Your Go-To Guide for Bathroom Renovations: Costs, Fittings, and More

All things bathroom-related at your fingertips.

At its very core, a bathroom is a space that allows us to maintain our personal hygiene on a daily basis – but when renovated right, it can also be a sanctuary to rejuvenate after a long day, or a space that inspires ideas for your personal projects.

To help you create a place you’ll love, here’s a handy bathroom renovation guide detailing everything you need to know!

How much does a bathroom renovation in Singapore usually cost?

Our data shows that the rough renovation cost per bathroom is around $3,000 to $3,200 for basic works, or $5,000 to $5,900 for more extensive renovations.

Note that this doesn’t include things like fittings and appliances – for that, expect to fork out anything upwards of $2,000.

For resale units (regardless of property types), bathroom renovations will likely be more expensive, as you’ll not only have to redo the waterproofing layer, but also replace the wall and floor tiles entirely.

Bathroom layout ideas

Granted, bathrooms throughout homes in Singapore aren’t the biggest spaces around, which doesn’t leave much room to experiment with layouts.

However, that’s not to say that there’s absolutely zero things you can do, as these homes show otherwise:

Combining both bathrooms for an overall bigger space

If you’re living alone or if you don’t foresee yourself and your family constantly fighting to use the toilet, why not combine both bathrooms to create a bigger space?

That way, you have a larger, more luxurious space to enjoy, with more room to manouevre around, instead of feeling cramped and claustrophobic.

Separating the wet and dry bathroom

Squeezing a sink, toilet bowl, and a shower area into an already-tiny bathroom will only cramp up the entire space, so more and more homeowners are opting to shift the sink and vanity outside – hence, separating the wet and dry bathrooms.

Aside from freeing up precious space within the bathroom, it also allows multiple people to use the space at one time. For example, someone can use the dry area to brush their teeth while another person is showering.

Using the corridor to expand the other rooms (including the bathroom)

If you, like these homeowners, think that the corridor in your home is a dead space, then maybe you can consider merging it with your other rooms – including your bathroom – to create a larger space.

The result: a bigger, more luxurious space for you to enjoy!

Bathroom design ideas to consider

While small, your bathroom can still influence the overall look of your home. Big or small, here are a few bathroom ideas to inspire you.

A Scandinavian white-and-wood bathroom

If you like the simplicity of a white-and-wood home, you’ll likely want your bathroom to be decked out in a similar fashion.

And while wood isn’t a material you’d want to use in a moist environment like the bathroom, durable alternatives like wood-look tiles and laminates make this look more achievable!

Explore: 8 Nice Wood-Look Bathrooms That'll Make You Want One Too

A modern luxe bathroom that looks like one from a hotel

There’s something so luxurious yet soothing about a hotel bathroom, so it’s no surprise that many homeowners strive to replicate the look for their own bathrooms back home.

If this modern bathroom idea is something you think you’d like, note that the key to creating one includes the use of warm lighting and stone-look materials in darker colours!

A simple black-and-white bathroom

Black and white bathrooms are popular colour choices, and for good reason. Besides being versatile enough to be used for a variety of interior design styles, it also offers vivid visual contrasts that are pleasing to the eye.

Case in point: the project featured above, featuring a transitional bathroom decked out in half-walls and a black-and-white mosaic floor.

A daring open-concept bathroom

Here’s one bathroom layout for the brave and daring. Using glass panes and doors in place of regular walls and doors, an open-concept bathroom helps make a space feel more open by allowing natural light to flow through a larger area.

Explore: Open-Concept Bathrooms: Practical Idea or Just Too Daring?

Materials to consider using in a bathroom renovation

Choosing proper, water-resistant materials is key to creating a bathroom that’s easy to clean and maintain (more tips here!), and here are the best ones for your consideration:

For your bathroom wall and floor: tiles

The classic choice for your bathroom walls and floors are, of course, ceramic tiles. Their non-porous, water-resistant nature helps prevent mould growth and water damage, and are also highly durable and easy to clean.

Additionally, they come in a variety of colours and designs, making them a popular material used in bathrooms regardless of aesthetic choice.

What, exactly, do the anti-slip ratings for tiles mean?

You may have seen tiles with ratings like R9 all the way to R13 – essentially, these are anti-slip ratings that indicate a person’s risk of slipping on an oiled surface. The higher the rating, the lower the risk of slipping, although the surfaces of R12 and R13 tiles are often rougher and are harder to clean.

Tile grout lines: yay or nay?

Grout lines between your tiles can add to the overall look of your bathroom, but did you know that they have a functional purpose too?

For example, small format tiles with more grout lines mean more cleaning involved – but they also create more grip and reduce the likelihood of slipping. Large format tiles, on the other hand, ensure an easy-to-clean minimalistic look, but also aren’t as helpful in preventing falls.

