There are few things that bring more frustration in the DIY world than the surprisingly high price tag that rides quietly (or not so) alongside a total room re-do. We’ve been there; a friend tours you through their newly refreshed space pointing out “the amazing hexagon tile I laid!”, “the beautiful brushed hardware I installed” and “the colour that caused the fight which I eventually won” and all the while the only thing us on the spectating (slash, stfu!) side are thinking is “great, but how much did this ferrrrreal cost?”
While our hearts can be in the right cost-cutting place by taking on a project ourselves, sometimes we get burned and end up taking on projects that sweat-equity just can’t finance on it’s own. Sometimes our budget in the hundreds creeps into the thousands and before we know it; we’re now broke in addition to exhausted and living with chipped nail paint and a staple gun scar or two.
With a concept laid out and a transparent where-to-buy list, this is how to re-do your bathroom for the same cost of your monthly coffee slash cigarette slash uber slash cocktail slash manicure bill.
Paint the floor
Ripping out tile is truly insane and an expensive job that should be reserved for the professional tradesman. The grouting, levelling, sub flooring and overall math involved is just not worth it. What is however worth it, is the ease with which you can paint your existing bathroom floor in a fashion that promotes cleanliness, simplicity and scuff free results. Clean the floor as best possible, then use Home Depot's all in one Behr Porch & Patio Floor Paint . It applies wicked easy at a tint of your choosing and the whole job is done at about $25. You know what that means, right? One product, two coats, and you'll never look back.
Visit the Habitat for Humanity Restore
The ReStore is golden for BS odds and ends. If you require any trim for your project—from baseboards, to shoestring, quarter round, half round and so on-- look to your neighbourhood ReStore. A box store will charge you $5 a foot which will add up quickly for even the smallest of powder rooms. The ReStore however will likely be trying to give their product away at $4 per bundle. Just make sure to wear your positivity goggles when visiting; discount trim will usually be sold raw and will need to be painted to mesh with your project. But what’s a little paint when you just saved $100?
Paint the Vanity
Yikes, right?
Wrong. Whatever the former tenant or homeowner left you with in there can be changed even if it’s a traditional melamine mess. Fusion Milk Paint is a just-add-water powdered paint product designed with the coverage of melamine in mind. With a spectrum of colours available and at $8 a bag, you can revive your bathroom vanity—no matter the material—with streak free and scuff free results. It applies easily and cures within in 30 minutes; aka dilly-dalliers don't stand a chance.
Amazon Hardware
Hardware makes a huge difference in the revival of any space. Drawer knobs on a dresser, pulls on cabinetry and so on are all perfect examples of the simple yet huge embellishment the right hardware can bestow. Got a Prime account? You can have new hardware suited to any style within 24 hours at just the tap of a button. Fail safe options for the bathroom glow up include knobs and pulls in matte black and brushed gold with extensive variety of each available.
Stick on a Backsplash
Just like the floor, this doesn't have to be a demolition job. Peel and stick tile is not what is used to be (read: anti-modifiable sheets of extremely pixiliated prints) and is available in a variety of options that would truly blow your mind. Covering an average of about 12 square feet per box, peel and stick tiles are the easiest way to add both character and protection to the wall space behind your sink. With many geometric designs such as hexagons, herringbone or subway style available, you can use a utility knife to trim each piece to your exact specs.
White Walls
It seems scary but realistically we all want a clean bathroom, right? Painting your bathroom (ceiling too!) a fresh vibrant white such as Behr’s Bakery Box can do you several favours including brighten up a space that lacks window light, give an illusion of space to smaller rooms such as powder rooms and best of all; white walls are ride or die for any decor direction you choose. A feeling of palatial freshness and a wall colour that matches everything, need we say more?
The fact is just like cooking; if you know how to shop you'll always be able to whip something up. Cushion the blow of that fancy faucet or fixture you've had your eye on by calling on these tips to level out the cost. Your bathroom can transform from drab to dreamy with barely a dent in your bank account and the only stall in sight will be the refreshed one you'll be sitting in.