Bathroom Renovation

Video Testimonial by Jennifer & Steve (Wattle Downs, Auckland) – Custom Bathroom Design and Renovation

“The design Dorothy came back with was perfectly in line with what we were looking for, knowing that they have listened and they have given something we were looking for just filled us up with confidence, knowing that we were working with a company that knew what they were doing and they listened to their customers and they put their customers first”

The renovation included:

☑️ Custom Bathroom Design
☑️ Demolition of Existing Bathroom
☑️ Full Bathroom Renovation
☑️ Project Management of All Trades from Start to End

Like the look of this custom bathroom? Browse our bathroom designs for more completed Auckland projects.

Still have questions unanswered?

Book a no-obligation consultation with the team at Superior Renovations,
we’d love to meet you to discuss your renovation ideas!

Hey Aucklanders, if you’re brainstorming bathroom design ideas for your Titirangi bungalow or a cosy spot in Papatoetoe and want a space that feels like a proper relaxing escape—blending timeless charm with modern practicality for our humid NZ climate—this roundup’s packed with inspiration. From sleek contemporary vibes to rustic warmth or vintage cottage appeal, it’s about picking styles that suit your whānau, maximise light in often small layouts, and use durable materials that handle daily life without fuss.

What’s Your Vibe—Contemporary, Modern, or Something More Character-Filled?

Contemporary’s ace for clean, open feels in urban Auckland pads—think floating vanities for that airy illusion in tight spaces, chrome fixtures from suppliers like Reece, and textural contrasts like bamboo against concrete for subtle drama. Modern keeps it minimalist with neutral palettes (beige, slate, or pops of teal), frameless mirrors, and vessel sinks—perfect for calming ensuites in Albany or Westmere where you want breathing room and sculptural lighting.

For classic warmth, traditional styles nail timeless elegance with Carrara marble, claw-foot tubs, and soft neutrals like sage green—spot-on for heritage villas in Epsom or Greenhithe. Vintage cottage brings cozy rustic charm with subway tiles, barn doors (great space-savers), and pastel tones for a relaxed feel in Avondale family homes.

Rustic weaves in natural wood and stone for that outdoor connection—hammered metals and earth tones shrug off our damp winters nicely in Redvale spots. Industrial goes raw with exposed brick, matte black fittings, and concrete for edgy utility in Stanmore Bay renos.

How Do You Make It Practical and Spa-Like for Kiwi Homes?

Focus on smart storage to ditch clutter—mirror cabinets or open shelving keep things tidy, while sliding barn doors save swing space in compact layouts. Go for authentic materials: Natural stone or engineered quartz for benches, weathered metals for longevity against humidity. Floating vanities and large tiles create openness in small bathrooms, and freestanding tubs or wet rooms add that luxe spa touch—pair with underfloor heating for chilly mornings.

Colours set the mood: Cooler tones for contemporary energy, earthy neutrals for rustic calm, or crisp black/white contrasts for cottage freshness. Add plants or nature art for that biophilic boost we love here.

Which Features Work Best in Tight Auckland Spaces?

Illusions are key—light colours, unbroken lines, and plenty of natural light make rooms feel bigger. Trough sinks or wall-mounted fixtures free up floor area, and durable chrome or brushed nickel handles steamy showers easy. We’ve transformed heaps of older homes by blending styles thoughtfully—keeping costs realistic with local suppliers.

There are many steps and factors that you need to consider before you get started. Some say that your bathroom is almost like your very own spa. It’s a room in your house where you go to relax by taking a hot shower or soaking in the bathtub with wine and a movie. Which is why it’s important to think about the layout of your brand-new bathroom and which kind of style you might be going for. There are many bathrooms design that can be suited towards your needs and your families.

In this article:

• Modern bathroom designs
• Contemporary bathrooms
• Traditional bathrooms
• Cottage and Vintage bathrooms
• Rustic Bathrooms
• Industrial bathrooms

Need ideas? Check out our Kitchen Design Gallery or dive into our Bathroom Design Gallery for inspiration!

Contemporary Bathroom Design Ideas – How to Design a Contemporary Bathroom

There are many bathrooms design NZ that can be suited to your home. As you know there are many different bathroom styles available to you. Our contemporary bathroom design ideas reflect a more design approach with flowing curves, hard angles, and geometric patterns. This bathroom design is starting to appear more in homes nowadays as we move away from traditional bathroom design. Of course, this is all about preference. So, if you’re move interested in a traditional bathroom design then we can make that happen for you.

What is the difference between contemporary bathroom design and modern bathroom design? Firstly, the main difference are the years. Modern design begun around 1920s and 1930s. Secondly, you can also tell the difference between the two based on the different looks. Modern bathroom design is characterized by clean lines, neutral colours, and natural materials. This will help give the house or the bathroom a minimalistic aesthetic.

Contemporary bathroom design often draw inspiration from modernism and mid-century modern and doesn’t commit to a single aesthetic. It can have many different aesthetics, but they all tie together and make the room look nice and not overwhelming, Contemporary bathrooms also use glass and metal materials to even copper as this can work very well in a contemporary bathroom style. Which is why this bathroom style gets mistaken for a modern bathroom style.

Whilst traditional bathroom style use more wood, stone, and porcelain materials. Whereas contemporary bathroom designs use synthetics material like laminates and plastics, granite, stone, and stainless steel. This is what you’ll see in a contemporary bathroom. When trying to see which style is which, keep an eye out on the materials that are used, and you’ll have a rough idea.

Guide to small bathroom renovations

8 Elements of a Contemporary Bathroom Design in NZ

1. Clean Lines

Contemporary bathrooms feature unbroken horizontal lines. Curvy, undulating planes are not relevant here, and cabinet hardware is kept simple.

2. Authentic Materials

How to design a bathroom? With a contemporary bathroom you’d want to choose materials that have and authenticity to them. We should be celebrating materials like wood or concrete instead of trying to alter them.

For this bathroom design idea, cabinets will lack any kind of decorative features like face frames or mouldings. Everything has been reduced to its most basic forms and components; there are only the necessities here. Cabinet and vanity doors have smooth, single-plane surfaces. Bathroom tiles design will be perfectly flush with the grout.

For this style, we’re going for a cleaner, simpler design. Once you consider having tiles patterning on the wall or chose more complex tiles then we’re moving away from the simpler design of the contemporary bathroom.

Bathroom tiles design perfectly flushed with the grout

Interested? More information here.

3. Lack of Clutter

If you love to organise and keep your space nice and tidy, then this style is perfect for you. Contemporary bathrooms have a minimalist aesthetic which is why you can incorporate asian themes into your bathroom. This is due to how everything is put away and everything has a home to go to. Nothing will be left on the countertops except for the necessities.

A bathroom does not have to be cluttered with toiletries. It can be a beautiful space but it is important to think about storage before choosing your fittings. A mirror cabinet is a perfect way to increase storage in your bathroom which can be seen in this bathroom. The mirror cabinet is from Methven which we get from our supplier Reece.

4. Contrast

Our designers use contrast to provide interest and drama to contemporary rooms instead of using ornate décor and details. For example, textural bamboo cabinets blend with polished concrete. Modern interiors keep to hues and colours that are at opposite ends of the colour spectrum. Your bathroom would be more pleasing if there is a wow factor.

This bathroom is a great example of a bathroom design that combines different textures and patterns within a small bathroom space to create a cohesive bathroom design.

Mistakes to avoid in your bathroom design

5. Simple Lighting

Once more, simple shapes take precedence over anything extravagant or detailed.

6. Open Space

This is a crucial component when designing your contemporary bathroom. How to design a small bathroom? Whilst the space might be small, You can always create the illusion of space by making your bathroom more open and having more light in. The style is characterised by floating vanities, wide flooring, and a general sense of lightness and airiness.

7. Colours

Contemporary bathroom design ideas can use many different colours. There isn’t just a specific colour tone or shade you need to stick to. Whilst some people do agree that contemporary styles lean towards cooler colours. Others have disagreed used colours that fit well with them and they own style. It’s more important to consider how your material selections and colour choices interact.

8. Chrome

Because it is elegant, polished chrome is widely used in modern fixtures. Many of the faucet and fixture designs that are so effective originate in Europe, where chrome is preferred because it is durable, simple to clean, and true to the material.

One of our displays in our renovation showroom showcases a dark contemporary bathroom with chrome fittings as it is one of the most popular finishes for our clients. It works really well with modern and contemporary bathrooms. Our renovation showroom showcases 5 displays of renovated bathrooms and 3 Kitchens so clients can explore different materials and get ideas for their own renovation.

Visit our showroom at 16B Link drive, Wairau valley, Auckland – See what you can explore

How to Design a Modern Bathroom? Modern Bathroom Ideas

How to design a bathroom? Modern bathroom design may be for you if you enjoy a clean, uncluttered appearance that keeps the focus on the architecture. Continue reading for essential information about this well-liked bathroom design, including its essential components, colour schemes, fixtures, and finishing touches.

Modern-Style Bathrooms at a Glance

• Flat-panel doors and drawers on floating vanities
• Simple faucets and hardware
• Frameless mirror
• Simplified or integrated lighting
• A neutral, minimalist colour scheme
• Finishes and materials should be repeated for a consistent look.

