Small Bathroom, Small Budget, Makeover

Darlene Blanton
by Darlene Blanton
$100
3 Days
Medium
When we first moved into our 1930's house last year, I knew the only bathroom needed some serious help. It was painted a shiny mud brown, a sad broken little vanity, and a permanently stained and scarred floor. The low budget renovation was done in two stages and the bathroom is a pretty lovely place to be now.
The first stage was a fresh coat of light blue paint that I found at the Restore (for those of you who have not had the pleasure of visiting a well-stocked Habitat for Humanity Restore, you seriously need to do this for yourself). The walls are plaster, which I had never worked with before, but I've come to appreciate the unique unevenness and character. I got rid of the stripped valance and put a pretty film over the window, for privacy and natural light. I also painted the vanity. I knew I wanted to put a new one in, but had no idea when that would be.
I finally found a vanity that would work in the small space (sadly, our plumbing situation didn't allow for a lovely pedestal sink) on clearance at Home Depot ($45, so very budget friendly). I decided to take the plunge and just do the entire bathroom in one gulp. New wainscoting covered up some of the plaster problems and a lovely basket for rolled wash clothes.
I don't have anywhere great to put towels, so I decided on an old telephone table from my grandparents. I also found a white lace shower curtain, with a nice airy feel, to replace the dark brown one we were using.
The vent used to be dark brown and rusty. I spray painted it white with Rustoleum spray paint and it looks like new. I also covered the old roll laminate floor with self adhesive tiles (another Restore find!). I also took the organizer off the back of the door and found new homes for all the family bathroom needs.
And here's the new home for all the clutter. I covered the bottom of the vanity with extra flooring (and set an extra replacement one in there too), to make it easy to wipe off. I used containers I had around the house and name tag stickers for labels. The caddy with deodorant and toothpaste is actually a desk organizer that I was going to give to Goodwill.
I feel like I accomplished what I set out to do: brighten up a small, dull bathroom...and I didn't break the bank doing it!
Before...blah
After...success!
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