Our 1915 historic home was originally built as a boarding house.  Three of the bedrooms and a now-enclosed sleeping porch are off a common staircase and main landing with two full baths.  Our original plans for the house were to gut both bathrooms immediately upon moving in, however as we started deep cleaning each, we found that they weren’t actually in that bad of shape.  If we could do a budget-friendly bath renovation now, then we could move up the full renovation of our kitchen by more than a year.  Sign me up!

The goal for Phase 1 is to do all the work ourselves and spend less than $1,000 per bathroom. 

With that money, we need to:

• Repair/regrout the floors and tub surrounds
• Freshen up the walls with paint and trim
• Update the toilet to a high efficiency version
• Replace the vanity and sink 
• As budget allows, swap out for new bathroom hardware and lighting

Thankfully, it’s all cosmetic work – but it’s still a lot to take on for less than $1,000! 

BATHROOM 1: THE BEFORE

The first bathroom we’re addressing is what we’ll call the “white bathroom” because right now, it’s stark white – white floors, bright white walls, white tub surround, chrome hardware.  It feels very stark and sterile.  The layout is perfect for our young kids, though, with a tub and a place for us to sit when we bathe them, which is why it’s first on our list to enhance.

BUDGET BATHROOM MOOD BOARD

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been scouring Pinterest for inspiration.  I find myself drawn to soft green hues, beadboard, and mixed metals – classic, traditional, and softer.  

SHOP THE MOOD BOARD

STAYING WITHIN BUDGET

We have lofty goals for this weekend bathroom upgrade on a budget.  Here are a few ways we’re sticking to that budget. 

Floors + tub surround ($15 and a little elbow grease)

The grout work will be done with a little elbow grease and cleaning products we already had.  We’ll then apply Grout Renew Colorant ($15 from Home Depot) to all the grout lines for a like-new finish.  

Walls + trim ($100)

The walls will be getting beadboard and trim added.  Thankfully, it’s a very small room.  It should only take 2 sheets of beadboard, cut in half, to cover the whole room – with plenty of excess ($50).  We only need a top trim piece since we’ll be using our existing baseboards, which keeps the cost low there too ($25).  

The plan is to paint the beadboard and trim a light green/grey using a quart of semigloss trim paint ($25).  The upper portions of the walls will be painted a soft white, using leftover paint from the hallways.  Sherwin Williams Sea Salt is currently the front runner.  Final choice TBD 🙂

Toilet, vanity, + sink ($100)

We’ve traded some of our budget for fixture updates to use on the wall trim and new hardware,, so the vanity and sink are staying as-is in this bathroom for now.  A new toilet will take advantage of a high-efficiency toilet replacement program offered through our city, where we receive a $90 credit on our water bill for replacing an old toilet with a modern, high efficiency one.  

Hardware + accessories ($750)

We’re searching Amazon Warehouse Deals for the bathroom hardware and faucets.  Every 2-3 days, I run a new search for some of my favorite brands.  Search terms that have yielded great results are:  “delta faucet” “delta shower” “kohler bathroom” and “kingston brass”.  During the bathroom renovations at our last house, I picked up this Delta shower set for 50% off and a Delta faucet for under $100!

Tip:  Make sure you check the condition before purchasing.  Like New and Very Good items should have no damage to the items themselves, and usually are your best buys!  Stay away from items marked with “cosmetic imperfections.” 

Wayfair Open Box Deals is another way to save big on bathroom hardware.  We’ve already ordered a new vanity light that was marked down from $240 to only $70 via Wayfair Open Box! 

The $750 hardware and accessories budget roughly breaks down to:  

• $100 for a new sink faucet
• $150 for new shower/tub faucets
• $50 for shower curtain rod, towel hooks, and toilet paper holders
• $200 for a new mirror
• $150 for new lighting
• $50 for floating shelves 
• $50 for small accessories/decor items

Now it’s time to do some shopping and start putting the room together!

CHECK OUT OUR PINTEREST INSPIRATION