Andy Bertrand
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The bathroom is often the smallest room in the house. So you might think it would be one of the easiest and cheapest to remodel. You would be wrong.
Bathroom remodelers say $25,000 to $30,000 is average for a total renovation, even in these tight economic times. In fact, the national average cost for an upscale bathroom remodel is roughly $50,590 and a midscale bathroom remodel is $15,789, according to Remodeling Magazine’s 2007 Cost vs. Value report. But how much a homeowner actually spends will vary, especially if you do some of the labor yourself.

The bathroom is still one of the best investments you can make in your house. According to the report, homeowners will recoup nearly 80 percent of a midscale bathroom remodel.

And don’t think you can’t make a big impact by updating and changing the look of your bathroom.

“It’s like childbirth; it can hurt like hell, but the end product is magnificent and beautiful,” said Jenny Rausch, president of Karr-Bick Kitchen & Bath in Brentwood, Mo.

The first step in remodeling is to decide what look you want. “Most people come in with a photo from a magazine,” says Denise Deen, a certified bathroom designer at Callier & Thompson in St. Charles, Mo. “A look that is very popular right now is a spa look, with rocks and pebbles and slate on the walls.” When Deen meets with a client, her first step is to go through a questionnaire that addresses space planning and the client’s wish list.

Rausch said she often hears customers say they want their new bathroom to have the look and feel of a luxury hotel they stayed in while on vacation. “I think that says something about our lives,” she said. “We want to do whatever possible to bring our vacations and the feeling of less stress home with us. People need tranquility to offset their daily hectic lives.

Rausch also said she notices a drive toward not only luxury-looking bathrooms but luxury items as well. “We have a bidet toilet seat that is always warm when you sit on it, a towel rack that warms your towels and electric heated floor system, so no more cold toes.”

After talking with designers and retailers, here is a list of what’s in and out in bathroom remodeling.

COST-CONSCIOUS CLASSIC

$5,000 to $10,000

Name: Theresa and Jason Obert

Ages: She’s 33; he’s 35

Home: Des Peres, Mo.

Family: Daughter Chloe, 1

Remodeler used: The Oberts did much of the work themselves with the help of a friend.

When remodeling your bathroom on a budget, it helps to have a little inside information. Because Theresa works at Hallmark Stone - countertop fabricators - she was able to get a deal on her coffee brown Silestone countertop. She also was able to find bargains on fixtures and have a friend help them with the installation.

Within two years, the Oberts remodeled both their upstairs guest bath and their new downstairs bath. For both, they had to have walls built or moved. They spent less than $10,000 on each.

“It’s a matter of shopping around and finding the best deals,” said Theresa, who found the natural stone flooring for both on closeout.

The upstairs bath was last updated many years before the Oberts bought the house in 2005.

In addition to old appliances with gold fixtures, it had coral tiles on the floor and walls and a drop ceiling with fluorescent lights.

Theresa and Jason gutted the bath and added space by cutting into a laundry room. The cabinets were where it started. Theresa carried out the look of them on the front of her tub.

The last piece of this bathroom’s puzzle was the shower curtain. It brings the walls, countertop and flooring together perfectly.

Details to love:

1. Cabinet front on tub: It makes a simple bath look classy.

2. Silestone countertops in a unique color that doesn’t show dirt.

ITALIAN GETAWAY

$25,000 to $30,000

Name: Dana and John Golio

Ages: She’s 54; he’s 57

Home: Chesterfield, Mo.

Family: Daughter Jessie, 26; son, Johnny, 25

Remodeler used: Callier & Thompson

When Dana and John Golio moved into their house 20 years ago, they adored the convenient location and lush backyard. But a few years ago the house started looking dated.

“We thought we could buy a new house or update this one and stay here forever,” Donna said. They chose the latter, completely remodeling the kitchen and bath and turning a sun porch to a four seasons room.

For their master bath, Dana had a plan. It all started with a neighbor who had redone her bathroom after a trip to Italy. Then a vacation at the Belagio in Las Vegas sealed the deal. The bathrooms in the Italy-inspired hotel blew away Dana, who along with her husband is Italian and a native of the Bronx. She took photos of the bathrooms and then took the photos to Callier & Thompson.

There, she worked with designer Denise Deen to create her little Italian getaway.

The first step was to enlarge the shower, from a tiny square you could barely move in to the expansive tiled space that is so big, it doesn’t even need a door.

“No water comes out at all,” Dana said. “And it’s so much easier to clean.” She also loves the little touches such as the built-in shelves tucked under a seat for shampoo and soap.

“We grew up in such small quarters, the whole family using one bath,” Dana said. “Whoever thought we’d be living in luxury like this? We are so thankful; we just love it.”

Details to love:

1. The faucets: The brushed nickel hearkens back to old world Italy.

2. The long tiles around the vanity and tub offer a unified look.

WHAT A GIRL WANTS

$50,000-plus

Name: Nancy Fox

Ages: 44

Home: Clayton, Mo.

Family: Daughter Jordan, 19; son Ethan, 10

Remodeler used: Karr-Bick Kitchen & Bath

When Nancy Fox’s ex-husband decided to move from Chesterfield, Mo., to the Clayton area, Nancy knew she needed to move, too, to keep their son near both of his parents. She searched and searched until she found a 1920s brick duplex on a Web site. “I just knew it was the house. It needed me, and I needed it.”

Though the house had the right “bones,” it certainly didn’t have the right master bath. “It was a little wash closet: a radiator, a pedestal sink and a shower-tub combo,” she said. So Nancy turned that bath and a back bedroom into the Old French-inspired bathroom of her dreams. “It’s sort of old world meets new world,” with its mix of antiques and high-tech appliances. The entry to it is a changing area connected to a walk-in closet. Nancy, an artist, did the faux painting on the walls and trim herself.

The bathroom itself has every luxury you could want: heated floors, a jetted garden tub with a built-in bookcase, a gorgeous vanity, a separate room with a bidet and a shower with multiple heads large enough to wash her Weimaraners in. “And it has a seat for me,” said Nancy, who recently suffered a broken leg and has had to hobble around during the remodeling.

“It’s every girl’s dream to have a bathroom like this,” Nancy said.

Details to love:

1. The lighting. It started with the main chandelier from Jon Paul Designs & Collectibles in Richmond Heights, Mo. The rest of the pieces followed.

2. The built-in bookcases allow Nancy to display beloved trinkets and some of her photography.