Today I am sharing my DIY bathroom makeover! I had a budget for this small bathroom of $2000 and I did the majority of the work myself besides a few items that needed to be addressed by professionals (drywall and counter top finishing/installation. I hope you find this motivating and are inspired to get your tools out and makeover a space in your home on a budget!
Demo Begins!
I started by ripping out all the tile back splash and counter top. One way to save some money when you makeover over any space in your home (even when hiring professionals to do the major work/installation) is to do the demo yourself. This can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars depending on the size of the project.
Removing tile is extremely messy so be prepared to use a sweep and shop vac.
Drywall
I wanted to save the mirror but really needed to address the awful drywall job the previous owners did so I removed the mirror and paid a professional to make the drywall look new again.
Cabinet Refresh
To save even more money I kept the existing vanity since it was in good shape. I used my Bosch sander with 80 then 220 grit sand paper. Then I primed it and used Benjamin Moore white dove paint. I used a great quality brush to apply the paint and changed out the dated hardware for brushed nickle pulls. I spent a whopping $60 between the hardware, brush, and paint.
Counter Top
The next step was to get a new counter top. I chose a white quartz because I wanted the counter to be clean looking and I wanted it to help brighten up the space since I left the brown tile in the bathroom to keep costs down. The quartz was a great price; I was able to find a prefabricated slab at a local stone supply store.
Shower Door
Next I got rid of the ugly/dated 90’s shower door and went with a frame-less shower door. I got this one on sale during a major holiday (holiday sales often have the best deals).
This part was quite a bit harder than I imagined. It took several hours to get all the holes drilled using a tile drill bit and electric drill. Next time I have to drill several holes in tile I will try using a bit like this diamond grit hole saw. The rest of the installation was pretty straightforward but definitely at least a two person job.
The Floors
Next job in this bathroom makeover was to address the awful floor. Most of the tile was in great shape; I wanted to see if I could improve the grout color and maybe change the look of the floor for a fraction of the cost of a new tile floor. I also felt like if I replaced the floor tile I would also have to replace the wall tile and all the shower tile because they would look very odd with a very different floor tile; this would increase the total cost of the project by quite a bit. I chose to use this grout refresh that I found at Home depot for $15.
A bit of elbow grease and hours later the bathroom floor and shower looked like a whole new space (hallelujah) . The trick to using this grout refresh is to work in small sections. I would use the grout refresh around 2 tiles at most and apply it using a kids toothbrush. Then I would take a damp rag and wipe off the excess on the tile. I let the grout refresh cure for 7 days before using this shower (per the manufacturer’s directions).
The old mirror broke on a windy day so I got this brushed chrome one form HomeGoods for $50. I added a new wall mounted light to replace the prior, ugly one! I chose an under mount sink and new brushed chrome faucet to complete the DIY bathroom makeover! It took me a total of 15 working days but about 2 months time because I had normal mom duties to preform in between my renovation time.
You can watch the whole process from start to finish on my YouTube channel here https://youtu.be/YwTRzh5IkI4
