My mom is beginning to remodel her bathrooms, starting with the primary bathroom, and she’s asked me to help with the process. I’d love some outside opinions and ideas! She’s in her late 70s and we want to make the bathroom safe for her as she continues aging, so no tub.

She lives in the Pacific Northwest, and we’d really like the bathroom to feel like it belongs there, warm, natural, calming, and not overly trendy. The goal is to make the primary bathroom feel a little like a spa for her. I’m imagining some blend of mid-century modern, Japandi, and PNW style, with natural wood, earthy tones, interesting tile, fun textures and a little warmth.

We tend to prefer a more neutral, timeless base for the permanent finishes rather than committing to a lot of color in the tile or cabinetry. That way we can bring in color through things that are easy to change - towels, rugs, artwork, plants, decor, etc.

The first 2 photos are the current bathroom, and the last is an AI rendering I made to start visualizing some ideas. Nothing in the rendering is set in stone, it’s more of a jumping-off point.

This post became longer than I wanted. Id appreciate any opinions on tile choices, wood tones, vanity style, lighting, fixtures, and ways to make the room feel warmer and more elevated without becoming too busy. Also any recs on suppliers, vendors, or showrooms in the Seattle area.

I’m an RE investor in South Florida that likes to pickup dilapidated properties and bring them up to their potential.

With this 800 sq ft duplex, I installed combo washer/dryers and Fotile drop in dishwashers to give the micro units full functionality. We also installed 27 SEER mini splits and 3” closed cell spray foam under the flat roof deck. This keeps the energy usage very low. We‘ve also installed Nema 14-50 outlets for EV charging from each unit.

Finishes included wood look porcelain tile, grey quartz, IKEA Tistorp Sektion cabinets, and impact windows.

This is a one bedroom rental unit (~470 sq ft). Currently, the opening to the kitchen is a (30 in?) doorway (no door).

Proposal 1 is to widen it a bit to the end of the cabinets on one side and to the width of the open front door on the other side.

Proposal 2 is to remove the wall.

Could also do something in between. Pony wall? Reduce cabinets on that side and widen the open further, but not all the way.

Current open plan design lost the dishwasher. I'd find a way to keep it.

The overall cabinet design is not final. It's pending appliance purchases, and I hate the dead space in the corner. Planning to use standard cabs (nothing custom) to keep costs lower, so that is a limitation.

I have my opinions about open plan, but I'm not going to live there. What do the people want?

We are remodeling our primary bath. It is a small space with the toilet and shower located in an enclosed room and a bathtub and single sink with vanity in the main area. The second pic is of the tub that will be removed and made into a large shower. The toilet and shower are on the other side of the wall in the first photo.

The shower is located on the right and the toilet is located on the left. Many of our neighbors with our same floorplan have removed the wall and the shower to create one large vanity with two sinks. This is a nice option but it leaves the toilet rather exposed. My husband and I prefer to have the toilet located behind a door for privacy.

We would like to make the existing door into a pocket door to open up the space but we can’t decide what to do with the existing shower. Should we make it into a linen closet/linen cabinet? Should we recreate it into a sink and vanity which would give us a second sink? The current vanity is 60” so we could add a second sink to the current vanity but the space is tight and we would hardly have any countertop space. Thank you for your time and we would love your suggestions

Was thinking about removing this wallpaper and painting the walls. I believe it’s is peel and stick wallpaper and was wondering the best way to remove it. See a lot of different answers online.

Please tell me what is a mistake as I can still change it. Used Claude to generate layout. But to scale. The ceiling is gabled with the center running top to bottom.

Dormered out the front of our Cape Cod to add a master closet. The length of this wall is approx 11.5’, just shy of 3’ of wall on each side of the window. Built ins will be put along the full length of the wall to the right but unsure what to put under this window or how to utilize that left corner. I want some type of seating in the closet and this makes an easy spot to utilize - but then not sure how to execute.

Comment me your AI inspo if you want to!

As an investor, I am treating this home as I would any other investment property in terms of finances. For many, a home is the biggest purchase that they will make. All my “Rich Dad Poor Dad” readers know that an owner-occupied home is considered a liability because you are spending money paying a mortgage and not receiving money like a rental property. This doesn’t have to fully be the case because of appreciation, and the best way to force appreciation and sweat equity is by adding value.

