Tile Africa provides a couple of hints to consider when revamping your bathroom with the aim of reselling your home.

Keep in mind that you are revamping your bathroom to add value to your house. You are not necessarily designing your dream bathroom and your personal taste may not necessarily be appealing to potential buyers. Do not over-capitalise on the bathroom as you may not be able to recoup your money or time.

Vanity or wall cabinet

"An economic way to bring a touch of style to a tired looking bathroom is to add an attractive piece of furniture, such as a vanity or a new wall cabinet," says Kate van Niekerk, marketing manager at Tile Africa.

These are relatively straightforward to fit or replace and can help give your bathroom a fresh new image without the expense and hassle of replacing all your fixtures and fittings.

Bathroom vanities and cabinets come in a range of beautiful designs including walnut, maple and white and cherrywood and can be used to great effect to influence the character of your bathroom.

Simple makeover

Another option is to replace outdated tiles with new porcelain or ceramic tiles.

If you don't want an expensive makeover, installing new accessories and fixtures such as a new wash basin, showerhead, heated towel rail or toilet paper holders can change a look significantly.

"Changing the taps on your basin can also add a fresh touch," says Kate. Make sure that new fittings and fixtures fit in with the rest of the bathroom décor.

If you've got a bigger budget, a new bath, shower or new attractive countertops such as stone, granite or marble will add value to your bathroom.

Replacing a bath with a spa-bath is also an option. Above counter basins and free standing baths are very fashionable and also functional.

Homeowners look for...

Finishes and fixtures potential homeowners are looking for in a bathroom are:

A clean look, even if the tiles and fittings are old, they are acceptable if they are clean and in a relatively light colour, particularly white for fittings. However, if your bathroom suite is dark brown or green then it is much harder to give a modern feel to the bathroom.

Keep the look simple, and if you are retiling use light-coloured neutral tiles, keeping use of colour to your tiles and accessories. Stone and marble finishes are classic looks and will not date.

Some older houses do not have showers, but installing a shower above a bath is an option, most buyers, especially young people will require a shower. Another solution is to redesign the bathroom to include a corner bath, making room for a shower cubicle.

Storage is important, and either a vanity or a mirrored cupboard above the basin can add valuable space in which to hide the clutter.

If the bathroom is in a relatively good condition, then adding a few rows of mosaic will give an instant design lift to the room.

If you are not planning on doing the makeover yourself, find a contractor that comes highly recommended by friends and family or alternatively ask around and get testimonials from references.

Estate agents can also offer advice on what homeowners are looking for in a bathroom and they can tell you whether a revamp is necessary.

Whether your makeover is large or small, don't be afraid to get help. Tile Africa stocks a wide range of tiles, bathroom accessories and sanitary ware and their trained staff are always on hand to offer advice.