Main Bathroom Budget Makeover Before Tour

I updated our boring, builder grade bathroom with a ton of DIY projects that gave the room a facelift without a full renovation. Here’s the before tour of the bathroom.

facelift for a blah bathroom

I have all intentions of completely remodeling this bathroom in a couple of years, but it’s just not in the budget right now.  I’ve actually always planned to overhaul this bathroom, but other projects like flooring, doors, the kitchen, and the other bathroom have all come first.

budget bathroom update before

 Because I plan to remodel it one day, I’ve just let it be.  It was painted when we moved in, and that’s about it.  The grout is cracked, chipped, and pretty gross.  Some of the tiles are cracking.  The laminate counter top is black with white flecks, and I just don’t like it.  We honestly have no organizational system in here.  Oh yeah, our faucet doesn’t work.  Now is the time to give this bathroom a little bit of special attention.

bathroom tile floor before

Again, no big projects here (oh, how I’d love to replace that acrylic tub surround…and install new tile…), just a lot of little projects that will update the space and give it its own personality.

What personality am I going for in this space?  Great question – I don’t know yet.  Maybe next week I’ll have a mood board created, but I don’t always roll that way.  I like to figure things out as I go (I’m clearly not a true designer), with a few basic ideas fluttering around in my head.

If I had to give my ideas a name right now, I’d say this bathroom is going to take on a rustic and industrial personality, but we’ll just all need to wait to see how that goes.  Either way, it’s not going to look like it does now!

budget bathroom before

If you know anything about me, you know I always remodel on a budget, and I like to get creative with reusing items in new ways.  This year, my budget for this space is $200. For the last challenge, I gave myself a little more moola, because it was a complete gut, but we still finished this bathroom decorated with vintage and antique finds for a little under $1,000.

Progress Photos

The grout was cracked and dirty, dirty, dirty – even after a nice scrub with bleach cleaner.  My floor and I got to know each other well this week, but the couple of hours I spent on the floor with an eyebrow brush were SO WORTH IT.  I’ll be posting later about the product I used and all the tricks I learned.  For now, look at the difference!  It’s by no means perfect, and I wish more than anything I could just replace the tile, but for the time being it’s a huge improvement, and very friendly on the budget!

tile before and after

The second project this week was the “new” counter top.  I read some articles about using a feather finish concrete over existing counters, and I gave it a try.  I’m still going to dye it and seal it, but I already love the industrial, imperfect look of it.

ORC bathroom week 2
bathroom update 3

I cut a small hole in the wall that is going to be a little cubby to hold toothbrushes and toothpaste and free up some counter space.

vanity before and after

I am most excited about the vanity top.  Remember it used to be a faux granite-looking black?  I told you last week that I used concrete feather finish to cover it, but I didn’t want the dark color of natural concrete when it’s sealed.  I figured out a way to lighten up the counter for $11, but I’m not done yet.  I have one more step before this baby is finished.  I’ll share more details next week.  So far, I’ve only put in $27 into updating this vanity!!

concrete counter top mid progress

Final Reveal

After resurfacing the counter with concrete, installing a rustic plank wall, painting the vanity, and installing some DIY towel racks and storage, the bathroom makeover is complete. You can see how the bathroom turned out in this reveal post: Rustic Bathroom with Vintage Touches.

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.

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

8 Comments

  1. I love a good budget makeover! I’m redoing our master bathroom as well so it will be fun to see what you do in yours! I like the look you are going for, industrial is always so fun!

  2. wow, I think whatever you do, your bathroom is going to look so much better. Can’t wait to see the direction you take it in. Karolina xx

  3. I love your other bathroom so I can’t wait to see how this one comes together, so exciting Jenny! Hugs, Coco