What You Won’t Find in Modern Bathrooms

• Door faces with carvings or ornate knobs
• Detailed wainscoting, millwork, or moulding
• Vibrant colours and patterns, unless used as a small accent
• A unorganised approach to materials and finishes as opposed to simplicity and consistency

Neutral Colour Palette

For your modern bathroom ideas, you might want to consider using a neural colour palette. A modern bathroom design will lean use more crisp, clean white, subtle neutrals and black. Accessories such as bath towels and plants add a splash of colour in your modern bathroom design.

Colours for Modern Bathrooms:

• Neutrals – Beige, slate, putty dove grey and taupe.
• Black and white – Matte black and architectural white
• Pops of colour – Teal, chartreuse, red and blue

Floating Vanity

How to design a small bathroom? Not only are floating vanities popular with modern bathroom designs but they’re also very useful when thinking of a small bathroom design. They create more space in your bathroom for more storage use underneath and provide you with an opportunity to be creative.

A floating vanity works well in a modern bathroom and should be incorporated into your modern bathroom ideas as they help provide a light, streamlined look. Choose engineered quartz, marble, granite, or a solid-surface material in a neutral colour for the top. Combine with undermount sinks for a seamless look that is also easy to clean.

Floating Vanity in this bathroom renovation

See how the floating vanity allows more storage space underneath. – See project specifications + More pictures

Design Detail – Vessel Sinks

In a modern bathroom design, vessel sinks can be a striking alternative to undermount sinks. Simple rounded or rectilinear shapes in white, glass, or stone are ideal. This is a design detail you’d want to think about in your modern bathroom ideas.

Vessel Sinks in Bathroom Design

View here for more bathroom design ideas

Key Element – Breathing Space

Creating an open space bathroom can also help improve the visual effect of the room. How to design a small bathroom? Space does not matter when it comes to creating breathing space in a modern bathroom design. The space between objects is just as important as the objects themselves in a modern bathroom design. Consider clean-lined furniture on bare floors or a neutral rug, crisp white walls and bare windows, or a single sculptural vase on an otherwise empty surface in your modern bathroom ideas.

A calming bathroom design in our renovated bathroom in Albany

Read more about this modern bathroom renovation in Albany + See pictures

Can Modern Be Colourful?

Of course, a modern bathroom design can be colourful. A modern bathroom focal point is on material and structure, rather than a specific colour tone or surface pattern. If you’re thinking of adding colour into your bathroom design ideas try not to use busy patterns as that will take away the modern style. Instead opt for bold hues to an upholstered piece or a bunch of glass vases.

Design Detail – Sculptural Lighting

For your modern bathroom ideas consider using pendant lights as they really stand out in a modern style. Consider choosing a sculptural shape in gleaming gold, copper, or silver, matte black, wood, or white.

Rustic Style Bathrooms

If you’re an outdoorsy, adventurous person who loves nature then having a rustic style bathroom is perfect for you. You’d feel right at home with materials like stone and rough-hewn wood beams.

Rustic Style Bathrooms at a Glance

This style entwines the outdoors with warm, cosy textiles and raw natural materials, as you’d expect in a rustic bathroom. If you’re interested in creating a rustic bathroom design, here are some elements to consider:

• Handcrafted wood beams, cabinetry, and wall panelling
• Natural stone floors, accents, and wall treatments
• Hammered or matte finishes on dark metal hardware
• Natural-inspired colour palettes
• Patinated materials, such as natural wood, copper, and stone

What You Won’t Find in Rustic Bathrooms

• Lush colour palettes
• Cutting edge trends
• Immensely polished finishes like chrome
• Lucite, moulded plastic and man-made materials
• Mix and match approach to finishes and materials

Nature-Inspired Colour Palette

For a rich, cosy look, repeat the hues of natural materials such as stone and warm woods with paint colours and accents in similar shades.

Colours for Rustic Bathroom

• Neutrals – Buttermilk, cream, straw, wheat, stone
• Earth tones – Chestnut, mushroom, umber, terra cotta, sepia
• Spicy hues – Cinnamon, saffron, pumpkin, chili pepper, baked apple

Furniture-Style Vanity

Some bathroom design ideas you might want to consider wood or wood like vanities with furniture style details like legs and open shelving. The example below shows one of our clients take on a rustic bathroom but adding gold accessories to give in a more rustic luxury look and feel.

Wooden Vanity with brushed gold tapware in this Rustic Bathroom design in Westmere

Rustic Bathroom Renovation in Westmere – See full project specs + Pictures

Design Detail – Vessel Sink

A stone or copper vessel sink can be the focal point of a rustic bathroom or powder room. Look for natural shapes that are rounded and organic, and that have a tactile texture or patina.

Natural Stone

Bathroom design NZ uses natural stone for their rustic bathroom design. Stone floors, counters and wall treatments help deliver a natural texture to a rustic bathroom. You might want to try incorporating slate, fieldstone, travertine, soapstone, and pebble tile are all rich, earthy materials in your rustic bathroom design NZ.

Design Detail – Weathered Metal

Patina is common in rustic-style metal finishes, which are softly gleaming or matte rather than shiny or high-gloss in a rustic bathroom design NZ. For bathroom design ideas try cabinet pulls, faucets, and lighting in dark, weathered metal finishes like oil-rubbed bronze, antique brass, or hammered copper are ideal. Choose something more whimsical, such as twig- or stone-shaped hardware.

Finishing Touches

Tie up your rustic bathroom design NZ with wood, stone, or copper accessories. You’d want to use finishing touches with nature incorporated into it through nature art or photography. That way it will give your bathroom an outdoorsy vibe. Consider using these finishing touches in your bathroom design ideas.

Gold coloured finishing touches for this rustic bathroom

Want a more close up look on these finishing touches? Check out this case study!

See the different bathroom trends 2022

Cottage Style Bathrooms

Cottage style bathrooms aren’t seen as much in bathroom design NZ as most people either choose modern or cotemporary bathroom design NZ. With that said though, cottage style bathrooms find beauty in simplicity and can be the change you may need. When thinking about bathroom design ideas for this style, you’d want to incorporate these elements:

• Open shelving
• Wall panelling
• Freestanding bathtub
• Simple hardware
• Natural wood accents

What You Won’t Find in Cottage Style Bathrooms

Cottage style bathrooms mainly priorities on rustic and simplicity charm. Which is why when planning your bathroom design ideas, you’d want to avoid any modern elements. Here are some elements you won’t see in a cottage bathroom design NZ:

• Busy patterns
• Cluttered surfaces
• Super sleek finishes

Heritage Hues

Simple, natural colour palettes are preferred in cottage style bathrooms. White with crisp black trim is a popular option; for deeper hues, consider nature-inspired neutrals and other classic colours. For your bathroom tiles design you might want to consider using these colours to help tie the room together.

Colours for Cottage Style Bathrooms

• Crisp contrast – Black, White, Cream
• Natural neutrals – Stone, Buttermilk Khaki, Straw, Grey
• Other classic colours – Deep Green, Barn Red, Sage, Denim Blue

Shaker Style Vanity

How to design a bathroom? With different bathroom styles, they all have different elements that are required to complete the look. For a cottage bathroom design NZ, you’d consider getting a shaker style vanity. This vanity is well suited for a cottage bathroom.

Shaker cabinets can be painted or simply finished to show off the natural beauty of the wood grain. Cabinets with flat panels and furniture-style designs in natural wood tones can also look good for your bathroom design ideas.

Design Detail – Barn Lighting

Cottage bathroom design ideas for lighting can come in different shapes. You can choose from a bold shape barn lighting which can add a stylish touch to your bathroom design. Another option is going with a cylinder shape vanity lighting or a simple glass bell with filament bulbs. Lastly, you can look for pendants and sconces made of traditional galvanised steel or vibrantly coloured powder-coated steel. This will elevate your bathroom design ideas.

Design Detail – Subway Tile

Bathroom tiles design for this bathroom is going with subway tiles. This is because subway tile is crisp, clean, and reasonably priced, and it pairs well with almost everything. It bridges the gap between rustic and modern aspects with ease. For a novel twist, try mixing it with dark grout. Consider using subway tiles in your bathroom tiles design.

Subway tiles with dark grout combines with black hexagonal tiles with white grouting

Read our guide on bathroom renovations

Claw-Foot Bathtub

Having a claw foot bathtub will most definitely be the star of the room. Including a claw foot bathtub in your bathroom design ideas will help add character to your cottage bathroom. The only problem is that not every bathroom floor can handle the weight of a claw foot bathtub. An alternative to this would be having a freestanding pedestal bathtub, consider this as a backup plan in your bathroom design ideas.

Design Detail – Sliding Barn Doors

How to design a small bathroom? Having a sliding door will help eliminate the space that is needed for the bathroom door. This is perfect for a small bathroom as it will provide you with more space to decorate your bathroom and storage area as well. The only downside to this is that a sliding door does not provide 100% complete privacy like a normal door. Including this into your bathroom design ideas will add a more cottage character to your cottage style bathroom.

Sliding Barn door was created for this bathroom’s entrance due to the tight space in the corridor and to avoid the door opening into the bathroom. This provided more space for all bathroom fixtures without being congested

Sliding bathroom door = See full details of the bathroom + All before and After pictures

Trough Sink

In your bathroom design ideas, you may want to consider getting a trough sink and it will add to the appeal of a cottage style bathroom. This type of sink is ideal for busy households because it is made of white fireclay or porcelain and has multiple faucet options. When installed as a drop-in with a lovely wood counter. A trough sink strikes the perfect balance of functionality and elegance.

