Luxury baths top remodeling list

Variety of factors decides cost

By Amy Bertrand | St. Louis Post-Dispatch • Published August 23, 2008

The bathroom is often the smallest room in the house. So you might think it would be one of the easiest and cheapest to remodel. You would be wrong.

Bathroom remodelers say $25,000 to $30,000 is average for a total renovation, even in these tight economic times. In fact, the national average cost for an upscale bathroom remodel is roughly $50,590 and a midscale bathroom remodel is $15,789, according to Remodeling Magazine's 2007 Cost vs. Value report. But how much a homeowner actually spends will vary, especially if you do some of the labor yourself.

The bathroom is still one of the best investments you can make in your house. According to the report, homeowners will recoup nearly 80 percent of a midscale bathroom remodel.

And don't think you can't make a big impact by updating and changing the look of your bathroom.

"It's like childbirth; it can hurt like hell, but the end product is magnificent and beautiful," says Jenny Rausch, president of Karr-Bick Kitchen & Bath in Brentwood, Mo.

The first step in remodeling is to decide what look you want. "Most people come in with a photo from a magazine," says Denise Deen, a certified bathroom designer at Callier & Thompson in St. Charles, Mo. "A look that is very popular right now is a spa look, with rocks and pebbles and slate on the walls." When Deen meets with a client, her first step is to go through a questionnaire that addresses space planning and the client's wish list.

Rausch says she often hears customers say they want their new bathroom to have the look and feel of a luxury hotel they stayed in while on vacation. "I think that says something about our lives," she says. "We want to do whatever possible to bring our vacations and the feeling of less stress home with us. People need tranquility to offset their daily hectic lives.

Rausch also says she notices a drive toward not only luxury-looking bathrooms but luxury items as well. "We have a bidet toilet seat that is always warm when you sit on it, a towel rack that warms your towels and electric heated floor system, so no more cold toes."