With every bathroom renovation, there are three areas on which I focus: budget, function and style:

Budget:

Bathrooms are, on a square-foot basis, the most expensive room in the house to renovate. Try shopping for simple bathroom faucets. Add in the cost of the required valves, mixers and trims and you may need reviving when you see the final tally. Here are a few tips to help keep you upright.

• Plumbing: Unless the layout of your bathroom really isn't functional, try to keep the new fixtures in the same general location. In my clients' loft bathroom, all the fixtures were replaced and updated: a larger tub for two, a more modern one-piece toilet and a freestanding glass and wood vanity replaced outdated fixtures. The trick was that I didn't change the location of any of them.

   

• Focus. Try to pick a feature where your money is put to its best use. When my clients' bathroom door was open, the old pink vanity was in full view to the rest of the loft. Now a gorgeous glass and wood vanity with wall-mounted faucets is showcased through the doorway. To balance out the chunk this piece took from the budget, I selected less expensive tub fixtures, floor and wall tiles.

Function:

Some mornings the bathroom seems like a battleground -- a flurry of arms and legs all showering, drying, brushing, spraying and primping. Whether a couple or the whole family shares it, a few functional tactics will help keep the bathroom from becoming the war room.

• Storage: Vanity drawers afford more accessible storage than doors where items are hard to reach on deep shelves. Also consider hanging a large, shallow pantry-style cabinet on an unused wall, and relocate your towel bar as a door handle if your wall space is limited. I designed a full 5-foot-tall, 8-inch-deep wall-mounted cabinet for my clients' bathroom. The large, single door opens to reveal enough toiletries and bath oils to stock a small store.

   

• Lighting: Strip makeup lights just don't give you a fighting chance, no matter how good looking you are. Light sconces that flank the mirror illuminate your entire face evenly and prevent you from leaving the house looking dreadful.

   

• Mirror: So many couples get hung up on the idea of double sink vanities when it's actually mirror space they're jostling over. This loft bathroom has a separate "her" mirror over the vanity and a "his" mirror located above the toilet.

Style:

The challenge in modern bathrooms is to create a space that is simple and pared down, not cold and sterile. To add warmth, try incorporating some of these elements:

• Wood and natural materials: Wood is physically warm to the touch and adds richness and quality to any bathroom. In this loft bathroom, the ebony-stained wood vanity and tub apron actually look more like fine pieces of furniture than humble bath fixtures.

   

• Contrast and texture: Bathrooms are filled with hard, shiny fixtures and surfaces. Introducing texture and contrasting materials adds visual interest and warmth. I used mottled mosaic wall tiles, a natural slate floor and plush cotton towels to soften the spare lines of my clients' sleek bathroom.

What once was a basic builder's bathroom is now a deluxe, modern spa-getaway.