Our Budget Bathroom Redo

Start with the layout decision, then the finish, then the pieces that get touched every day. Our budget bathroom redo is done! Over the past six weeks The household has been redo work our hall bathroom as part of the One Room Challenge – it's been full of unexpected hurdles and setbacks at every turn. Well I finally made it to my finish line and It is worth taking the time to show you how our budget bathroom redo turned out! (post includes affiliate links – full disclosure statement available {here})

First, let's throw it back to the “before”. Do you all remember what it looked like when I started? We had dated wallpaper, weird vanity bulbs, a plain Jane mirror, and carpet (gross!)…

Say hello to newly painted and stenciled walls, wood medicine cabinet, and glamorous sconces!

Sources: Medicine Cabinet – no longer available but {this arched wood mirror} is similar | Pedestal sink | Sconces

Here are some take-away pointers from our budget transformation:

Stencil the Bathroom Walls

Stenciling the bathroom walls is what made the biggest difference! I had NEVER stenciled before doing this room and definitely learned a lot through trial and error but am so happy with how it turned out:

While it was time intensive, once I got the hang of it, it was fairly easy. And also budget friendly – while it looks like wallpaper, it cost a fraction of the price. I painted the walls Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray and then used {this furniture stencil} with Benjamin Moore Platinum Gray for the stenciling. For more details on the step by step of stenciling plus lots of pointers, see my post on wall stencils.

Work With What You've Got

Being able to do a bathroom redo with a limitless budget would be notable but… it's rarely feasible. Sometimes you've got to think outside of the box and work with what you've got. Two of the awkward things to work around in our bathroom were the built-in soap and cup/toothbrush holders. I originally had some semi-elaborate plans to fix them up but then realized that my grand plan was adding up $$$ so I made the best of it. The cup/toothbrush holder turned into the perfect plant stand:

and the soap dish fits my new HomeGoods soap dispenser like a glove!

We also had a junky plastic towel bar that I would have loved to replace but removing the towel bar ends would have damaged the tile beneath it:

So instead I left the towel bar ends as-is and replaced the bar with a new chrome one. If you've got those annoying fixed ceramic ends on your towel bar too, I explain how to replace a towel bar with fixed ends {here}. Then I prettied it up with a gray and white striped Turkish towel:

Add Storage With a Medicine Cabinet Mirror

This bathroom is the one that my husband uses to shower and get ready in so some storage for all of his bathroom junk was priority #1. Originally we were planning to find a narrow furniture piece to put in the corner of the bathroom to add some storage. But since we also needed to switch out the plain builder's grade mirror…

we decided to kill two birds with one stone and add a mirrored medicine cabinet instead of a plain mirror (one of the preferred bathroom mirror approaches!). The medicine cabinet has plenty of room to store all of his crapola that previously cluttered up the top of the sink (pic is from before we added the shelves to it):

No more heart palpitations when an unexpected guest to the house asks to use the bathroom!

DIY Your Own Art

The wall space above the toilet got a little makeover too:

I bought two Target frames and then simply added an agate slice to eat one to create my own art:

The top of the toilet tank even got a modest amount of love:

Freshen Up The Look of Your Shower With a New Curtain

And remember when I was debating between three different shower curtains? Did you guess that this was the one that I would end up with?

Adding a shower curtain in front of my ugly mirrored shower doors not only made the space so much prettier but it was more budget friendly than removing the mirrored doors too!

Paint Your Tile Floors

And what about our carpeted bathroom floors? Underneath the carpet I found tile but… it was REALLY ugly red tile:

Replacing it would have cost big bucks so a few weeks after my One Room Challenge reveal, I painted it! It made a HUGE difference:

Get all the details of how I painted our bathroom's ceramic tile floors {here}. And as an update, yes the painted tile held up REALLY well for years after!

Here's one last look at the complete “before” and “after”:

Have any questions about our new space? The household has included a full source list for everything in our bathroom below. While this was a very budget friendly bathroom redo, a few years later we went all out on a complete master bathroom redo. I share ten of my best master bathroom redo approaches if you want to check it out!

Wall Colors & Stencil: Annapakshi Indian Damask Wall Stencil – I used the 11.25″ x 15.5″ furniture stencil (c/o Royal Design Studio) | Basecoat paint: Benjamin Moore Aura Bath & Spa (Matte) in Chelsea Gray | Stencil paint: Platinum Gray (Benjamin Moore color but mixed in Behr Premium Plus Ultra in Satin)

Medicine Cabinet: No longer available but if you're looking for a mirror in a similar design, look at {this arched wood mirror} | Pedestal Sink: Kohler Memoirs sink found {here} | Sconces:Crystal ball sconces

Shower Curtain:Tassel Shower Curtain in Citrine | {this shower curtain} is similar and comes in more color options | Soap dispenser, woven basket on toilet, agate slices: HomeGoods | Gold & glass jar in basket: No longer available | Plant: Ornamental Oregano in Linen Wrapped Pot (Terrain) | Frames: Target Threshold (no longer available) but {these linen mat frames} are a pretty alternative | Tissue Box Cover: Linen Hemstich Tissue Box Cover