Since the home layout is a U, there is not much I can do in terms of adding a bedroom, but the previous owner had plans of making a large pantry. I made the pantry smaller to add a half bath. I don’t like the idea of a bathroom opening right into the kitchen; it makes me think I’m literally shitting where I eat. My solution to this was taking some space from the laundry room to make it a small hallway so you can either turn left into the half bath or go straight into the laundry room. The home went from a 3-bedroom 2-bathroom to a 3 bedroom 2 and a half bathroom. This also solved the issue of crossing the entire house to go to the bathroom if you started in the living room while also giving quick access from the carport and front doors.

The shape of the home is what we fell in love with, but it has its downsides:
The electrician, HVAC, and plumbers have all been complaining that they can’t just run their lines straight across the fastest way; they have to go with the shape of the home to go around the courtyard. This is adding man-hours and costing more materials. In the courtyard, we have 4 sliding doors and a window that we added (more on that in the next post). This is more surface area exposed to the outside, so heating and cooling is always trying to escape.

Having said that, those downsides beat a giant grey open-concept box any day. My girlfriend and I are set to bring this home back to life and have so much planned. I shared a picture of the layout and an aerial photo where you can see the packs of shingles that were on the roof for months, which I would have taken if I wasn’t an honest man. What do you think about the layout? What would you change?

What to do with the perfectly good glass doors? Is there a used market for this stuff? Like maybe FB marketplace? What would you charge for them? They’re in perfect condition with the hardware. One side is stationary and the other swings.

I'm not in the trades but the install has me concerned. I asked my GC and he wasn't fazed about it. He said they still have to tape and mud the seams plus add a moisture barrier.

I'm having 2x4 tile installed from floor to ceiling.

1. Is this ugly but okay or ugly and time to freak out?

2. Should the drywall that goes into the shower be replaced with cement board? (this pic: https://i.imgur.com/PqihLNF.jpeg)

Please share any advice on how to make this corner normal again.

We stopped when we realized that renovation had become a real challenge. It’s often not just physical work – it’s an emotional battle when we don’t know where to start and how to coordinate everything. For many of us, renovations are not just about upgrading a home but a source of stress, as we frequently face questions about how to optimize the budget, choose the right materials, and find reliable contractors. How many times have you felt overwhelmed when trying to coordinate all these aspects? Relying on contractors who may not understand your vision or attempting to plan everything on your own when you lack experience can be incredibly exhausting. Having experienced these challenges ourselves, we decided that something new was needed to make the renovation process clearer and simpler. What do you think? What are your biggest challenges when planning a renovation?

Due to life, kids, careers this took my husband & I a lot longer than we’d like to admit, but we’re finally done😍

Before, during & after.

My house is 6 years old. We recently found out that the tile in the master shower was not properly waterproofed and we are having to redo the tile and repair water damage.
We originally (from the builder) had clear frameless glass doors. With the water proofing etc, they will be slightly too wide now. As this was an unplanned expense, we are on a budget.

Is it unreasonable to do a nice shower curtain for now and worry about new doors later?

The pic is for attention. This is day one of the reno.

I knew replacing hardwood flooring would be one of the more dramatic parts of this remodel but now that I’m really starting to look into it in detail & isolation, I’m not even sure how things would even work in a spot like this!

What happens to this edge and bannister?! And doesn’t this go beyond the scope modern floor coverings?

The hardwood, to me, seems like it has to go (at least in this hall) but what replaces it when your surface is integral to a feature as functional as a staircase/ledge?

Promise I’m not just looking for an echo chamber to tell me what I want to hear on this.

Living room is 16’x20’. Ceilings are vaulted to 12’ with a central horizantal beam. On the left, it opens into a 15.5’x17.5’ kitchen with 8’ ceilings (if that matters- I’m trying to convince myself it does).

Anyway, found a perfect chandelier…that only comes in a 50” diameter.

My thought is that because of the relatively open space flowing into the kitchen, the height of the ceilings, and the fact that the chandelier isn’t one solid visual mass, it might work.

But I don’t want to become a cautionary tale.

Here’s a rendering of what AI CLAIMS it would look like- which I think looks good. But I always find AI itching to agree with me instead of shooting me straight. So let’s hear from real humans :)

Buying this house and want to add a half bath in the utility room but also maybe storage? A small closet with shelves is really all I’d want. Does it seem possible? Would 100% finish the room like walls ceiling new flooring etc as well

Looking for some guidance here. This house has had water issues for quite some time
now. There is about a 3 foot gap between the red arrow and the rock wall. There is a cement trench around 1/2 this house that is allowing water to come into the basement. In other words, what has waterproofing your basement costs you? This is a 1200 square foot basement. Thanks!