Starting a new flooring project can be a bit intimidating, but a bathroom flooring project is a pretty nice, small space to tackle. And if you've decided on vinyl, even better — it's an easy-to-install, low maintenance choice that's perfect for a bathroom because of its water resistance.
Vinyl has a "soft" and warmer feel to it than other flooring that can be very nice on cold mornings. It's also a durable product that's hard to stain or injure and can take lots of traffic, and let's face it, a bathroom's not a bathroom if it doesn't see a lot of traffic.
Your first (and most fun) task will be deciding how you want the bathroom to look. Vinyl these days comes in a huge range of colors, textures, and styles. You can find vinyl that perfectly replicates the look of stone or ceramic tile and even hardwood. You can also go with simple colors, colors with subtle designs, or styles with geometric or floral designs. If you have a picture in your head, chances are you'll find what you're looking for.
You can contrast your color choice with your fixtures or seamlessly blend all in a neutral look. Vinyl comes in either sheets, tiles, or planking (the hardwood look-a-like), and each method is doable for a do-it-yourselfer with a set of good instructions and a dose of confidence.
After you've found your perfect look, the logical next step is to find out how much of the stuff you need. You'll want to measure the bathroom from wall to wall. If the bathtub or shower is along one side, then consider that your wall.
Precise measurements are essential to getting the right amount of materials. A good idea is to actually draw up the floor of your bathroom on graph paper where each square foot of flooring is represented by a square on the graph. You can draw in your fixtures as well to get a really good schematic feel for the room. You can then take your drawings and measurements to a home improvement store or plug them into an online planner, and you'll find out how much vinyl material you need to pick up.
You'll also need to be sure to get some silicone caulk and a good box cutter knife while you're there, as well as the appropriate adhesive and prepping materials for your subfloor. Have fun and enjoy your bathroom with its new vinyl floor.
