Bathroom Makeover on a Budget

Making a house into your ideal living space is a process. Very few people have the kind of budget that allows for a whole-house makeover all at once. We’ve been in our home for four years now, and I’ve been going room by room, slowly but surely making each one into what I want it to be. This week, I finally got around to giving the master bathroom a much-needed facelift, and I couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out. The best part is that the whole bathroom makeover cost less than $100! Take a look!

As any fan of a good makeover knows, you can’t appreciate the “after” without seeing the “before.” Here’s a quick photo of what this room looked like when we first moved in. The walls were a creamy yellow color and the furniture was dark brown. The mirror/medicine cabinet was actually positioned so high that I couldn’t see my entire face in it, so we did replace it with a large, flat mirror after about two weeks. That was the only real change we made until I tackled it this week.

If you have been following this site for any length of time, you already know that my home decorating style is best described as “coastal farmhouse.” I love the clean, bright look of farmhouse decor, as well as distressed and painted furniture, but I also love the beach. So, I incorporate teal and coastal things into the mix. Here’s how the master bath looks now, after a quick coastal farmhouse makeover.

The first thing I did for this bathroom makeover was paint the walls. It took two coats and less than half a gallon of paint to cover up that yellow with a pretty light grey called “Snowed In.” Next, I tackled that dark brown vanity. Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do about the color of the sink, but I could definitely make the rest of it more my style. Here’s how it looked when I started.

To transform it, I used:

FolkArt Home Decor Chalk Paint – Cascade

FolkArt Home Decor Chalk Paint – Java

FolkArt Home Decor Wax – Clear

Paintbrush

Wax Brush or Soft Lint-free Cloth

I started by wiping down the cabinet to make sure it was clean and dust-free, and I removed the hardware. Then, I gave it a coat of Cascade paint and let it dry. I applied two more coats of Cascade chalk paint, making sure to let the paint dry completely in between. To give the piece a distressed look, I applied a tiny bit of Java chalk paint to my finger and ran it around the corners and edges of the piece. This gives the appearance of the teal paint having been removed, when I really added the brown paint instead! Sneaky, right? Finally, I applied a coat of wax to seal the paint and reattached the knobs. I used a wax brush, but you can also rub it in with a soft, lint-free cloth. Sealing the paint is especially important since the cabinet is in a place where it may get wet.

Once the walls and the vanity were painted, all I had to do was freshen things up with a new shower curtain, towels, and rug. The seashell basket was something I created awhile back, and the wall signs were things I had purchased previously. Isn’t it amazing how a fresh coat of paint and a few simple changes can make such a huge difference? The whole room feels bigger, brighter, and much better!

Here’s a quick bathroom makeover cost breakdown:

Wall Paint (Valspar from Lowes: Snowed In) – $30 (note: I only used half, so I also was able to use this in our main level powder room!)

Vanity Paint and Supplies – approximately $20

Towels (The Big One Solid Bath Towel from Kohl’s) – on sale for $2.99 each, I got 2 bath and 1 hand for $9

Rug (The Big One Chenille Bath Mat from Kohl’s) – on sale for $9.99

Shower Curtain (Mondrian Chevron from Kohl’s) – on sale for $29.99

And the grand total is…$99.

What do you think? Don’t forget, if you want to use this as inspiration for your own makeover, be sure to Pin it!