Gone are the days when bathroom windows were small, opaque vents placed high on a wall. Today's design-conscious homeowners are calling for open, spacious areas that bring "nature" inside. Jacuzzi style tubs surrounded by custom designed bay windows are the ultimate in luxurious bathroom window design. Master bathrooms may feature "French Doors" to enter the master bedroom or enter to an outside spa or sauna.

Windows

If you're remodeling a smaller bathroom or guest bath, you can achieve excellent results by including an accent window in an angular shape such as an oval or octagon or perhaps an arch over a double-hung window. Garden windows help add more dimension to a smaller bathroom while giving your indoor plants a place to thrive.

Try to avoid placing windows where direct sunlight will strike your favorite grooming mirror, however. Southern and western light tend to be more direct and may cause bright interior colors to appear too intense, whereas eastern and northern sunlight may make cooler colors appear dull.

Privacy

Design ideas are as endless and as unique as individual homeowners. Equally as numerous are creative ways of achieving privacy within those designs. All sorts of blinds, shutters and interior and exterior screen systems in various materials, colors and styles are available to achieve privacy and that special one-of-a-kind look. There are different obscure glass patterns to choose from as well as tinted glass in an array of colors.

Light

Skylights and roof-windows offer another approach for using glass for light and ventilation in a bath remodel. For safety reasons, skylights are tempered, as other windows in the bath may need to be (check with local building codes). Skylights offer the opportunity to achieve maximum light in a small area. The main concern most homeowners have is leakage; however, this is usually due to shortcuts taken in the installation as opposed to any defect in the product.

Efficiency

With larger glass areas, energy efficiency and comfort become major concerns. Higher efficiency glass that incorporates low-E2 glass and argon gas has become the norm. "Warm-Edge technology" is also being introduced by different manufacturers of dual pane windows. Traditionally, an aluminum spacer is used to separate the two panes of glass. Tests have shown that aluminum spacers actually conduct heat through the glass thereby decreasing its energy efficiency and creating an area around the perimeter of the window where condensation may form.

As is true with any window remodeling project, your best prospect for a quality job is to start with a quality product and have it professionally installed by a knowledgeable licensed contractor who offers an extended product and labor warranty.

by Kathy Maynard, reprinted courtesy of HomeAdvisor.com