By Lisa Hutcherson

More so than with any other room, remodeling a bathroom can increase your home’s resale value.

In fact, a moderate-sized bathroom remodel, which costs about $10,499, brings a 102 percent return on your investment, according to the 2005 Cost vs. Value Report published by the National Association of Realtors in REALTOR Magazine and by Hanley Wood in Remodeling magazine.

But before you look to magazines and TV for ideas, it helps to know your best investments.

Walls

Paint is the cheapest upgrade you can make.

“Spa” shades are popular, as are pure, clean hues and warm, earthy colors, says Christy Haag, an interior designer at Teschner’s Decorating Center in Pittsford. Haag recommends avoiding colors with a lot of gray in them because they look too cold. She also advises tinting a white ceiling with one-eighth of the color formula used on the walls. White ceilings, she explains, make your bathroom look smaller.

Wainscoting — that paneling that goes halfway up the wall and is often painted white or off-white — is as hot as ever.

Counters and floors

Cultured marble and solid surface materials like Corian are the two most popular choices for countertops, says Joe Preston, office manager for Upstate Bath Systems in Victor.

But cultured marble is gaining because it often sells for about half the price of the solid materials. For a sharp-looking combination in the cultured marble, Preston suggests a granite-colored countertop with a sink in the same color.

When it comes to floors, Preston says two hot picks are ceramic tile or laminate. True, tile is a lot richer, but it’s more expensive and because of the grout lines, more maintenance when it comes to cleaning.

Tongue-and-groove laminates, which look like tile, are perfect for the moist air and can go right over the existing floor.

As for new faucets and cabinet hardware, Preston says the latest looks are brushed-nickel, chrome or oil-rubbed bronze.

Cabinetry and trim

Storage is often scarce in bathrooms, so people are adding toilet toppers, banjo counters that extend along over top of the toilet and freestanding linen cabinets. More customers are concerned with cabinet construction: Does it have dovetailed joints? Is it solid wood?

As far as the wood itself, Preston says maple is the most popular lighter choice. Oak is out. When it comes to darker woods, cherry paired with white counters or other elements is beautiful. Also very popular is a painted look, in white or off-white.

Tubs and showers

“There’s a lot of tub-to-shower conversion,” Preston says. Customers are replacing the existing shower stall-tub combo with a big walk-in shower. Often they’ll remove the tub although for the sake of resale value, it’s recommended that you leave one tub in a guest bathroom.

To avoid mold and mildew and because it looks great, the walls of these new shower areas are often floor to ceiling in either tile or the less-expensive, just-as-nice and easier-to-clean acrylic, which can mimic tile, stone or other materials.

Higher-end add-ons include multiple shower heads, body spray towers or even steam and aroma units,says Mark Potter, spokesman for Norbut Construction in Henrietta.

Such a conversion costs about $4,000 to $6,000, Preston says.

If people do keep their tub, they’re opting for deeper or wider models. Potter notes the prevalence of deep-soaking overflow tubs, which let water slowly drain over the tub edge into a catch basin.

source : www.tonawanda-news.com

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