1970s Bathroom Remodel Before and Progress

Tour our small bathroom before our diy remodel. To update the bathroom, we installed new tile in the shower and floors, added a vanity that was made from an antique washstand, and installed antique beadboard on the ceiling.

We own a little ranch on a little lake in southern Wisconsin that has been in my family for almost 40 years.  Not much has been done to this house in the way of updating since it was built in the early 1970s. My husband and I are tackling every project at the house (with the help of my dad) until it’s updated. You can see the whole lake house cottage here.

1970s Bathroom Before

Here’s a look at the 1970s bathroom that’s next up on the renovation list:

1970s bathroom before remodel
before tour

Everything was original to when the house was built, except the walk-in shower that needed to be installed when my grandparents lived there.  Although it made the bath tub accessible for them, the shower was just not practical for us (my kids love baths).

full bathroom from the 1970s before DIY remodel with 1980 wallpaper

The sink was a laminate, faux gold marble and the faucet was a builder’s grade faucet original to the house. Judging by the looks of the wallpaper, it was probably added in the 80s.

Bathroom Remodel Progress

After ripping out the shower, tile and vanity, here’s how the room looked.

gutted full bathroom before tub and shower

Because we had a small budget for this entire bathroom ($1,500), we saved money by buying simple and inexpensive tiles. White ceramic subway tile is very inexpensive, but it can be designed in many ways that makes it look more expensive than it really is.

installing subway tile in the bathroom

At $0.15 per ceramic subway tile and about 600 tiles, we’re talking $90, plus $20 for the bullnosed edges, to tile all the way up to the ceiling.  The floor tiles were $2.57 a square foot, but when you only need 25 square feet, it only set us back $65. (I wasn’t able to find an exact match to our tile from Home Depot, but here’s a close inexpensive alternative they still carry.)

Beadboard Ceiling in the Bathroom

bathroom shower with subway tile and beadboard plank ceiling

If you look up at the ceiling in the photo above, you can see a sneak peek of the antique beadboard ceiling in this bathroom. I have a full tutorial on how to install beadboard wood planks on the ceiling here. This is one of my favorite projects in the house. I think it gives the bathroom such unique character and some extra color!

1970s Bathroom Remodel Final Tour

Check out how the space came together with a new vanity (made from an old piece of furniture), the beadboard ceiling, and a ton of DIY projects using vintage and antique finds by visiting this post: Full Bathroom Remodel on a Budget.

Check out all the progress we’ve made on our lake house cottage remodel here!

Jenny at Refresh Living (dev.refreshliving.com)

Post by Jenny Leads

Jenny is the voice behind Refresh Living. She has a passion for helping people to create a home they love without spending a lot of money.

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11 Comments

  1. Bathrooms are my fave! So so excited to see what you do with the space! I actually really like that floor tile! Very interesting pattern, but too bad it has to go. Good Luck and have fun!

    1. I know – I liked the tile, too! The color on it really needed a facelift (yellowish green specks), but I really liked the pattern as well.

  2. I really look forward for your new refreshed bathroom! I´m doing a tiny powder room, so bathrooms are my favorite right now 😉

  3. Hallo there Jenny, I landed here looking for some modelling ideas and got this. I really like the tiles, the patterns and the appearance of that bathroom. From the look of your previous projects, I know this is a challenge that will go perfectly. Would love to see the new bathroom. Thanks for sharing.

    Cindy