Wall Panelling

Panelling can be tricky especially if you are planning to renovate with an old home, but we can always work around it to give you the cottage appeal. It’s been said that shiplap panelling can add an architectural interest in your home and really set the tone for your cottage bathroom. Some bathroom design ideas may also be using beadboard panelling as well.

Finishing Touches

To finish off decorating your bathroom, we recommend woven baskets, striped rugs, modern stools, and matt black hardware. As this will go well in your cottage bathroom style. You may also want to add some artwork surround nature or farm life. Farmhouse-style bathrooms combine rustic appeal with modern sensibilities that value simplicity.

The matte and intricate fixtures of the tapware combined with white ceramic fixtures make the bathroom what it truly us – a classic vintage bathroom design in Greenhithe, Auckland

Pastel Tones

Your bathroom should feel nice and relaxing the second you step in. The bathroom is the place where we can relax after a long day. To create a more relaxing environment in your bathroom, opt for using pastel, neutral colours to create a comfortable atmosphere.

Pastel – Coloured Tiles

Stuck on bathroom tiles design? For your cottage bathroom you can choose a timeless style for your bathroom tiles design. Or you can opt for a peachy pink, or powder blue. Keep in mind that you can use your bathroom tiles design to frame your bathtub or make a little statement wall.

Soft Creamy Towels

Towels add colour and texture, instantly calming the atmosphere in your cottage bathroom. Add delicate pastel hues to your decor to give it a cottage atmosphere. You may match them to a prominent element, like pastel tiles, or combine multiple hues for a shabby-chic look.

Traditional Bathrooms

Another popular bathroom design NZ. It’s often said that the bathroom is the place you relax so you’d want to make sure all your accessories and furnishing all work well with one another to create a harmonious scheme. How to design a bathroom? For a traditional bathroom you’d want to incorporate unique pieces that helps give the room a timelessness feels. It’s best to avoid any modern furnishing or accessories.

7 Elements of a Traditional Bathroom Design

1. Cabinets with Character

In your traditional bathroom design ideas, you’d find cabinets with character in this style. Cabinets and vanities in traditional settings are defined by rounded legs, carved door faces, and ornate knobs. Be sure to pick a vanity with these features to add character to your bathroom.

2. Antique Style Lighting

In your bathroom design, you’d want to ensure that you aren’t picking any modern lighting fixtures. Lighting fixtures for a traditional bathroom is unique and ornamental. Instead of tubular or streamlined fixtures, consider curvy antique sconces.

3. Calming Colours

There will be no bright colours in a traditional bathroom design as that will move away from the style. In this bathroom design colour scheme opt for neutral colours like black, grey, or white. If you want to be a bit more creative and add colour you can choose a pale green or blue colour.

Neutral colours in this bathroom

View more details here.

Check out our bathroom renovation in Ellerslie

4. Plenty of Moulding

Moulding is important in a bathroom as it can help add decoration to the room, help protect wall surfaces and cover any gaps in the walls, floor, ceiling, or cabinets. This may be something to consider in your bathroom design ideas.

5. Lots of Details

Details are important in a bathroom. In such a small space you can make the room seem big just by the details. How to design a small bathroom? The attention to detail in a small bathroom is one of the distinguishing features of traditional spaces. In traditional settings, tilework, millwork, and cabinetry all have extra ornamentation.

6. Unique Tilework

Bathroom tiles design may be a bit trickier for a traditional bathroom. We recommend choosing a lighter colour and veining for your bathroom tiles design. An example may be choosing something like a Carrara marble material. Another option may be to use a black and white hex tile floor for your bathroom tiles design.

7. Stand – Along Storage Cabinets

In a traditional bathroom style, artistry is brought forward and shown more than functionality. In many traditional bathrooms design, you’d see that vertical cabinets are used as linen closets.

Design Highlights of a Traditional Bathroom

Calm Colour Palette

Traditional bathroom colour scheme tends to lean towards softer and relaxing instead of bright colours. You can opt for wood tones or deeper shade of grey or blue for a richer look in your bathroom.

Colours for Traditional Bathrooms

• Soft neutrals – Snow white, cream, silver, beige
• Serene hues – Sage green, misty blue, blue-grey
• Rich colours – Espresso, slate, chocolate, navy

Use of soft neutral colours in bathroom renovation in Avondale

Design Detail – Dressing Table

Having a dressing table in your bathroom might sound odd but in a traditional bathroom style, it makes perfect sense. Not only does this dressing table work will with light hues stone but it also has a double purpose. More storage spaces! How to design a small bathroom? Creating more space and making sure you have enough storage areas to eliminate any clutter is essential.

Elegant Stone

Another element that can contribute to your traditional bathroom design is having stone floors, counters, or wall treatments. This can be a focal point in your bathroom style. A bathroom tiles design idea for you can be using rectangular and square pieces to create a basketweave effect.

Classic Bathtub

This is another bathroom style that you can integrate a claw foot bathtub, or you can stick with a classic pedestal style bathtub. Though if that isn’t what you’re looking for you also choose a freestanding bathtub as that will still stick with the style.

Before and after pictures on one of our bathroom projects

Finishing Touches

In a traditional bathroom, the right details create a sense of luxury and pampering. Classic brushed nickel and oil-rubbed bronze faucets and hardware hit the right note. Finish with an antique stool, embroidered hand towels, a vase of flowers, and a pretty tray filled with bath products.

Industrial Style Bathroom Design

This style of bathroom can come in different many colours and different accessories but still stay within the style. This bathroom style might not be right for everyone. If you love raw materials and utilitarian spaces, then this style is perfect for you.

Industrial Style Bathrooms at a Glance

In an industrial style bathroom, you won’t find any busy patterns or bright colours. It’s often stated that raw materials and tough fixtures would be the star of the bathroom and take centre stage. Some elements to look for in an industrial bathroom:

• Exposed raw materials
• Minimal details
• Glass and stell shower enclosures
• Trough and basin sinks
• White subway tiles

What You Won’t Find in Industrial Bathrooms

Surface ornamentation plays no part in this bathroom design as it focuses more on the beauty of how things work. Here are some elements you won’t see:

• Light or pastel hues
• Luxurious comforts
• Elaborate moulding
• Delicate fixtures

Minimalist Colour Palette

Unlike other bathroom styles, you’d want to avoid using any bright or pastel colours as that will not be on theme with your industrial bathroom design NZ. The colour palette for this bathroom will be from the raw materials you use with a tiny bit of saturated colour included.

Colours for Industrial Bathrooms:

• Saturated colours – Navy, rust orange, royal blue, brick red
• Shades of grey – Charcoal, cement gray, slate
• Black and white – Matte black, architectural white

Freestanding Bathtub

A freestanding bathtub is popular and it often a key feature that many homeowners purchase in their bathroom design idea as a freestanding bathtub goes with most bathroom styles. Your freestanding bathtub can a focal point in your industrial bathroom, and you can choose from a white or silver bathtub as well.

Adding modern functional elements to a historic Epsom bungalow to suit the lifestyles of new homeowners

Adding modern functional fixtures to a historic Epsom bungalow – See before and After pictures

Glass and Steel Shower Enclosure

If you look at any industrial bathrooms, you’d be able to see that matte black fittings look amazing for this style. It really makes the room pop! For your shower you can get a black framed shower door made from steel or aluminium. These materials are vital for this style. You can finish the look off with a sliding door or a glass shower door.

Hardworking Raw Materials

To add authentic character to your industrial bathroom design, focus on using raw materials like stainless stell, brick, timber beans and concrete. This would be a main point in your bathroom rather than having paint. Another benefit to this is that this material won’t deteriorate as quickly as other materials.

Need more inspiration? View more photos from our bathroom renovation in Half Moon Bay.

Design Detail – White Subway Tiles

Bathroom tiles design can be trick with an industrial bathroom design style. We recommend going with the white subways tiles as it provides the bathroom with a clean, crisp look. You can increase your contrast by adding dark grout to your bathroom tiles design.

Design Detail – Hefty Sliding Doors

For such a complex bathroom, you’d want to go all out with this style. We recommend choosing a sliding door to finish off the room. Larger, heavier-duty sliding doors are a factory-inspired take on the barn door trend that are ideal for industrial bathrooms. Furthermore, heavier sliding doors offer more privacy than standard wooden barn doors.

Finishing Touches

An industrial bathroom style is not for everyone as there aren’t many opportunities for you to add colour or have decorative flourishes. Finishing touches for this bathroom is just a few carefully chosen details are enough to complete the space. Exposed pipes, gear like faucets and hardware, metal stools and potted plants are excellent choices to finish off your bathroom design NZ.

Designing a bathroom can be tricky sometimes as there are many different styles that may be best suited for you and your aesthetic. Some people put a lot of work and effort into making sure their bathroom is perfect and others don’t. It’s all about preferences and if you’re interested in these bathroom styles, be sure to check out our showroom and speak to our bathroom designers to plan your dream bathroom.

Read more

Small bathrooms are often a determining factor that decides whether you purchase a house or apartment. Renovating a small bathroom can sometimes seem pointless as you might not be staying there for too long or you might just not have any ideas. But even so, there are plenty of tips to design your small bathroom to give an illusion of space.

