When we first walked through this house and fell in love with the neighborhood and floorpan we also knew that we would eventually completely redo both of the upstairs bathrooms (
the powder room downstairs was more of an easy fix). Originally we thought we would do a temporary fix on the hall bathroom and completely gut the master that first winter. After living in the house though for a few months we realized that it made more sense to do the
hall bathroom first for a whole bunch of different reasons, so we did that last winter and
added some finishing touches this fall. Now that we have pretty much finished all of the main spaces in the house, this is the last room left to be tackled. I've held off giving it a mini makeover because we have been torn on how soon we would do a completely overhaul. Seeing how we still haven't decided exactly what we are going to do in here (keep the footprint the same to keep the cost down or expand it quite a bit so that we can add a tub) and therefore it may be another year or so before we do it, so I figured it was finally time to at least give this bathroom an inexpensive sprucing up because it always drove me crazy walking in here. (We are considering doing it this summer but most likely will wait until next summer).
Because I knew that we will be gutting this bathroom I didn't want to waste any money on changing out any of the fixtures which meant I had to embrace the brass. Ahhh! Although gold and brass are making quite the comeback and I personally have been loving how some of it looks, the pieces in here are straight from the 80's so not necessarily the pieces I would be choosing. =) That being said, I just went with it and painted the vanity a blue color that accented the brass. Then I switched out the knobs. I already had a few of them from a project from several years ago so I just had to pick up a couple more. I also painted all the trim and the window. After that I painted the walls with leftover paint from our family room and then painted the door the same color as all the rest of the doors in our house. After that I put down a new floor. I will have to look up the name of it but basically it just kind of floats on top of our current floor (I wouldn't have done it that way if this were a more permanent makeover but seeing how it's just temporary it made the most sense) and I have to say I am thrilled with how it turned out! I am not going to be doing any tutorial on how to do it because honestly I just kind of figured it out as I went along and certainly wouldn't be able to give any kind of proper info on it but I am sure if you google it there are some tutorial on how to do it. It's probably hard to tell in the photos but the tile was NOT in good shape so this made such a difference in person. I can't tell you how much better this feel walking in here now.
Once that was done it was time for the fun stuff. I took down the huge mirror and added two I found at HomeGoods. Just a little tip. Do NOT try to take down one of those mirrors by yourself. I think it was a miracle that I didn't end up with a major disaster. I did get it down and over to the doorway but it was a nightmare! Fortunately hanging the new mirrors was quite easy. I didn't really want to buy any new accessories for in here either so I went up to the attic and found a few old accessories like the loo sign, the aqua basket, and the jar holding the cotton balls all which I got years and years ago. I did get the basket to hold towels in at HomeGoods and Lola picked out the little heart dish for me while we were there.
I couldn't find a true before shot from this angle. You can see I had painted the window and Lola was busy priming the trim work for me. =)
We aren't actually using the IKEA fur thing as a bath mat. I just put it there for pictures because I was washing our one that we normally use there and it looked bare without anything there.
The light fixture drives me crazy still but it seems like such a waste to put up a new one when I am going to go with a completely different look when we redo the bathroom. I did remove the glass shade things to update it a tiny bit but it still looks pretty dated.
Cost breakdown:
Floor - I used about $80 worth of flooring (although you have to buy it in boxes and I needed two which came to a little over $110 I think)
Paint - I used a sample sized can for the vanity which cost $7 and I used paint leftover from other parts of the house for the trim, door and walls
Mirrors - $70 each (I was quite excited about them because they pretty much could go just about anywhere so once we redo this bathroom I may still be able to use them in here but if not I don't think I will have trouble finding another spot for them here or at Jason's or one of my sisters' houses)
Basket holding towels - $19
A few other miscellaneous accessories (little heart dish, hand towel, etc.) - $30
Except for the flooring and the paint everything else can be used again so really I am pretty happy with how it turned out! It's certainly not a fancy makeover but it feels so much more clean walking in here now.
Here are a few tips for making over a small bathroom on a budget.
1). Paint! Paint can really refresh a space and it's a quick, easy and inexpensive way to give it a whole new look.
2). Use creative ways for storage to help keep things organized and looking tidy - a basket filled with towels or toilet paper, or something hanging on the wall filled with washcloths can help provide extra space to keep things you use every day and free up space in your cabinets.
3).Changing out a large standard builder mirror for a more unique one can also really help personalize your bathroom and give it a more stylish look.
Source List:
Wall Color- Horizon in Eggshell by Benjamin Moore
Trim Color - Simply White in Semi-Gloss by Benjamin MooreDoor Color - Mopboard Black in Semi-Gloss by Benjamin MooreCabinet Color- Kentucky Haze by Benjamin Moore
Mirrors - HomeGoods
Flooring - Lowe's made by Shaw called VersaLock in the color Resort Teak
Bath Mat - IKEA fur throw just used there for photos
Basket with towels - HomeGoods
Shade - Lowes, Levolor
Basket by Toilet and Loo Sign - Hobby Lobby years and years ago
Pitcher on Toilet - HomeGoods
Knobs - Home Depot
Hooks with Jewelry - Lowe's
Glass Jar with cotton balls and Vase holding flowers on vanity - TJMaxx years and years ago
Little Heart Dish - HomeGoods
Little Gold Vase - Target (was a candle)
Soap - HomeGoods
Little Tray to the right of the right sink - holds powder that was a wedding gift and items I use daily like my glasses, eye cream, face wash, etc.
Flowers - Trader Joe's
Well, that's it for our little bathroom makeover! Now that all the painting in finished in the main spaces I've started in on the closets. I've got the linen closet completely emptied and have spent the last two days painting the trim and walls in there and actually am typing up this post while waiting for the shelves to dry. I am hoping to add a stencil to the back walls later today.
I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!