A bathroom makeover doesn’t have to be expensive! Just a little bit of paint, some new pictures, and hardware will totally transform a space.
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I knew as soon as we moved in that I wanted to paint pretty much every corner of our house. I’ve always loved painting and know how much it can really personalize your space.
When we bought the house, I started painting the kitchen, living room, and hallways. I’ve since done both kids bedrooms, and our spare room.
The bathrooms in this house eventually need a full remodel. The tubs are original to the house, built in the early 2000s. Overtime they have yellowed, the counter top on the vanity has as well.
But while the bathroom might not be up to date and new, it’s still functional and there’s nothing really wrong with it. So I decided to give it an update on a budget.
When we moved into the house, we changed out both toilets. So those don’t need to be replaced and are not included in this makeover budget. But we do love our toilets, it’s a weird thing to love, but these toilets are great.
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Under $400 Bathroom Makeover
Scroll to the end of the post for the full breakdown of what we spent and links to some of the items.
Paint
Paint is the most important item when deciding to makeover a space. I like to see the color combos before deciding, so I headed to Pinterest.
I have a son and a daughter who obviously don’t like the same things. So I couldn’t make the bathroom too much of any one thing. This is their shared bathroom, and also our guest bath.
I wanted it to be nice enough for when we have guests over, but still be fun and welcoming for the kids. I thought blue and pink would be coordinating colors and so I searched for blue and pink bathrooms. Once I decided what I liked, I headed to Home Depot to pick out the paint colors.
Once there, it was pretty easy to narrow it down. I took the swatches home and lived with them in the bathroom for a little bit to be sure I liked them.
I do this anytime I want to paint something. I’ve had 2 swatches up in my bathroom for over 6 months now, and 2 in the kitchen for 3 months. Just making sure I love it before I start painting.
I chose Starless Night for the walls and Pink Sea Salt for the vanity.
The ceiling I chose white, it’s the same white that is in the rest of my house, so I already had the paint on hand from when I painted the living room, which is Silky White from Behr.
Vanity
Ideally, I would have been able to replace the sink on the vanity. But when we looked into it, sinks and counters were around $400. About the same price as a new vanity.
So instead of getting a new counter top, I opted for a new faucet. It was a fraction of the price and still helps to update the piece.
We chose to keep the vanity as is and just paint it. First, I cleaned off any toothpaste and dirt with vinegar. Let that dry, then lightly sanded with a 120 grit sandpaper. Just enough to scuff off any shine.
Then, I cleaned off all the dust and was able to start painting. I used Behr Cabinet Paint in the color Pink Sea Salt.
It turned out beautiful! I love the color and the coverage was really good.
I think handles really elevate a cabinet, so I picked some simple black knobs and attached them to the vanity.
Part of the reason, I wanted a new vanity, was for a better storage situation. There are no shelves in our cabinet and I had hoped to get one with some shelves.
But that’s an easy fix! So I bought this under shelf storage solution which gives me three shelves in this cabinet.
In addition to this being the kids bathroom, it’s also our guest bath. So we guests store items in this cabinet and it was getting really cluttered. This helps keep everything organized.
Lights
Lights were a struggle for this bathroom. Of course the builder couldn’t center the light over the sink, so the light is slightly off center.
I think we can fix it, but we’d have to open up the wall and shift the box over. That might be something we try to tackle, but for now it’s going to stay off center.
I first bought a light from Lowe’s that I loved, but it was really dark for some reason. We thought it was because it was a dimmer light and was stuck on the lowest setting.
So we went and bought a dimmer switch, which is not cheap! It brightened up the light a little bit, but not enough. Our bathrooms have no windows and this one is in the interior of the house. The light over the vanity is the only light in the bathroom.
So the light needed to be bright, otherwise it’s pretty dark in the shower and I didn’t want the kids having trouble seeing and navigating. So we returned the light.
We happened to be at Habitat for Humanity Restore getting rid of some building materials when I found this light. It was so cute and I had to have it. Bonus points it was so much cheaper than the other light!
If you’ve never checked out a Habitat for Humanity Restore, definitely do. They have all types of home items, from lights to vanities and counter tops to tile. I love walking through there and seeing what I can find.
The new light is very bright and still cute. We kept the dimmer switch, although the light has been up for a few months and almost no one uses it. So I don’t think I’d get one again.
Finishing Touches
The finishes touches are my favorite part. I found these dinosaurs in the bathtub at HomeGoods months before and knew they would be perfect for the kids bath.
I have these pictures of the kids in the bath when they were babies. They are my absolute favorite pictures, and I will keep them up as long as the kids allow me too. The dinosaurs fit well with them.
The frames for the kids photos were a little too dark, so I lightened them up with a quick white wash. I just mixed white acrylic paint with some water, wiped it on and then wiped it off. It lightened the frames just enough.
I got a black toilet paper holder and a black towel holder to tie in with the black knobs. It also matches the black animal towel holders I already had for the kids towels from Ikea.
I also got a new trash can that has a lid and it’s so small, but also such a huge change to just making the bathroom look cleaner. Also, I find the kids don’t miss the trash can near as much now.
I originally tried painting the wood that holds the animal towel holders blue, but I thought it was too much. So I painted it the same color as the cabinet pink, and I think it really pops.
Finally, the mirror. It took me forever to find this mirror. I wanted something funky but simple. Everything I liked had a wood frame that clashed with the wood already in there.
Originally I wanted a round mirror, but when I put it up it was way too small and just looked weird. So I kept looking.
I finally came across this white mirror at HomeGoods and jumped on it. It was on sale too! It’s perfect for in here and helps to brighten up the space.
Upcoming
I really love the way the bathroom turned out! But there’s still a few things I’d like to do in here. I’ve been on the lookout for a different shower curtain, something that goes better with the room. But I haven’t found one I love yet.
I’d also like to take out the medicine cabinet and build a wooden box with shelves to go there. The summer was extremely busy and we just haven’t had the time.
And finally try to center that light. It’s not the most annoying, but we have the same problem in the other bathroom. So hopefully it’s something we can figure out. Overall though, the bathroom turned out beautiful and I love it!
The Breakdown
DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase items through my links I may earn a commission. You can find our full policy here. Thank you.
Faucet – $60
Vanity Knobs – $12
Toilet Paper Holder – $22
Shower Rod – $30
Pictures – $30 – here are some similar animals in bathtub artwork
Mirror – $30 – here is a similar plain mirror
1st light – $140 returned and bought 2nd light – $30
Cabinet Paint – will reuse for my bathroom – $50
Paint – $42
Dimmer Switch – $35
Total Cost: $341
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What’s Next?
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