designer?

[vash]

how much does one cost? anyone ever hire one? i NEED to redo my bathroom, with the kitchen a close second. i hoped to put it off until my wife got done with school, and got a job..but..i feel like my bathroom is coming down around me..it's getting ghetto fellas. i need to move this project forward. money will get TIGHT!!

i may play with some layouts, and see if i can get around a designer.
currently i have a tub..and a separate shower stall. should i combine them into a shower/tub combo config? i even have room to put a corner, two person jacuzzi tub, and leave my shower stall. but i may be encroaching on too much floor space. again, i will sketch my BR and make some paper cut out fixtures and move it around. it would be nice to convert my shower stall into closet space.

help?

[stomachmonkey]

Any new housing developments around?

Go look at the models, take pics.

I can have my wife hit the ones around here if ou want.

[vash]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Any new housing developments around?

Go look at the models, take pics.

I can have my wife hit the ones around here if ou want.

that is a crazy good idea!!

[Christien]

We did a massive bathroom reno last year - 2 old dingy bathrooms into one nice new one, everything replaced, everything ripped out down to the studs and joists, over 25k when it was all tallied. We didn't hire any kind of designer. I started with sketches to scale, using graph paper. I tried a few online designers and sketchers, but the free ones are pretty basic. We showed the sketches to the contractor and they took them and did them up properly, including making sure everything would work. That was the extent of the floorplan design, and it worked beautifully. As for choosing tiles, fixtures, paint colours, etc. we thought about what kind of mood we wanted in there, and chose accordingly. We did agonize over tile colours and styles for quite a while. Paint's easy and cheap to change. Tile, not so much. In the end it looks awesome.

Funny, we were just talking about this on rennlist today. Here are some before and after pics:

[trekkor]

You really should call me...

We'll figure it all out and you will have a lifetime installation.
I don't need to make a lot of money these days.


KT

[john70t]

Try free Google Sketchup7. No papercuts. You can make a walk-through movie of the different senarios.

Whatever the layout, make sure it's "conventional" enough not to hurt resale. Ask around.

[trekkor]

A designer will usually charge you 10-15% of the actual cost of materials and labor of the job.



KT

[trekkor]

Post some pictures of you usable space and tell us what materials you want to use on your finished surfaces.

Here's a recent project I completed:

Current job | Facebook


KT

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by Christien

We did a massive bathroom reno last year - 2 old dingy bathrooms into one nice new one, everything replaced, everything ripped out down to the studs and joists, over 25k when it was all tallied. We didn't hire any kind of designer. I started with sketches to scale, using graph paper. I tried a few online designers and sketchers, but the free ones are pretty basic. We showed the sketches to the contractor and they took them and did them up properly, including making sure everything would work. That was the extent of the floorplan design, and it worked beautifully. As for choosing tiles, fixtures, paint colours, etc. we thought about what kind of mood we wanted in there, and chose accordingly. We did agonize over tile colours and styles for quite a while. Paint's easy and cheap to change. Tile, not so much. In the end it looks awesome.

Funny, we were just talking about this on rennlist today. Here are some before and after pics:

Hot links not working

[cbush]

We have never used a designer so I couldn't begin to answer your question about how much they cost. Having done quite a few bathroom refurbishments now, I really don't see the need for one. Go to several different tile and bath stores to get an idea of what your options are. The Tile Shop is one store that has many different displays but there are many like that. We walked around, took pictures, and then picked the combinations of things we liked. Fergusons also has good displays of high end bathroom fixtures. There are also a lot of books sold by places like Home Depot and Lowes that give you ideas, as well as on the web.

Cost will be driven by what you want to do. If you just want to refresh your bathroom, you could re-tile the shower enclosure, and replace your tub with a Jacuzzi type tub. Re-do the sinks, cabinets, and floors, and you can have a fresh new look for a relatively small amount of money($4-6K).
If you start moving things around, then you are getting into a lot of framing and plumbing costs, and the difficulty of the project goes up significantly.
Even if you find a designer, you still have to make the decisions on what you want, and looking around and deciding is half the fun anyway.
Here are a couple picts of our project last Summer.

[krichard]

Originally Posted by trekkor

Post some pictures of you usable space and tell us what materials you want to use on your finished surfaces.

Here's a recent project I completed:

Current job | Facebook


KT

Do you have a ballpark of the cost to just do the shower / tub in that remodel? I need that exact remodel done and don't have a clue what something like that would add up to.

[turbo6bar]

Yes and no. A designer can be helpful, but they can also be expensive.

Having used an interior designer for the last two remodeling projects (major rehab, gut and rebuild), I advise you to do as much research beforehand. Try to fix your wants and needs. Use the designer to complement and enhance your plans. Think about layout, surfaces, textures, and designs. Bring the designer in when you're getting stuck, but before you go crazy.

Some folks are better with designs and colors. Since I'm an engineer, I think black and white. It's either right or wrong. Thing is there is no right or wrong when you're designing a space. Sure, there are rules, but personal preference is highly influential.

[JeremyD]

First off - go to some open houses - new developments for ideas - (Home Depot Expo was great for this)

Go to Home Depot kitchen and bath - take measurements with you.

Work with one of their designers there - they have some folks - depending - that have some good experience. (we were actually referred to one by our builder)

Anyway - that worked for us -

[Scuba Steve]

Interior design? No, I'll DIY that part. There are enough places to get inspiration from. The John Bridge forums worked great for me, along with going on a couple of tour of homes.

Here's some of my work. Small pics substituted for the gigantic ones on my blog (available upon request).

[JavaBrewer]

Originally Posted by trekkor

Post some pictures of you usable space and tell us what materials you want to use on your finished surfaces.

Here's a recent project I completed:

Current job | Facebook


KT

Nice job as always KT though I would have tossed those white washed cabinets. Yes the bath would then differ from the rest of the home but I could live with that.

[trekkor]

I tried to get them to change the cabinet.
They wanted to keep it.


It was about $14k for that job not including tile or granite.
I seem to remember being there for about 7 weeks.


KT

[Zeke]

You have to buy fixtures and the place that sells those will do a design work up for free if you commit. The thing is, prices are negotiable on all fixtures. Not at a big box and the big box is too expensive for what they sell.

Let me elaborate for a second. I needed a bath fan. The best fan only model at Home Depot was a NuTone for $135 + my local sales tax of 9.75%. Amazon sells the same unit for $95 + shipping. The 13 bucks for CA tax should get it here. So I save 40 bucks.

Now, a better model showed up at Amazon that the HD would have to special order. If you've ever done that at a HD, you know what a nightmare crap shoot that is.

Back to the fixture store: They will quote prices based on a certain level of quality and ask you to commit (I actually typed in "vommit" missing the "c" which is pretty funny). Get them to spec design the bath, do a more concise quote and negotiate. The more you buy at one place, the better off you will be. Once you agree on the price for the fixtures, they will do the final design. And, they will remember all the items needed to complete the job.

Try to agree on the preliminary design because big design changes will sour the deal. They are working on their commission for pay to design your project to get your business.

Now you just have to remember all the items you are going to install and be sure to put backing inside the walls for everything rright down to the toilet paper holder (especially the toilet paper holder).

[HardDrive]

Recent bathroom I worked(working) on. I used google sketchup with IDX Renditioner for lighting.

[Burnin' oil]

Indoor bathroom. Must be nice.

[vash]

Originally Posted by Burnin' oil

Indoor bathroom. Must be nice.

LOL!! you country bumpkin!!