HOW TO DISGUISE A DATED BATHROOM
Do you know who takes a deep breath when they tour a home?
The Realtor. A dated bathroom means a price reduction or a delay in listing. Neither option is what a seller wants to manage (hello price improvement).
Why?
Because bathrooms are expensive to update and rarely need just a paint job.
Homes built in the early 90’s often have built-in jetted tubs.
And the bathroom tile selection is often of the era the home was built.
Think Tuscany-inspired tile from the early 90’s.
Oh and raise your hand if you have glass blocks instead of windows.
And let’s face it, bathrooms are the rooms we spend the least time in.
Except for the years our primary bathroom resembled an urgent care with three active kids and Bernese Mountain rescuesa nd Tanner- our Australian Shepherd.
This is our before photo of our bathroom.
Yes, those are square tiles of various shades of brown or Tuscany.
The tile replaced the carpet that was in our bathroom after the winter flu of 2006
I get it. because once you start a tear down there is no way to stop.
It’s like eating a Dairy Queen Blizzard.
There’s that light brown tile in our boys’ bathroom. The business of the space and the crowded countertops added to the dated bathroom vibe.
I know because we purchased a home in this time frame. Twice. Yes, we bought our home and two years later we bought a home three blocks from our first home
We moved from the upper east side to the the lower west side (in Colorado). .
It was also the year I became a Realtor so I toured, previewed a lot of homes with jetted tubs and Tuscany- inpspired tile.
Between the tub and tile homes often resembled Tony and Carmella’s house on the Sopranos.
We recently updated out primary bathroom and the noise generated by the power saw to remove the tub, tile and steps created a daily headache while working from our dasughter’s childhood bedroom.
I love our new tub. It is freestanding and no jets.WIth it’s one year anniversary the tub has not been used. It is reserved for illness or achy joints.
I know plenty of friends and family who end a day in the tub.
We are not those people..
I
So what to do with a dated tub?
Hide it!
Like hiding in plain sight!
Yep add an oversized plant and position it on the bathroom floor or on the tub itself.
It takes the eye away from the tile or the tub and lands on the green plant.
And don’t discount the value of a small plant on a windowsill? Again plantss (real or fake) direct your eye.
I love tiny potted faux plants on windowsills in bahtrooms. J
Next, use neutral towels. Think navy, white, cream. Nothing busy.
Remove rugs that are placed near every water source in the bathroom.
That’s it.
Well besides this list of items to hide before showings.
