$500 Bathroom Makeover {DIY Plans}

Given that we spent a good amount of money on the dining/office makeover + our current bathroom reno, I need to keep any further updates relatively cheap. We still have a foyer, guest room, office, hallway and guest bathroom to vamp up. But, I truly think the next best room to makeover is our guest bathroom/hall bath.

Luckily, I’ve already re-stained the vanity a gorgeous espresso color, so that huge chunk of work is done. Unfortunately, there’s still oodles of work to be done, and not a lot of money to do it with.

I know $500 is sort of a lot of money in the day-to-day sense, but in the realm of bathroom makeovers, it’s almost nothing. Laughable maybe.

Let me show you what I am working with.

You walk in from the hallway, and you see the vanity/mirror/heinous bulb lighting that makes everything yellow.

Then on the left you have this wall:

Then you walk through another door to the toilet/shower area.

It all looks very, very yellow doesn’t it?

I know.

But here’s my $500 plan.

1.) Restain the oak linen cabinet to espresso and use the same hardware used on the cabinet doors of the vanity.

Cost= $10 ($3/pull + tax)

2.) Rip down all the wallpaper, apply texture, prime, paint.
Cost= $50 for paint, $30 for texture? $90 with tax.

3.) Replace all door trim/base boards + add a small backsplash accent.

Cost= $125 with tax

4.) Replace lighting.

Cost= $100 for both fixtures

5.) Replace mirror.

Cost= free! We’re going to use the free mirror that comes with the vanity from the other bathroom reno.

6.) Add accessories (rugs, towels, storage, curtain/blinds). I already have some bathroom accessories (towel bars, robe hooks, glass shelves) I bought years ago from Target (on clearance for DIRT cheap) in anticipation of having a house someday. I finally get to use them!

Cost= $50 max. Must use what I have or revamp!

7.) New shower curtain + curved shower rod.

Cost= $50

8.) New door knobs/doors/hinges.

Cost= $100

Total= $525 (I’ll hopefully make up the $25 overage somewhere…)

Basically, I am going to have to use a lot of what I may already have, but repurpose or upscale it a bit. Creativity is key to success in this challenge. And savvy shopping.

I’d love to replace the fan, but I think cost is going to be an issue because we’d need an electrician. The current fan/heater doesn’t actually vent into the attic, so that’s not something we want to DIY. Definitely something I’d love to do down the line. Maybe I can spray paint the current one with some high temp spray paint? I need to do some research on that.

You may be wondering what I want it all to look like. Well. Not gray. I am trying my damndest to not use gray. I always go to gray, and I am beginning to think I am one of those people who is afraid of color. Given that it’s a small, narrow space, I am leaning towards earthy, but bold colors. Sort of like you were in a fancy, boutique hotel. Like a Kimpton one.

I googled around for some color palette generators, and I fell in love with Kuler.

Here are some color palettes that piqued my interest:

1.-

2.-

3.-

4.-

5.-

6.-

Which color palette do you all like? I love the bright, bold ones, but don’t know if they’ll overwhelm a small, narrow space. And yes, some of the palettes have gray.

I simply couldn’t resist.

The tile in the shower is mustard yellow, the floor is a neutral stone looking faux-tile, so really I have a pretty neutral room once I take down all the Parisian wallpaper.

Ideas? Thoughts? Anything I haven’t thought of? I know I absolutely refuse to work on this bathroom until the other bathroom is done.

That means I have a few months or so.

Will this madness ever end?