Expert advice from bathroom renovators

Bathroom renovators can help you take the hassle out of planning for an overhaul of the home's most used space. Experts like Lynne Tebbenhoff can help you get the essentials in place before you face major expense hurdles.

What can people do to make a small bathroom as functional as possible?

Make sure everything has a place and that it's very streamlined without too much clutter. One thing we're doing is taking out doors and putting in cavity sliders with a lock. That gives you more room to hang your towels.

What are some of the hidden issues associated with extending a bathroom?

If it's a load-bearing wall you're knocking down, check the restrictions and whether you'll need an engineer's report. And it may be costly because sometimes you have to put in a new floor, or plumbing won't fit to suit the area, or electrical work will be more expensive because you're lighting a bigger space.

If you can't fit both a shower and bath in your bathroom, which should you choose?

If there's a bath in another room, I would advise people to put in a shower only. Usually, I would only do a shower-over-bath if the client required it for a child.

How important is the bathroom now to the value of a home?

Extremely important. It's one of those areas women will look at first. They won't necessarily look at just the kitchen any more. They will look at the bathroom, and if they're going to move in, most of the time they'll look at getting the bathroom renovated before anything else.

What are some of the latest trends in bathroom design?

Very contemporary looks are in. We're using much larger tiles and people are sticking to neutral tones; not necessarily your stark white, but softer, off-whites. People are also trying to stick to the same colour floor and walls, and vanities are being custom-made to fit spaces.

Which trends are on their way out?

Smaller, white 200 x 200mm tiles are not happening. We're going for a larger, more rectangular tile, which we lay both horizontally and vertically. Perimeter borders are also going out. Instead, we're buying sheets of mosaics and laying them vertically in one or two areas as a feature.

Bathroom renovators are only a phone call away and can help you get the most out of your bathroom makeover: