Guides · Renovation
Bathroom remodel: ten ideas that genuinely make your bathroom better
Not every idea from the catalogue works in everyday life. These ten have proven themselves in real projects — each with an honest price range.
What a complete bathroom remodel costs and how it works is covered in the article Renovating a bathroom. This one is about the ideas themselves — sorted from affordable to ambitious.
What works in a period apartment
In period buildings of the kind common in Zurich, almost everything hangs on one question: where does the service shaft run. That is the duct carrying water and drainage through all the floors. As long as the basin, toilet and shower stay near it, a lot is possible. If the toilet moves to the opposite wall, you need a fall in the floor, and in an old building that floor is rarely deep enough.
Then there is the fabric itself. Not every wall in an old building is brick. Timber-frame walls and plasterboard carry neither heavy wall units nor wall-hung ceramics without a stud wall in front. That can be solved, it just has to be known in advance. In a condominium the house rules also have a say as soon as service shafts or windows are affected. Read them before you pick tiles.
The ten ideas
1 · New taps and shower head (CHF 500 to 2,500). The smallest intervention with the biggest everyday impact. Good taps feel right for twenty years.
2 · Rethink the lighting (CHF 1,000 to 4,000). Three layers instead of one ceiling lamp: mirror light for your face, ambient light for the room, dimmed light for the bathtub in the evening.
3 · Rework the tiles instead of replacing them (CHF 2,000 to 6,000). New grout, replacing individual rows, or re-tiling up to chest height with lime plaster above. Looks like new, costs a fraction.
4 · The washstand as a piece of furniture (CHF 3,000 to 8,000). A joiner-made oak washstand instead of standard ceramics turns a wet room into a real room. My favourite intervention — this is where the carpenter's touch pays off.
5 · Tub out, shower in (CHF 8,000 to 15,000). The classic, with its own article: Tub out, shower in.
6 · Walk-in shower with a drainage channel (in every complete remodel). No step, no edge, easy to clean — and the only solution that will still work in twenty years.
7 · Wall-hung toilet with a stub wall (CHF 2,500 to 5,000). The stub wall creates a shelf along its entire length and hides the plumbing. The floor stays clear — cleaning in half the time.
8 · A niche instead of a shower rack (during a remodel: CHF 500 to 1,500). A tiled wall niche in the shower. Small, inexpensive, and afterwards you wonder how you ever lived without it.
9 · Wooden ceiling with ventilation (CHF 2,000 to 5,000). Wood makes the hardest room in the house feel warm — if the ventilation is right. Add soft light from the ceiling instead of a grid of spotlights.
10 · Bring in daylight (from CHF 3,000). A larger window, a skylight or glass blocks towards the hallway. No material can replace daylight — the most expensive and best idea on this list.
The rule behind all the ideas
At most three materials, at most two colours, and everything technical disappears into the stub wall and the furniture. A bathroom becomes good not through expensive statement pieces, but through calm. In a remodel, that is cheaper than any design catalogue.
Frequently asked questions
Which ideas are worth it in a rented flat?
Anything that works without touching the building fabric: taps (keep the originals), lighting, furniture, mirrors. Everything else needs the consent of the property management — in writing.
What adds the most resale value?
A walk-in shower, daylight and a well-kept overall impression. Special material choices bring you joy, but rarely bring money back.
Can I do the ideas in stages?
Ideas 1 to 4, anytime. As soon as waterproofing or pipes are involved (5 to 10), it all belongs in one remodel — tearing things open twice means paying twice.
Which idea fits your bathroom?
I will look at your bathroom and tell you which changes are worth it — and which ones you can skip. The first consultation is free and without obligation.