There are many different bathroom designs that would best suit your and your family’s taste. Our small bathroom design tips have been curated based on advice from our in-house designers as well as the trend we have seen with Auckland home owners.

In this article about small bathroom renovations:

• 17 Tips to Design your small bathroom design
• Dos and Don’ts of Tilling Your small bathroom design
• Design mistakes to avoid for a small bathroom design
• 10 Small Powder Room Design Ideas

How to make the most out of your Small Bathroom Design

Found the perfect place? Is the bathroom too small for your liking?

No matter where you live, bathrooms are always lacking in square footage. You want a home that you love in every room including the bathroom. Just because the bathroom is small. It just means it gives you a little side project to redecorate and design a bathroom to your liking.

But there’s no reason why having a small bathroom should stop you from creating a space that you love and enjoy spending time in. All it takes to improve your small bathroom is the right type of storage space. Some carefully placed decorations and a bit of optimism and effort to make it happen. Down below are 17 tips that we think will help you design your small bathroom and ways you can make it feel more open and spacious.

Need ideas? Check out our Kitchen Design Gallery or dive into our Bathroom Design Gallery for inspiration!

17 Tips To Designing and Renovating your Small Bathroom

1. Don’t Block the Sunlight

Natural light is best proven to style your small bathroom to make it feel open and spacious. Dark bathroom can dampens your mood and doesn’t look as nice compared to natural sunlight and having a dark bathroom won’t help make your bathroom feel open and spacious.

The combination of white wall and an abundance of natural light can make a space look a lot bigger. I your bathroom has a window, consider blinds, and get rid of your curtains. Especially if you have a mirror in the bathroom. The natural light will reflect and provide your bathroom with a sense of peace and makes it feel more open and spacious.

Natural light from windows with blinds in Redvale

See the full bathroom renovation in Redvale.

2. Keep it Simple

Using larger tiles also helps make your small bathroom look more bigger. Especially with a simple design as well as using subway tiles and hardware. Keeping your bathroom simple also implies sticking with one or two colors as having too many colors won’t make your bathroom look more spacious. Here is an example of one of our renovated bathrooms keeping it simple with sticking with one or two colors.

Simple colors used in bathroom renovation

Simple bathroom tiles in Greenlane

See full bathroom renovation at Joanne and Steve’s in Greenlane.

3. Use Dark Accents

A style success that works well with designing a bathroom to make it look more spacious is using black and white with metallic hardware. When designing your bathroom, it’s good to keep dark accents in mind as they can help provide a pop of contrast in a white bathroom.

Dark accents used in bathroom renovation in Redvale

Design tip: This vanity set was custom built to fit within this small bathroom design which utilizes the space well and provides more storage space.

4. Try Something Different

If you’re going for a more modern style in your bathroom, you should try mixing it up with traditional elements which can help create a rich and colourful bathroom. If you’re styling a bathroom based on a budget, invest on wallpaper as they are a great way to play with pattern or add a fun little flair without having to spend a ton of money and can fit within your budget. Just because the bathroom is small, don’t limit yourself to how much you can really do with the style.

If you’re feeling bold, go ahead and arrange a gallery wall on your bathroom walls.

Spanish style mosaic tiles and brass gold sink

Mosaic tiles in Hillsborough

Read more…

Rustic style renovation in Stanmore Bay

Full home renovation in Hillsborough

5. Opt for a Monochromatic Palette.

Finding the perfect colour for your small bathroom may be the hardest part of designing your bathroom. It can often feel overwhelming and to help minimise your stress by picking just one colour, switch to choosing a monochromatic palette instead. That way you have different shades of colour which would also work well with bathroom sinks, tiles, shower, etc.

6. Swap your Shower Curtain for a Glass Door

Ever notice how lucite and acrylic furniture tends to disappear and make the space look much bigger? Glass shower doors have the same effect. To make the most out of your space in your small bathroom, considering swapping out your shower curtain for glass doors as this will help make your bathroom feel bigger.

Glass Shower Door in West Harbour

Read more

Glass shower door in a project in Westmere

Bathroom Renovation in Greenhithe

Black and White Bathroom Renovation in Rosedale, Albany

7. Even if there’s room for two, consider a single sink to increase counter space.

Although having two sinks are nice, realistically how often do you really use two sinks? Even if there is enough space for two sinks, consider only getting one as you’ll be able to have more counter space allowing you more storage space for your skincare/beauty products. Most people use counter space more than the sink when getting ready, therefore eliminating the need for two sinks. To make your small bathroom feel larger, consider only purchasing one sink. Storage space is important!

Single sink in contemporary design in Titirangi

See full contemporary bathroom renovation in Titirangi

8. Hang a medicine cabinet above the toilet.

Most medicine cabinets are always hung above the sink with a mirror at the front which eliminates you the chance of having a big, beautiful mirror above the sink which can also help reflect natural light and make your small bathroom feel bigger. To solve this problem, you should hang your medicine cabinet above the toilet as it keeps it out of your way and provides you with another option for storage space.

9. Use open shelving to store towels or other pretty essentials.

Using open storage is a perfect way to make your bathroom look bigger and more open. In a small bathroom there is plenty of space on the wall for open shelves compared to having cabinets which can make the space feel compact and small. They also give you an option to redecorate where you put your bathroom essentials whenever you feel like it.

10. Take your shower tile all the way to the ceiling.

Experts agree that you should always take you shower tile all the way to the ceiling as it adds a feeling of height and draws your attention away from how close the walls are. Doing this will also help make your small bathroom feel more modern and make the shower space look larger. If you’re designing your small bathroom on a budget, consider purchasing white subway tiles as they’re an affordable and classic option for this look.

Tiling to the ceiling in vintage bathroom renovation

Modern Vintage Bathroom Renovation in Greenhithe

11. Decorative Waste Baskets

Whilst creating an illusion to making your bathroom look bigger, there is only so much decorating you can do to keep up that illusion. One of the things you can decorate however you want is waste baskets. Waste baskets are nice and small and doesn’t take up space which is perfect for your small bathroom as every bathroom needs a waste basket.

There are several different ways to use a decorative waste basket in your bathroom. First, you can choose a beautiful leather waste basket which is an incredibly elegant option. Leather is very beautiful and quite versatile in terms of looks. Leather is mainly known to be a traditional brown or black colour. But those aren’t the only colours that can help decorate your bathroom. Colours like white, grey, pink, etc are also good in terms of boosting your design quality and there many other options for decorative waste baskets.

Another popular option that people have in their bathrooms for waste baskets is stainless steel waste baskets. Chrome is a great example of a stainless-steel waste basket as they are extremely versatile in bathroom design, due to their durability, reliability, and affordability. The shine of these metallic finishes is very attractive and can often serve as a small focal point of a smaller bathroom design.

12. Decorative Towel Hooks

Another decorating option for you when designing your small bathroom is towel hooks. Although they are some of the smallest bathroom accessories, that doesn’t mean you can’t find the most decorative towel hooks. For a bathroom that is mainly white, finding black towel hooks would give the bathroom more contrast and make it pop due to the dark accents. There are different styles that towel hooks come in like chrome, stainless-steel, matte black or white and many more. Each of these different designs will offer a unique yet traditional element to your small bathroom design.

Bathroom hooks have more than one purpose and there are many ways you can use them for. Since you are designing your bathroom, don’t limit yourself to different decorative ideas. Here are just a few examples on the different ways you can use bathrooms hooks. You can use bathroom hooks to hang shelves, mesh bags for storage, loofahs, and shower scrubs, hanging baskets, etc. Bathroom hooks are incredibly versatile and are worth using when decorating a small bathroom area so let your creativity shine through here!

13. Wall Mounted Bathroom Sinks

Wall mounted bathroom sinks are crucial to have when designing your small bathroom as you’d want to have as much storage space as you can and having a wall mounted bathroom sink opens up space underneath the sink for you to store bathroom essentials. Not only does having a wall mounted sink opens more space, but it also helps make your bathroom feel bigger which is what we want. There are plenty of various shapes and designs that can add a great level of sense to your small bathroom design.

Wall mounted sink in Papatoetoe bathroom renovation

14. Bathroom Vanity Accessory Sets

There’s only so much creativity input that you can put into designing your small bathroom. But what all bathroom needs are vanity accessory sets which includes soap dishes, soap dispensers, toothbrush holders and other similar small accessories. Purchasing a bathroom vanity accessory set with increase the cohesiveness of your vanity area and is another thing you can decorate to your liking.

When purchasing bathroom vanity accessory sets, it’s important to find colours that best match your bathroom theme. It would be good to pick dark colours for your bathroom vanity accessory set if the theme of your bathroom is bright, as it will bring a bit of contrast and bring some colour to the room. Some common materials and finishes include ceramic, solid brass, chrome, brushed nickel, gold, and many more.

15. Magnifying Mirrors

You can never have too many mirrors, right? Magnifying mirrors are another small bathroom decoration that you can either put away or keep it on the counter. The mirror is perfect for the ladies when getting ready and applying their makeup. Since magnifying mirrors don’t take much space even if they were mounted on the wall. This is the preferred installation method for small bathrooms. To decorate the magnifying mirror some more, consider purchasing ones that have LED lighting which is useful for shaving, makeup, and similar things you may need it for.