For your bathroom shower screen: glass panels or curtains

To minimise water from spilling all over the place, you need a shower screen to separate the wet and dry areas in your bathroom.

The classic choice, of course, is the glass panel – which not only helps a space feel more open, but also is versatile enough to blend into a variety of styles.

However, for those of you who aren’t too fond of fingerprint stains, you can also opt for a shower curtain, which can come in various designs and colours.

For your bathroom countertop materials: durable materials like solid surface, quartz, and sintered stone

While they don’t see as much impact as kitchen countertops, your bathroom vanity’s countertop material is still important – after all, this is likely where you will brush your teeth, do your skincare routines, or even dye your hair.

These days, the most common bathroom vanity countertop materials are stone-like materials like solid surface, quartz, and sintered stone. Here’s a breakdown of each materials’ pros and cons for your consideration:

Explore: Comparing Sintered Stone VS Quartz: The Differences, and the Verdict

Are there any materials to avoid using in a bathroom?

Due to the high moisture content, you should generally avoid materials that are prone to warp or spoil in wet environments, such as:

• Limewash: the moist environment will gradually affect the limestone used in the paint, and will eventually cause cracks to appear
• Wallpapers: moisture and humidity can not only cause peeling, but also allow mould to grow.

Choosing the best bathroom fittings

Your bathroom is nothing without its fittings – this includes the essentials like your toilet bowl and shower heads, to smaller accessories like floor traps and bathroom storage accessories.

Bathtub or regular standing shower?

Standing showers have been the default option in bathrooms across Singapore. However, more and more homeowners have recently begun opting for bathtubs to create a more luxurious bath experience.

While neither option is necessarily better than the other, they each have their own sets of pros and cons, so consider carefully before choosing on one for your home:

Regardless of your decision, be sure to read up on the things you need to know about installing a bathtub beforehand!

Choosing a toilet bowl

Toilet bowls may seem unassuming at first glance, but choosing one involves some consideration as well, with factors including the price tag and design.

For instance, there are different types of toilet bowls in the market – namely, a wall hung as well as a floor mounted toilet bowl.

Essentially, a wall hung toilet is mounted directly onto the wall behind it with the tank concealed, while the floor mounted toilet is bolted to the floor, with the tank sitting on top of the bowl.

But these shouldn’t be the only things to consider – for a more detailed list of things to know, here is a list of questions you didn’t know you needed to ask about toilet bowls to help you make a more informed decision.

Top mount vs undermount bathroom sink, which to choose?

Most bathrooms in homes across Singapore come with a vanity, so the question now is: should you get a top mount or undermount sink to go with it?

Water heaters: should you choose an instant or storage water heater?

Every bathroom needs a water heater, and the choices essentially boil down to two options: an instant water heater or a storage water heater.

How they differ is in the name: an instant water heater possesses a heating element that heats up water as it passes through, while a storage water heater stores a set amount of water in its tank, at the specified temperature.

If you need a little help choosing between the two, here’s an instant vs storage water heater comparison guide!

Bathroom storage options

With all the beauty and cleaning products you have, you’ll need a sufficient amount of bathroom storage space to keep them all.

Most homeowners opt for a vanity cabinet that gives them the space to stow away their things, but if you don’t fancy the way it makes your space feel boxed-in, you can also consider using open shelving.

Within the shower area, racks are typically the go-to storage option – but for a sleeker, more streamlined option, there’s also the shower niche: a cavity carved directly into the wall for that streamlined effect.

Bathroom ventilation fan to reduce moisture build-up

With the amount of humidity and moisture in your bathroom, it’s no wonder that your bathroom is especially prone to mould and mildew. And aside from leaving the door open after a shower to air it out, having a ventilation fan within the bathroom can also help mitigate the issue.

Bathroom fittings and accessories

The last piece of the puzzle is, of course, your bathroom fittings, like your taps, shower heads, grab bars, and so on.

To ensure that they blend seamlessly into the overall design of your bathroom, give your interior designer an idea of what you like so that they can take that into account.

Here are a few articles to help you get started:

• Where to buy unique fittings and hardware
• Trendy bathroom mirrors and fittings on Shopee
• Where to buy coloured basins and other home essentials

Additionally, you can also take a look through these bathroom-related brands in our brand directory. Some of these brands even have deals that you can claim to fill up your home at a discounted price, so be sure to grab them while you can!

A guide to designing and renovating bathroom

If you're read all the way till the end, congrats! With these nuggets of information, you're one step closer to designing a bathroom that is both beautiful and functional.

The next step? Finding an interior designer that can design a bathroom that fully caters to your needs and lifestyle. Tell us your renovation requirements, and you’ll get personalised renovation quotes from up to five interior design firms – completely free! Get started now by clicking the button below.

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