How to Redesign your Bathroom on a Budget

Anybody out there have a bathroom that needs a redesign? I think a lot of us do.  Unless you have a newer home, or just recently remodeled, than I’m sure there’s something in your bathroom that you’ve been itching to change.  The big questions are: What do I change?  How do I change it? And the biggest question: How much is it going to cost?  Well, I’m going to walk you through a quick bathroom redesign for less than $250.

It’s time to redesign!

Alright, the time has come.  No more procrastination.  We’re gonna tackle our outdated bathrooms.  At least this is a conversation my sister Lisa and brother-in-law Keith had about their basement bathroom.  They are recent empty nesters. and they deserve it.  Lisa is an amazing realtor (Check her website HERE) and Keith is retired from the Marine Corp and is continuing his career as a civilian attorney in the Armed Forces.   They raised three kids all 18 months apart with 9 moves and overseas deployment. Now all the kids are either in college or proud members of the armed forces and this cute couple has decided to take their home back. 🙂 

Their basement bathroom was just not serving its purpose.  It’s next to the guest room, so Lisa and Keith wanted to create an inviting guest bathroom.  It had a quirky corner shower which just wasn’t practical for the little baby guests that also visit from time to time.  How do you have a fun bath time with no bath?  So Lisa and Keith decided it’s time to redesign.

Choose your bathroom style

Before you begin, choose your design style and what you want the bathroom to look like.  There are many great websites to look for inspiration.  You don’t have to redesign the wheel.  My favorites are Houzz, a website and app that you can browse 1000’s of photos of any type of space and budget.  Pinterest, Pinterest, Pinterest!  You can go to Pinterest and search guest bathroom (or whatever your project is) and find tons of inspiration and how to’s.  When I moved into my home, I created a Pinterest board where I could save my ideas for each room.  Lastly, if in doubt, just google it or youtube it. My sister chose a rustic yet modern redesign.  The old shower had to go and they made plans to add a new tube and a new ceramic tile floor.

Not really sure what to do?  Don’t worry, more than anything, just have fun being creative and redesigning your own space.  

DIY or Professionals?

Once you’ve chosen your design, you need to decide whether you are going to do the work or hire a professional.  Do what’s right for you.  I do encourage you to do at least one thing yourself.  You will have so much pride in what you’ve accomplished.  Lisa and Keith chose to let the professional install the tub and lay the tile.  Since that was a major element, we won’t include that in our $250 budget, but you can find reliable and reasonably priced professionals for your bathroom redesign on websites like Angieslist.com or Homeadvisor.com.

Lisa and Keith decided to tackle the vanity, painting, shelving, and decorative elements.  Enter me, the crafty sister.  I offered to help.  I can’t turn down a crafty project. 

Let’s get busy:

Painting

Once the professionals installed the tub and tile, we were ready to decorate.  The wall was the first thing painted.  It’s now a fresh light gray color.  The three walls only took a quart of paint – $16.  Second, I laid out the items needed for the shelves.  Measure how long you want them before you go to the store to buy them.  As the video explained, I found shelves the perfect length and width and didn’t have to cut them.  The boards got sanded and painted and then I waited for everything to dry.

Here’s a funny story: this was supposed to be a weekend project.  I let the paint dry…for 5 months. LOL.  I didn’t finish the project until 5 months later. I know, I know, just embarrassing.  Don’t be like me.

Vanity

Next, my sister sanded and painted the vanity cabinet the same color as the shelves, a rich chocolate brown.  It really warmed up the space.  This was a great cost-cutting option.  The vanity was in great shape, just didn’t match the new decor.  She also changed the hardware on the doors and a new faucet.  $60 and a couple of coats of paint later, she had a new vanity.  

Above the vanity got a new light fixture and all the towel racks and hooks were replaced to match the new oil rubbed bronze hardware, all for $70.

Shelving

It’s time to add the shelves.  Lisa found a very cute bronze metal shelving kit on Amazon for $24 (You can get the same one on Amazon HERE) I marked where the first shelf would go after using my level to make sure it was straight.  Then I got my handy dandy drill and just followed the installation instructions of the kit.   I had to drill pivot holes first and add some wall anchors because the shelf spacing didn’t fall right on a stud. It took about 30 minutes.  We realized after putting up one shelf that we didn’t need a second.  We have all the materials to add another shelf at a later time if desired.

Add design elements

Lastly, I took about $50 and bought some decorative items for the room.  Here are some cost-saving tips. Make your own plant arrangements instead of buying premade sets.  From Hobby Lobby, I bought silver buckets, long stem flowers and foliage that were 50% off and green styrofoam from the DollarTree.  Total – $9 for 2 plants.  If you can find it cheaper though, by all means, buy it.

I created a few custom wall art pieces.  It doesn’t take much, just type up something cute in MS Word and printed it on copy paper.  I even made a funny one to keep their guests smiling.  When Michaels frames went on sale (which they always do), I picked up 3 of them, mats were already included.  You could also add a framed print out of the WiFi password or a special saying your family always says.  Personal touches are what mean the most.

To finish things off, I picked up a basket (40% off coupon), and some rustic glass and chalkboard jars for knick-knacks on the vanity.  My mother is the queen of hospitality and keeps a basket of “goodies” in her guest bathroom.  It normally includes travel size lotions, soaps, deodorant, mouthwash, shower cap, baby wipes, pocket tissue, air freshener, mints, candy and much more.  If you have the space for a big basket, try it out.  Your guests will rave about it.

Bathroom Redesign Complete

Here’s the finished room.  It’s fresh, redesigned with a current feel, and welcoming to guests.  

For a total of $220, my Sister and Brother-in-law have a beautiful new guest bathroom.  Some vanities alone can cost that much.  Try this bathroom redesign yourself.  DIY can be fun and fulfilling (I wrote a whole blog about how crafting can change your life.  Check it out here)  Tell me all about your redesign experiences below.  I want to hear the good, the bad and the embarrassing, like waiting 5 months to finish a project.  

Until next time…Stay Crafty!

Angie