Not only are the extremely useful, but they also come with a series of elegant design features that make a great addition of décor to your small bathroom. Main colours they come in are chrome, matte black, matte white. This is a great feature to consider as they’re highly likely to match well with your other bathroom accessories. This will create the perfect bathroom vanity area for yourself or a guest and receive compliments for your bathroom design. This magnifying mirror will be an additional with a wall mirror for better comfort as no bathroom is complete without a wall mirror.

16. Wall Décor

Wall décor is one of the best ways to decorate your small bathroom as there is limited space. Keeping your wall space empty eliminates potential storage space. Which limits you to how much decorating you can do for your bathroom. One of the most common wall décors in a small bathroom is wall art as they come in many different forms. Therefore, providing you with plenty of options to choose from. It’s important to choose a wall art that goes with the theme of your bathroom design to create a cohesive and comfortable space.

Featured tile wall in Westmere

Read more…

Green textured tiles used as an Accent wall for a Westmere bathroom renovation

18 Top trends in Bathroom Tile Design for 2021 in Auckland

17. Ceiling Décor

Nowadays plants and succulents are very popular in households. They give people more creativity when it comes to decorating their house and provides a touch of colour. So why stop there? Add some hanging plants that thrive in humidity from the steam in the shower. It provides a touch of colour and gives you more decorating opportunities. Some plants that thrive well are aloe vera and ferns which is the perfect ceiling décor that you could have in your bathroom as finishing touches.

Another ceiling décor is lighting as that is another creativity opportunity for you to find the perfect lights for your bathroom that goes with your design. LED lights are most known to be used for bathrooms, but they might not suit your bathroom design. Ceiling décor is usually the last thought, but they are the most useful and most needed. Take your time and explore your options and pick what works best for your bathroom theme or style.

Dos and Don’ts of Tiling a Small Bathroom Design

When designing your small bathroom, there are many of tiles to choose from and different ways you can install them into your small bathroom. But there are many mistakes that are often made. These tips will help make your small bathroom look more attractive and spacious.

Due to the abundance of design and colors in the market nowadays. Choosing the perfect tiles for you can help make your small bathroom look bigger. Picking correct tile for your small bathroom takes planning and deliberations. This may be the biggest task you’d need to do before you can decorate your bathroom and requires a huge amount of patience. Before you invest into any materials, consider the following guidelines to help avoid an expensive mistake or something you’ll regret.

Do Carefully Measure the Space

Before you start making any major changes in your small bathroom, it’s best to measure the space beforehand and write it down which would help you find the right tiles you need, etc. Especially with smaller bathrooms, you’d want to make sure that the numbers are right to make the most out of the space. When calculating the amount of tile needed for floors or walls, you need to multiply the lengths of the area you are covering by the width to find the square footage. Double check your numbers before ordering and always purchase more than you need in case it’s not enough.

Don’t Scrimp When Buying Tiles

Why should you buy extra tiles? It’s always good to purchase more than you need as you never know when you might run out of material, and it can be frustrating as you’d have to pause the task to purchase some more and if you’re after custom tiles then it could take the supplier a few weeks to get more before you can finish your tiling. Ordering extra tiles are always useful as you might’ve miscalculated, or some tiles broke and cutting them up to fit into spaces. There are many reasons as to why you should always have extra tiles for future purposes. Check to see if your retailers offer refunds or exchanges on unopened boxes of tiles.

Read more…

Emerging tile treads (2021) by tile depot (common mistakes to avoid)

Do Think Small-Scale

If large tiles aren’t your style, there are many small-scale tiles that are the perfect fit for you that can make your small bathroom feel bigger. Using mosaic tiles are a great way to visually expand your small bathroom as they come with a variety of colors and style. Consider using glass mosaics tiles as they help deepen the illusion of having a bigger bathroom with more reflected light.

Don’t Underestimate Large Tiles

You may think large tiles won’t look good in a small bathroom due to the lack of square footage. You should think about using large tiles when designing your small bathroom. Because it can actually make your bathroom look bigger. Since our brain associates big tiles with a larger space, it gives off an illusion that a room is bigger than it is. If you’re considering large tiles treatment to your floors, consider continuing them up the wall to the height of a chair rail.

Large 600 by 600 tiles used on the floors

More examples…

Ellerslie bathroom renovation with large 600 by 600 tiles used on the floors

Papatoetoe bathroom renovation with large 600 by 600 tiles used on the floors

Greenlane bathroom renovation with large 600 by 600 tiles used on the floors

Do Keep It Simple

Select a variety of soft-hued colors that are a few shades lighter or darker than each other when selecting tiles as this will keep the bathroom simple compared to having different colors and patterns as that will overwhelm the space and make it seem cramped which is not what we want. Keep it simple, consider smaller-scale design.

Don’t Skip the Preparation

This is an extremely important step that you shouldn’t skip when tiling a small bathroom. Before you start, ensure that the surface you’re working on is clean, smooth, and solid, otherwise it will cause tiles to crack of loosen and allows moisture to get behind tiles from uneven walls which can cause them to loosen and fall off. Which would be disappointing to see after completing this labor-intensive project. Also remember to remove any wallpaper from walls and sand the surface before applying tiles to prevent those things from happening.

Do Set Tiles in a Diagonal Pattern

Another way you can make your small bathroom be perceived as bigger is by tiling your tiles in a diagonal pattern which gives off an illusion that your bathroom is bigger than it actually is. Although doing diagonal tile patterns require more planning, precise measuring, and cutting and may seem easier to not diagonal patterns, this is something to think about as it would make your small bathroom feel larger.

Key tip before starting – Use a graph paper to lay out a scaled diagram of your floor.

Don’t Use Shiny Tiles for small floor tiles

When thinking about tiles for your bathroom, don’t consider glossy tiles or polished stone as they can be a hazard for you. Although they may look nice and luxurious in your bathroom, you will more likely injure yourself more in your bathroom than anywhere else in your house. Once those tiles get wet, they become slippery and when rushing in the morning you can forget that they get slippery. But if you are 100% sold on glossy tiles, there are glossy tiles rated for higher slip resistance, which can help reduce the risk of falls and injuries. Be sure to check with your retailer before purchasing.

7 Design mistakes to avoid in Renovating a Small Bathroom

Small bathrooms aren’t always ideal but we just have to make do. But that doesn’t mean you can’t improve it the second you get in there. Our bathrooms are supposed to be a relaxing space to end our days.

Thinking of designing your small bathroom to your style and standard? Don’t let your lack of square footage discourage your creativity side. Design and organization experts explained the mistakes people make in their small bathroom design that aren’t doing any favors to make your small bathroom look more open and spacious.

Down below are 7 mistakes you should avoid when designing your small bathroom.

1. Thinking Everything Needs to Be White

Nowadays a lot of people are going for a more modern design for their bathroom regardless of the size which entails having white sinks. White counters. White bathtubs, and white walls. Although using white isn’t a bad thing but using dark colours and bold patterns in a small space can make a huge impact in a small room and bring colour into it. Don’t be afraid to use colours!

Although you have limited space, don’t hold your creativity back!

Use of colour on the floor and bathroom vanity

Spanish Style mosaic tiles in Stanmore Bay

Read more…

Mary Stuart’s Spanish style bathroom renovation

Modern Bathroom Renovation in Albany

Sarah’s Dark Accent Bathroom in Redvale

2. Keeping Everything Out in the Open

Storage is one of the most crucial things that you need in your small bathroom. Clutter has always been the enemy of small spaces. Without the proper storage space, you will end up having a cramped-up area eliminating your goal of making you small bathroom look bigger. This would be a good idea to purchase bathroom vanity accessories set that go with your colour theme as you can put your toothbrush, soap, toothpaste, etc. Minimizing the items on your bathroom counter, stick to 3 things which most of them include what you need in a bathroom vanity accessory set. Add a decorative item like a plant or succulent.

Often, we forgot to utilize our storage space under our sink as we tend to put our bathroom stuff on the sink counter. Have them on shelves that we have scatter around the bathroom. To avoid making this mistake, invest more into looking at storage spaces to hide your bathroom essentials to make the room look more organized and less cluttered. Remember to use the space under your sink.

3. Focusing on Décor Without a Purpose

Designing a small bathroom can be overwhelming as there’s only so much decorating you can do, and you can either have a bathroom that is overflowing with decorations or have a bathroom that barely has any decorations. Even if you don’t want to over decorate your bathroom with flowers, wall art or succulents you can purchase an open storage shelf and place functional items like towels. Gathering inspiration from Pinterest on how to decorate your small bathroom is also extremely helpful.

4. Limiting Yourself to Bathroom Specific Items

If other houses in your room have wall art, or flowers, consider purchasing some to put in your bathroom. Another design mistake to avoid is limiting yourself to ONLY bathroom decorations and let’s be honest here. Bathroom decorations aren’t always the best. Using decorations in the bathroom that you can find anywhere else in the house makes it feel homier.

Based on previous small bathroom designs. The best non bathroom decoration you could put in your bathroom are plants that thrive well with the humidity of the bathroom. Hanging plants are a most popular one.

5. Not Thinking Beyond the Vanity

Counter space is not the only storage space available! Skincare products, makeup tend to fill up counter space which creates more clutter and makes your small bathroom feel more cramped that it is. Although it’s easy to put most products near the vanity/counter because it’s easier for you to reach, they aren’t the most helpful. Consider getting a medicine cabinet with storage space or install some floating shelves to utilize that wall space.

