The Bathroom Option

Bathrooms have come a long ways over the decades. Bathrooms of yesteryear had all the essentials – toilet, sink, tub, and shower (sometimes), but they lacked layout and functionality and most of the time personality, not to mention the number of bathrooms per house. Think back to your grandma’s bathroom or Aunt Suzie’s bathroom or maybe even your own childhood bathroom. Today bathrooms still contain the essentials, if they’re a full bath (more on this in a bit), but they also have functional layouts, storage, and personality as builders get crafty and accessories are in abundance. With marble or granite counter tops, tile back splashes, and vinyl flooring made to look like stone or actual stone flooring bathrooms nowadays are a creative endeavor worth showing off.

As shower surrounds improved and bath shower combos became spacious and functional (no shower curtain sticking to your legs or drafty air freezing you out) with space for your bathing items the place where you perform your daily hygiene routine is easier. And if you have a newer home much more stylish. Accessories abound as towel racks, facets, mirrors, lighting and toilet paper holders all of sudden look like someone took the time to make them fashionable – not to mention fun to use.

Another trend is bathrooms that are a fraction less than a full bathroom. Most houses being built today come with a half bath, a bathroom that typical has a sink and toilet, to accommodate your guests, often called “powder rooms” from lingo of days old. In newer homes, this bathroom is a little bigger than a closet close to the common areas and away from bedrooms. Some houses might also have a three-quarter bath, which contains a shower, sink and toilet, foregoing the tub. Older homes might have a three-quarter bath missing the shower instead of the tub. In today’s fast pace society, showers get more use than bathtubs, as bathing in a tub is now seen as a luxury. Master bathrooms of new homes typically boast a standalone shower and a deep, jetted tub, which is often more for looks and is actually rarely used. And for knowledge sake, there is a quarter bath, which as you can guess only has one of the four bathroom essentials, typically a toilet. This is unheard of in new construction.

Bathroom sizes do affect the value of your house. If you are thinking of remodeling or adding a bathroom a full bath will give your home more value than any other bathroom option. The National Association of Home Builders conducted a study in 2006 and found that a full size bathroom will add about 20% to a homes value, while a half bath will add about 10.5%. This was true even if the number of bathrooms equaled the number of bedrooms. And if the bathrooms were less than the number of bedrooms a bathroom addition could add even more value. Thinking back to older homes with only one bathroom…we’re lucky bathroom norms have come a long way.

Blog written by: Silverhawk Realty