Bathroom Design
by Signature Kitchens, Additions, & Baths

Contact us at: 301.251.1880

Bath Design: The hardest working room in the house

There is no doubt your bathroom works harder & is more complicated than your living room, or dining room. People come and go at all hours of the day and night. Water gets splashed on the walls and floors, moisture and humidity are always inviting mold and mildew and both are a threat to wall paper, and woodwork. No wonder the bathroom is the most frequently remodeled room in the house!

Bathroom Design Ideas in Washington DC & Bethesda

It is odd, don't you think, that this hardworking room has historically been assigned so little space in the house. The first order of business in Bath Design is to assess the space available. Is there space in the bathroom itself, we often find in older homes in Washington DC & it's immediate suburbs the claw tub or it's 1970's replacement is lined up length wise with the toilet & vanity, making fro a long thin bathroom. This is a gold mine of original footprint space. Houses built between 1940 and 1970 in Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Silver Spring or Arlington; sometimes have a linen closet at the end of the hallway abutting the bathroom. The Bath Design could incorporate that closet space and easily expand a typical 30" vanity into a custom double bowl vanity, with lots of mirror and light. Signature Kitchens, Additions & Baths is both a design firm and remodeling contractor licensed in MD DC and VA, as such we often design dimensionally, were thinking in terms of framing, brick wythe, and joist direction, pluming stacks, electrical service and so on.

Function and Aesthetics the Bathroom Design process

The Designer will explore with you many bathroom design ideas everything from the merits of a tub vs. a shower, to multiple shower heads and body sprays, to decorative plumbing fixtures, and his and her vanity cabinets. In all of these product categories we represent a few limited and unique brands, such as Watermark, Lacava, and Jaclo, which are often seen in Bathroom Design magazines. Once we have the space and the larger components of the Bath Design it's appropriate to move onto ceramic tile and discuss everything from waterproof underpayment to shampoo niches, leg shaving shelves and accent tile.

The Mini Cooper or remodel the bath?

In any design process we have to consider budget. Let's not beat around the tub. Bathroom remodeling can be an expensive proposition. In this small yet complicated space we have most of the building trades, plumber, electrician even the HVAC mechanic, as well as the framer, and tile setters. Then there are the material costs, tub, toilet, shower and bathroom cabinets, and the ceramic tile. A bathroom remodel can easily cost as much as a small car. Should we buy the Mini Cooper or install a new bath? Eventually the car we'll be worth …nothing. Your palatial bath on the other hand adds value to your home equal to almost 100% of its cost, according to NARI the National Association of Remodelers.

Last but not least armed with all of the above information it is time to start designing your new bathroom.

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"Thank you Signature Kitchens, Additions & Baths, for a bathroom design that achieved more than we ever expected. Your attentiveness to our lifestyle needs resulted in much more efficient use of the wasted space of our old bathroom. Between the structural design of the new master bathroom and the selected fixtures and décor we now have a bathroom that reminds us of one of our favorite hotels. Together we made a silk purse out of a sow's ear with this one.”

- Lori Gatson

You should take advantage of this web site it has been designed to inform and help you in the kitchen, addition & bath design & remodeling process. Browse through, you'll find lots of inspiration. More important you'll find our well thought out design philosophy, a proven remodeling process, and the critical steps necessary in a major remodel or addition. As well as information on kitchen cabinet selection, bathroom design, accessible kitchens & baths, and much more. Add our site to your browsers "Favorites Tab".