6.Going Small Because the Room is Small

Go big or go home! Just because you have a small bathroom doesn’t mean you can’t purchase big items for your bathroom. In fact, only purchasing small items can make your small bathroom feel crowded and create clutter which is not what we want. Purchasing medium/big decorations can make a huge difference in a small space.

7. Letting the Room Flatter You

A key point to always remember is that you’re designing the bathroom towards your needs and your standards. Bathrooms are always a space that’s about taking a moment for yourself and self-care no matter the size. It’s a place where we go every night to relax.

Key tips – create good lighting using natural light. A dim bedroom may be nice, but a dim bathroom is not. A brighter space can brighten up your mood more so than a dark space.

10 Small Powder Room Design Ideas

Powder rooms only contain the essentials like a toilet, sink and a mirror. It’s mainly used for guests when they stay over or when you host get togethers. It’s a place where you and your guests can get ready. Touch up on their makeup or for people to recharge themselves. Powder rooms are a lot easier and cheaper to design as it’s a small space and won’t suffer from steam or humidity. Which opens a range of options when thinking about designing it. To gather inspiration for your powder room design, here are 10 small powder room ideas.

1. Eclectic

There are many ways you can decorate your powder room with the eclectic theme. Eclectic powder rooms mainly consist of vintage decorations. This would be a perfect chance for you to transform a period dresser into a washbasin. If you are very interested in vintage items, and vintage theme rooms, then this is the perfect design for you.

2. Metallic

Metallic finishes on your powder room gives it the perfect touch to bring the whole room together. These finishes are currently trendy, and these touches can be applied to any rooms in your house. Using gold, copper, and bronze with polished nickel and chrome metal will give the room warm. But for a more luxurious upscale look, use marble and dark wood accents to compliment your metallic powder room.

Example of metallic finishes | (Photo credit: Tile Depot)

3. Minimal

If you’re after a simpler design, then this minimal powder room idea is perfect for you. This design only requires a single colour to tie walls, fixtures and finishing touches together. Using a darker wall colour will create a dramatic and intimate atmosphere and a metal washbasin creates focus. When creating a minimal design, always opt for a light-colours floor as it bounces light around and will help keep the room from feeling small.

4. Oriental

After a more eastern décor? This oriental theme powder room design is the right fit for you. Create a custom vanity with a mosaic design and combine it with a patterned tile accent wall. Using a dark red wall colour will create a rich backdrop that invokes oriental designs and will help highlight the accent wall. Include an eastern-influenced vanity mirror and decorative lightning to complete the look.

Still stuck on ideas for your oriental design power room? Check out Pinterest for more ideas and inspiration.

Red accent wall |(Photo credit: Tile Depot)

5. Rustic

Rustic powder room design has finishing touches that include wood and. You can create a more modern design to this rustic powder room look by using a natural wood vanity and a black metal mirror. To avoid a heavy cabin like feel to your powder room. Opt for lighter wood finishes, and white tiles to bring the room together.

6. Colourful

Be creative and have fun designing your powder room by making it colourful! Use bold colour wallpaper to create a theme and choose different colours for bath accessories that complement the wallpaper well to create a fun, simple, and colourful room. Go bold and have a different colour washbasin instead of sticking with the usual white colour ones. Contrast the room with simple white fixtures and finishes to keep it from overwhelming the room.

Example of adding colour to bathroom |(Photo credit: Tile Depot)

7. Playful

Create a playful powder room by using fun wallpaper with different patterns and colour that provides the room with a more playful feel. Using an interesting wallpaper will add colour and interest as well as character to your powder room without overwhelming it and making it look busy and cramped.

Playful wallpaper in bathroom | (Photo credit: Tile Depot)

8. Mid-Century Modern

Sick of the modern powder room design? With the mid-century modern design twist, you are sure to spruce up your powder room with this theme. Add a pop of colour to your walls, even your floors. Add in a nice rug to give it some colour. Make it interesting and include fun details like retro wallpaper, mid-century artwork and include some vintage vibes.

9. Organic

Love natural light? Love plants? This organic design is perfect for your powder room. Using light colour wood with earth-tone finishes and textures would make the room lighter. Include plants and river stone pebbles to tie the room together and make it more organic.

10. Urban

Make your powder room have characteristics of a city you love by using colours like black and white. Use dark walls and furnishings to visually expand the room. Also consider using large scale tiles to create a graphic pattern. To finish it off, use white in contrast to draw attention the key features in your powder room.

As you can see, there are many different creative ways to design your small bathroom and 17 design tips to design your small bathroom to make it more open and create the illusion of space. We have also included 7 mistakes that you should avoid when designing your small bathroom to help you avoid cluttering up the small space. If you’re on a budget and decided to DIY your own tiles in your small bathroom, we have also given a few dos and don’ts when it comes to tilling your small bathroom. Not only do we have tips for small bathrooms, but we also have 10 small powder room ideas to help make it more look more appealing and towards your liking.

With our helpful tips, you’ll be sure to design a beautiful bathroom and make your small bathroom look more open and spacious as the lack of square footage shouldn’t discourage you from designing a small bathroom towards your liking.

Read more

Bathrooms are often the smallest space in any home which means that they must find the right balance between functionality and aesthetics within any bathroom design. Even a decade ago, most bathrooms had a clinical look about them with white tiles or walls and standard shiny chrome fixtures. Bathrooms of today however are very different in terms of aesthetics as there are many more options to choose from.

One of the easiest ways to improve the look of your bathroom is to integrate statement taps within your bathroom design. Bathroom accessories are often overshadowed by bathtubs and vanity which means that they are often a secondary consideration when renovating. Most people don’t realise however that statement tapware can really elevate a bathroom design.

Statement tapware and basins can transform a bathroom whether you are doing minor upgrades or renovating your entire bathroom. In the last year or so we have seen an increasing number of our clients opting for designer tapware for their bathroom design. You can also browse our bathroom design gallery to see how different finishes read in completed Auckland projects.

Hence we decided to look for suppliers in Auckland that could fill this niche and hence our partnership with The Kitchen Hub was formed. The Kitchen Hub specialises in designer tapware for bathrooms and kitchens designed by leading designers in Australia, UK and the USA.

We met with Holly from The Kitchen Hub to understand a bit more about their company and the trends in tapware seen in Auckland.

This article will discuss the following:

• Q & A with Holly – The Kitchen Hub’s process on narrowing down the right tapware for clients
• Top 5 Tips on choosing the right type of bathroom accessories for different styled homes in Auckland

Meet Holly from The Kitchen Hub

“My role is to assist in promoting and advertising our bespoke collection of kitchen, bathroom and laundry products. My passion is to create brand awareness for our high-end boutique ranges that will assist our clients in discovering and selecting the right products for their homes. At The Kitchen Hub, we strive ourselves on offering unique brands that create luxury statements. Which is why I am always working closely alongside our clients to help provide innovative outcomes.”

Holly, Sales & Marketing Manager

We sat down with Holly from The Kitchen Hub to see how she helps clients with their tapware choice

Superior Renovations: How can clients narrow down their choices amidst such an overwhelming tapware selection?

Holly: I usually first ask what kind of budget they are working with and how much they are willing to allocate towards the products that they are after. If they are working with a tight budget then I will usually point them towards Meir and our other more cost effective brands, or if they have a larger budget then I will suggest Astra Walker or The Watermark Collection.

Understanding the client’s budget helps me identify the brands that are suited for them. Once I have identified the brand, then I dive a little deeper and start to understand the design a bit more. This is where I ask what kind of build it is (new build or renovation) and whether it is contemporary or traditional design. This helps me narrow down to specific product ranges which I can then show to the client.

Superior Renovations: How do people choose through the various finishes? How do you help them choose?

Holly: Selecting finishes will depend on various factors. First I need to understand what the setting is and who will be using the tapware. If it is for a family home, then clients will be wanting something that is durable and easy to clean. So I tend to recommend a stainless steel or brushed finish, something that won’t show finger prints and is low maintenance. Sometimes, if clients have young children, I do suggest not to use a matte black finish. While most of our matte black finishes are electroplated and are very durable, they still tend be easier to scratch if they are not handled carefully.

Superior Renovations: What is the difference between living finishes and Sealed finishes?

Holly: Living finishes are becoming more popular for their raw and organic appearance. They are designed to change and evolve, so they will develop a unique worn appearance over time. But the aged look is not for everyone.

If our clients want a living finish then our go to would be either Astra Walker or Buddy. These brands offer of range of living finishes, including natural brass and aged brass, which are the most common finishes that our clients tend to go for.

If the client wants a finish that will remain the same over time then I would recommend our trending sealed finishes which are matte black, brushed brass, stainless steel, brushed nickel and gunmetal. These finishes are offered by various different brands which gives a bit more flexibility when it comes to product selection.

Sealed Finish

Living Finish

Superior Renovations: Are there any specific trends that you are seeing in bathroom tapware?

Holly: There are a couple of design trends that have started to emerge with bathroom tapware. I have noticed a lot of people are now going for coloured tapware, especially brass finishes, as opposed to standard chrome and matte black. Living finishes are also becoming increasingly popular for the more industrial and retro design look. Elevated tapware is coming back into fashion as well, with a lot of interest in our cross handle and lever options as opposed to standard wall mixers.

