Bathroom makeovers: relaxing retreats for less.

Publication: Consumer Reports

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COPYRIGHT 2005 Consumers Union of the United States, Inc.

The same remodeling boom that has turned kitchens into living rooms is transforming bathrooms into spas. Nearly 30 percent of the 121 million adults who recently completed a home-improvement project were involved in a bathroom remodel.

Yet bathroom makeovers are among the toughest to get right. Locating everything efficiently and making it stylish and safe is a lot to ask of the roughly 50 square feet that now define the average bathroom. For some, the solution is enlarging the space to make room for a whirlpool, separate shower, and two sinks. But even then, it's easy to try to cram in too many amenities. If you're like most remodelers, you'll have to reconcile the luxury you want with what your budget allows.

Fortunately, manufacturers are making lavish bathrooms more attainable with lower-priced whirlpools, glass sinks, and other high-end fixtures. American Standard, Kohler, and other well-known brands are also pushing coordinated bathroom "suites" designed to make it easier to match the sink with the faucets and towel bars. As American Standard's Web site boasts, "our new Town Square Suite makes designing the perfect bathroom virtually stress-free."

How much luxury could we squeeze into a modest-sized bathroom without breaking the bank? We sought design and remodeling help from the major home centers, since that's where most bathroom products are sold. We also compared four bathroom suites. But as we found, they all fell short in at least one critical area (see "Matched Suites: A Mixed Bag," page 22).

We ended up with a workable plan, though our shopping trips revealed that some sources are far more helpful than others. Here are the details of our store encounters, based on the steps a successful bathroom remodel should follow:

1. SET A REALISTIC BUDGET

Our goal: Update a 1960s-style, 9 1/2x 5-foot bathroom for $15,000 or less. While that's more than the $10,000 national average, it's less than the $25,000 homeowners spent on high-end bathroom projects.

We wanted a whirlpool, separate shower, two sinks, stone countertops and floors, and translucent glass tiles. Since we couldn't fit all that into our current layout, we considered annexing a small, unused bedroom nearby. Additionally, we wanted...

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