Do It Yourself Bathroom Remodeling

Few spaces in the home are as personal, and as practical, as the bathroom. Bathrooms are a place to refresh, re-group and prepare for the coming day. They're also a place to wind down from a day just past and prepare for bed.

Serving so many functions, and often for multiple individuals, makes bathroom design a challenge. But it's also an opportunity for tailoring what is often the smallest room in the house to suit the most important needs.

First, maximize the space available. Few have the chance to build a bathroom as large as we might want. Even in new home construction, costs often limit how much space can be allotted to the bathroom. But there are usually many pockets of wasted space that can be used to open up floor space and add elbow room.

Depending on the height and size of the bathroom users, medicine cabinets, shelves and under sink storage can often be relocated higher or around a corner. That can free up counter space for makeup application, shaving and so on. Lots of medicine cabinet designs, for example, aren't set in the wall but extend into the space a few inches.

Six to eight inch shelves are often placed at chest or chin height in a high traffic area. They tend to store less often used items like spare towels, perfume bottles, etc. Move them higher and provide a collapsible step stool for the shorter members of the household.

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