Top 5 tips on choosing the right tapware for your bathroom design

Tip 1 – Design your bathroom which complements the rest of your home

Every person is unique which means that the style of every home is different from the other. However, the 5 broad categories that most homes fit into is contemporary, Traditional, Modern, Rustic, and Industrial. Most homes are not however designed to specific style and often contain a mix and match of various styles.

Modern or minimalistic Bathroom designs

Modern bathroom designs usually have tapware which are sleek and with straight lines. The overall look of a modern bathroom design often features a minimalistic look with a clean and uncluttered look. Most modern bathrooms used to feature shiny tapware, but a growing trend has seen a shift towards black matte tapware. Matte black look adds a certain sophistication to a bathroom design. It is versatile and works with most colour schemes in a bathroom. Even with smaller bathrooms where the colour scheme is often neutral, black matte taps can add a great design element to the bathroom.

Read: TOP 15 BATHROOM DESIGN TRENDS IN NZ FOR 2021 BY DESIGNERS IN AUCKLAND

If you are going for a Trendy and modern look for your bathroom then this range can be great to incorporate within your bathroom design.

Traditional Villas and Bungalows

Most bungalows and villas in Auckland feature traditional elements within their structure like hardwood floors, casement windows, and traditional chandeliers. The overall design of traditional homes can be carried on to bathrooms while still having modern luxurious like bathtubs and wet rooms. You can add a traditional element to your bathroom design by installing traditional tapware like the classic range from Aster walker. The classic range has taps and bathroom accessories are reminiscent of old Victorian and Edwardian times which come in over 23 textures and colours to suit most traditional bathroom tastes.

Matte Black Olde English 3 tap set up used from the Astra Walker range. This set up is perfect for Villas and Bungalows that want to retain the old world charm for their homes.

Rustic Style bathrooms

There has been a growing trend in rustic style bathrooms in Auckland. We recently renovated two rustic style bathrooms which featured brass sinks and antique gold finishes. Rustic style bathrooms often feature elements of nature such as wooden accents, warm colours and matte brown or golden fixtures with an antique finish. If you are looking at adding rustic elements to your bathroom then changing your tapware could be a great way to do so.

Elk Eco Brass is a great choice for a Rustic bathroom

Icon range can be used for a modern Rustic Style bathroom

Contemporary bathrooms

Contemporary styled bathrooms are one of the most popular in bathroom designs of today. The contemporary style borrows a bit of every style for a streamlined look. It is mostly a bit of old and a bit of new. There is a lot to choose from when you are designing your bathroom in a contemporary style. When choosing accessories for a contemporary bathroom, think about your colour scheme as well as your family situation.

Contemporary bathrooms often feature basins which are placed above the countertop with tapware attached on the wall (Metropolis Black matte tapware from The Kitchen Hub)

If you do have a young family then opt for tapware which is shiny and not matte. Matte finish tapware leaves fingerprints on them a lot easier which means you will have to wipe it more often. Hence, if you have a busy household with young children then we would recommend you to use a shiny finish for your tapware.

Industrial style bathrooms

The industrial look was first inspired by the typical New York style apartments. Most industrial design takes clues from old industrial pipes and old factories. This style works great for apartments and architectural homes. However, if you love the look then you can add a vanity, basin or tapware in an industrial design without changing the whole look of the bathroom.

Tip 2 – Choose the right type of shape for your bathroom fixtures

Not all types shapes are right for certain bathroom designs or even the layout. When choosing your tapware make sure that you are choosing something that looks great but also something that is functional for your family. Think about your family dynamics and who is going to be using that bathroom. Are your young children going to use the bathroom, are adults or the elderly members? If young children or someone who is elderly are using the bathroom then it would be best to install a basin and tapware that is easy to use. Perhaps a single leaver which can be used with one hand is more suitable but if there are adults using the bathroom then you can install a 2-leaver set up for your bathroom.

Also think about your overall bathroom design to make decisions on the tapware that you choose. If you have a traditional or vintage look in your bathroom then opt for 3 tap set up for your basin. Use a separate hot and cold-water knob fixture to re-create a traditional vibe. Do not use a very sleek or shiny tapware and basin. Opt for more traditional looking basins and tapware. If you have a more modern or contemporary like set-up then go for large square sinks with tall-curved tapware.

If you have a small bathroom design then think about a smaller and less cumbersome vanity set up. Always choose your bathroom fixtures in accordance with the size of your bathroom. A lot of people make the mistake of buying bulky fixtures for their small bathrooms which often ends up becoming an eyesore when the renovation is completed. A great advantage now is that there are a lot of options when it comes to smaller vanities in various design and style options.

Further inspiration for small bathrooms

15 BATHROOM IDEAS FOR SMALL BATHROOM DESIGNS IN AUCKLAND – 2021 EDITION

Tip 3 – The type of finish you choose should depends on your family situation

Our clients often find it hard to choose the right finish for their tapware due to the countless options available today. They often struggle with whether they should get chrome, matte black, or a brushed finish.

Choosing the right type of sheen or finish is important as they determine how your bathroom will look as well as how you will be maintaining it. So we decided to ask Holly for her expertise in choosing the right finish for bathroom tapware.

When asked how she helped clients using the right finish she said “Selecting finishes will depend on various factors. First, I need to understand what the setting is and who will be using the tapware. If it is for a family home, then clients will be wanting something that is durable and easy to clean. So, I tend to recommend a stainless steel or brushed finish, something that will not show fingerprints and is low maintenance. Sometimes, if clients have young children, I do suggest not to use a matte black finish. While most of our matte black finishes are electroplated and are very durable, they still tend be easier to scratch if they are not handled carefully.

BATHROOM RENOVATION PHOTOS FOR OUR TOP 17 RENOVATIONS IN AUCKLAND

Tip 4 – Size of your bathroom

It is important to choose the correct size of tapware for the size of your bathroom. Getting the size of your tapware wrong can disrupt the overall look and flow of your bathroom design. Before you choose your fittings, you should measure up the space of your bathroom. Measure the space for your vanity, shower, toilet and the height available between your vanity and mirror for the tapware.

If you have a small bathroom then perhaps you can opt for a shorter tapware set up or even wall mounted tapware. If you have plenty of space available, then you can choose a long-arched tapware. The same goes for your vanity. If you have a small bathroom then make sure you measure the space available for your vanity before you go shopping. This will help you choose a set up for your bathroom in terms of aesthetics and functionality.

Tip 5 – Choose tapware that is compatible with your water pressure

If you are renovating your home, then chances are that you are going to be using your existing plumbing. Auckland homes that are built over 20 years ago often have low water pressure. Its always good to check the type of water pressure you are working with before you buy your tapware. You can get your water pressure checked by a professional or simply look at your water cylinder. If you have unequal or low water pressure, then your water cylinder will say ‘low pressure’. Unequal water pressure means that your cold water will have more pressure as compared to your hot water, hence unequal water pressure.

This porcelain basin and 3 tap set up is perfect for villas with low pressure water (Edwardian Nickel black porcelain basin and tapware from the Astra walker range)

Read: 18 TOP TILE TRENDS IN BATHROOM DESIGN FOR 2021 – NZ EDITION

Newer homes do not have unequal water pressure which means that your cylinder will say ‘main pressure’. The pressure for hot and cold water for newer homes however is equal. Most villas and bungalows in Auckland have low pressure which means that you will have to find tapware which is compatible for low pressure. Most single leaver tapware is only suited for main pressure cylinders . If you have a low pressure water system and are not ready to change it to main pressure then you have to ensure that you choose tapware which is compatible for low pressure water cylinders.

Our Featured renovation projects highlighting bathroom accessories

Rustic Bathroom Renovation in Westmere

This rustic bathroom has all the classic features of natural elements that make a space look warm and inviting. The use of green tiles as a feature wall adds depth to the wet area by making it a calm and serene space. Matte gold is often used in rustic design and was hence used in the design of this bathroom.

Read – Full project details for this bathroom renovation

Tracey’s Artisan Style Contemporary Bathroom renovation in Titirangi, Auckland

This small bathroom was renovated in a black and white theme using designer tiles on the floors and white subway tiles on the walls. We also used a floating wooden vanity to add some warmth in the bathroom along with matte black tapware and shower fixtures keeping the theme in mind.

Read – Full project specifications for this bathroom renovation.

Spanish Style Kitchen and Bathroom Renovation

Mary Stuart’s renovation was as much as a credit to her as it was to our designers and renovators. She had a clear vision tearing of converting an old closed off kitchen into an open and spacious Spanish style rustic kitchen. Her inspiration came from the arched hallways when she first bought her home. She was not afraid of bold colours and wanted to convert her bathroom and kitchen into a rustic villa reminiscent of Spain right her in Auckland see more

Further Resources for your house interior design

1. Ideas for Bathroom renovations in our bathroom renovation gallery of bathrooms we have renovated in Auckland
2. Ideas for Kitchen renovations in our kitchen renovation gallery for kitchens we have renovated in Auckland
3. Featured projects and Client stories to see specifications on some of the projects.
4. Real client stories from Auckland

Have you been putting off getting renovations done?

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Still have questions unanswered?

Book a no-obligation consultation with the team at Superior Renovations,
we’d love to meet you to discuss your renovation ideas!

