The short answer: keep the expensive, hard-to-change parts simple — tile, tub or shower, vanity shape — and put the personality into paint, mirrors, lighting and hardware, which are cheap to change later. That is the difference between a bathroom that still looks right in ten years and one that dates in three.
Start with what you cannot change later
Tile and fixtures are the parts you live with. A large-format porcelain tile in a warm neutral, run from the floor into the shower, ages better than a bold pattern and makes a small room look bigger. If you want pattern, use it on one surface — the floor, or the back wall of the shower — not everywhere.
Walk-in shower or tub?
- Walk-in shower: easier to get into, easier to clean, makes the room look larger. A low or no curb with a linear drain is the current standard.
- Tub: worth keeping in a family home, and worth keeping in at least one bathroom if you may sell.
- Tub-shower combination: still the most practical choice in a single-bathroom house.
Vanities: storage beats size
Drawers hold more usable space than a cupboard with a single shelf. A wall-hung vanity keeps the floor visible and makes cleaning easier. Two sinks are only worth it if the vanity is at least 60 inches wide; below that you lose more counter than you gain.
Lighting in three layers
- Face lighting: either side of the mirror, or a wide fixture above it. Side lighting is more flattering and more useful for shaving and makeup.
- Task lighting: a wet-rated recessed light in the shower.
- General lighting: dimmable, so the room works at night.
Comfort upgrades worth the money
- Heated floor: electric mats add modest cost while the floor is already open, and make a tiled bathroom usable in a Lower Mainland winter. Doing it later means lifting the new floor.
- Quiet, properly sized exhaust fan: vented outside, on a timer or humidity sensor. It protects everything else you just paid for.
- Thermostatic shower valve: keeps the water temperature steady when someone runs a tap elsewhere.
- Niches and a bench: built in while the walls are open, not bolted on later.
Accessibility, planned quietly
A curbless shower, a wider door, blocking in the walls for future grab bars and a comfort-height toilet cost little now and save a renovation later. None of it has to look clinical.
What dates fastest
- Strongly coloured tile across every wall.
- Very trend-led vanity shapes and vessel sinks that are hard to clean around.
- Mixing four different metal finishes in one room.
- Bold feature walls in a small bathroom, where there is nowhere for the eye to rest.
Before you start
Moving the toilet, sink or shower drain is the single biggest cost driver, so change the layout only when it genuinely does not work. Older homes often hide water damage behind the tile, so keep 10 to 15 per cent of the budget back for what is found on the first day. Our bathroom renovation cost guide has current ranges, and if your bathroom is small, start with small bathroom renovation ideas.
Permits and strata
Finishes rarely need a permit; moving plumbing or electrical often does. In a condo, strata approval for plumbing work comes first. See our Burnaby permit guide.
Planning a bathroom renovation?
Naimi Contracting renovates bathrooms in Burnaby and across Metro Vancouver. See our bathroom renovation service, or ask for a free, written estimate.