Olivia – Grafton, Auckland

Still have questions unanswered? schedule a no-obligation consultation with the team at Superior Renovations

Bathroom renovation photos can be a great way for you to envision what your space looks like. Not everyone is a bathroom designer which makes it harder for us to imagine what a bathroom would look like after it has been upgraded. Bathroom and Kitchen renovations are the most popular type of home renovations in Auckland.

You can get bathroom design ideas on Pinterest or Instagram but replicating the exact bathroom is often not feasible. It is also good to remember that bathroom renovation photos on social media website are often tweaked and have a filter on them.

In this article we have put together a portfolio of bathrooms that we have renovated in Auckland.

We will discuss the following three things:

• Bathroom renovation photos for renovated bathrooms in Auckland
• Case studies of real client stories in Auckland and links to their bathroom specification pages
• Importance of renovating bathrooms in old homes of Auckland
• Before and After bathroom renovation photos

Need ideas? Check out our Kitchen Design Gallery or dive into our Bathroom Design Gallery for inspiration!

Featured Bathroom renovation Photos

We have renovated over 400 bathrooms in Auckland in just the last 3 years. This does not include just minor alterations but full bathroom renovations. We have included few bathroom renovation projects in this article. We provide a full bathroom renovation service for all our bathroom renovations. This would include a full design process, consent process if required, demolition, supplying of all fixtures & flooring from our supplier showrooms, installation, project manager to oversee the renovation and manage all trades like plumbers, electricians etc which we provide. The bathroom renovation photos below of are from some of our featured projects.

#1 Bathroom renovation photos from Epsom, Auckland

Our clients renovated their historic Epsom Bungalow to add some modern features to add comfort and convenience. The bathroom has a wet area, bathtub, modern vanity and LED touch mirror.

Read – full bathroom renovation specifications

#2 Bathroom Renovation in West Harbour

We fully renovated a toilet and a separate bathroom for our clients in West Harbour. The old bathroom and toilet had started looking shabby and needed a fresh look. As the space was relatively small, we decided to use white fixtures to make it look more spacious. Our clients did want an artistic flair so we included darker tiles for contrast.

Read – See full specifications for our project in West Harbour

#3 Bathroom Renovation photos from Todd Chandler’s home

Todd bought a property in St Heliers in order to renovate before selling. Todd’s priority was for us to renovate and repair 3 leaky and shabby bathrooms to give them a contemporary look.

Read – See Todd Chandler’s bathroom renovations’ project specifications

#4 Tracey’s Contemporary bathroom renovation in Titirangi

Tracey initially wanted to renovate her bathroom as it was old and had started leaking. She wanted to transform her small bathroom into something that was functional, comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. The real star of her bathroom was the tiles that she chose for her floors which perfectly complemented her fixtures.

Read – Tracey’s full project specifications + product list

#5 Rustic Style Bathroom renovation in Westmere

This rustic style bathroom was designed for comfort as well as luxurious aesthetics. The bathroom was under the roof which meant that it had an awkward space which was converted into a large wet area. This wet area also includes a textured green accent wall which complements well with the large 600 by 600 floor tiles. The matte gold fittings used along with a wooden looking custom built vanity add a touch of rustic charm to the bathroom.

Read – Full project specifications for this Rustic style bathroom in Westmere

#6 Bathroom Renovation in Parnell

This townhouse was centrally located in Parnell village. The space within the townhouse however was not used well to maximise functionality. Hence we carried out a full townhouse renovation including two bathrooms on the second floor. The theme that the client wanted was modern urban luxury.

Read – Full bathroom renovation specs for this Parnell townhouse

#7 Bathroom renovation photos from Avondale

This was a 2 storey old house in Avondale which we fully renovated to accommodate a 3 generational family. We renovated two bathrooms and created a bathroom in an empty space. This renovation required consent which we handled along with the renovation.

Read – Full bathroom specifications for this project in Avondale

#8 Linda’s Bathroom Renovation in Cockle Bay

Linda is one of our finance specialists who helps our clients with finance options. Linda has been working with our clients more about 2 years and renovated her 2 decks along with a bathroom with us.

Read – Full bathroom details and specifications for Linda’s renovation

#9 Mary Stuart’s Bathroom renovation in Stanmore Bay

This was a real fun renovation for us as it was very unique as compare to other bathroom we had renovated. We used bold colours, mosaic tiles, brass fixtures and a Spanish style to renovate the bathroom.

Read – See full details of Mary’s Spanish style bathroom

#10 Bathroom Renovation in West Harbour

This was a big renovation project that we carried out in West Harbour. This family of 8 moved out during the renovation process as the entire house was renovated internally and externally.

#11 Gary’s Bathroom renovation photos from Ellerslie

Gary and his partner renovated the entire house to make it more functional and to their taste. Their separate toilet and bathroom were combined together to make an ensuite. They wanted a spa like feel for their bathroom and hence went for a standalone bathtub and bowl shaped sinks.

Read – Full details of Gary’s bathroom renovation

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#12 Bathroom renovation in Papatoetoe

Our clients have two young children and had only one en-suite between them. This was becoming very inconvenient for the family, so they decided to build another toilet with the space that they had. The design and materials used during this renovation were chosen keeping easy maintenance and convenience in mind.

Read – A modern bathroom upgrade for a young family see specifications

The importance of bathroom renovations in Older homes

When you buy an old home or when you have been living in a home for a long time, bathrooms can often be an issue. There could be two issues when dealing with old home bathrooms. One of the biggest issues with older bathrooms is leakage. Leaks in bathrooms can develop over time without it becoming obvious for years.

Leaky bathrooms can damage the structural integrity of your home and can pose a health and safety hazard. Mould will also become an issue in leaky bathrooms which can become an unhealthy environment. The second problem with older bathrooms is that they can start looking very shabby. Yellowing toilets and plastic shower boxes can lower the value of your overall home.

It is always good to fix the damages and renovate bathrooms in older homes. Renovating an old bathroom does not have to be an expense but it is an investment for your home’s future.

How much would it cost to renovate a bathroom?

Did you know renovating a bathroom is the most complex renovation of them all? it may sound like a small project considering the space involved but reason why it’s the most complex is because it involves the most people to get it done. Communication and coordination with a skilled team is key to renovating a bathroom successfully. It involves a high level of coordination/communication with a number of suppliers, waterpoofer, electrician, tilers, installers, painters/plasterers, plumbers, demolition team, and Auckland Council.

There are several factors that can affect the budget of your bathroom renovation. The top 5 things that affect the cost of a bathroom are as follows:

1. Size of your bathroom
2. Repairing of any damage
3. Structural change and council related works
4. Materials and supplies used
5. Labour and Project Management.

As a company we provide a full renovation service for bathrooms which means that your proposal would include all materials, fixtures, labour, project management, repair work and council fees.

On an average a bathroom renovation without any council related work will start from $19,000. This type of bathroom renovation would use our mid-range products while more luxury bathrooms would cost anywhere above $27,000.

Read more..

Top 18 Bathroom Tile Trends for 2021

Comprehensive cost guide for bathroom renovations in Auckland for 2020

Before and After Bathroom renovation photos

13.Bathroom Renovation in Stanmore Bay

Mary Stuart had a clear vision for her kitchen and bathroom renovation when she contacted us. She wanted her house to resemble a Spanish Villa complete with bright warm colours, mosaic tiles, brass sinks and tapware.

Read – Mary Stuart’s bathroom renovation specifications

Before Renovation

After Renovation

After Renovation

After Renovation

14.Bathroom Renovation in Hillsborough

Our client bought this investment property to generate additional weekly income. The house however was fetching minimal rent as it was old and shabby. Our client fully renovated the house in order to increase their rental yield.

Read – Full bathroom renovation specification for this Investment property in Hillsborough

Before Renovation

After Renovation

Before Renovation

After Renovation

15. Amber and Craig’s Bathroom Renovation in Hillsborough

Amber and Craig were deciding whether they should sell and buy a new house or renovate the existing house. They decided to renovate the existing house. Below are the pictures of their 3 bathrooms that we renovated.

Read – Amber and Craig’s bathroom renovation specs

Before Renovation

After Renovation

Before Renovation

After Renovation

Before Renovation

After Renovation

16.Bathroom renovation in West Harbour

This full home renovation included a renovation of 4 bathrooms suited for different members of the family.

Before Renovation

After Renovation

17. Joanna and Steve’s bathroom renovation in Greenlane

Joanna and Steve renovated their Greenlane property to make it more modern as all their previous homes. We put a toilet in their existing bathroom and renovated the entire thing. We also renovated their standalone toilet.

Read – Full specifications for Joanna and Steve’s bathroom renovation in Greenlane

Before Renovation

After Renovation

Further Resources

1. Ideas for Bathroom renovations in our bathroom renovation gallery of bathrooms we have renovated in Auckland
2. Ideas for Kitchen renovations in our kitchen renovation gallery for kitchens we have renovated in Auckland
3. Featured projects and Client stories to see specifications on some of the projects.
4. Real client stories from Auckland

Have you been putting off getting renovations done?

We have partnered with Q Mastercard ® to provide you an 18 Month Interest-Free Payment Option, you can enjoy your new home now and stress less.

Learn More about Interest-Free Payment Options*

*Lending criteria, fees, terms and conditions apply. Mastercard is a registered trademark and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.

Still have questions unanswered?

Book a no-obligation consultation with the team at Superior Renovations,
we’d love to meet you to discuss your renovation ideas!