Do you have a 90’s bathroom that looks sad and outdated? Do you think your dreams of a bathroom update are hopeless without spending a fortune? This post covers the tips and tricks we used to give our upstairs bathroom a fresh look.
Updating a bathroom can feel like a daunting task. Where do you start? Which original selections can you leave and which features need to be updated or replaced? Shortly after moving into our (new to us, 20-year old) home, we knew we wanted a fresh bathroom update.
In this post, you will learn how to embrace the imperfections and quirks that come with many homes. In our case, this included an off-centered vanity, honey-oak cabinets, dingy sliding shower doors, and a slanted ceiling. We were up for the challenge.
Learning Target: You will be encouraged to view your imperfect or dated space with new eyes. You will gain ideas about how to find the good in your room, and enhance it with fresh or updated features. You will be inspired to express your personal style through your own bathroom update.
9 Budget-Friendly, High-Impact Updates for your Bathroom:
1. Paint + Shiplap:
A fresh coat of paint is essential in any room you are wanting to refresh. Our bathroom started with an undesirable shade of tan that was not doing the room any favors. After painting two of our children’s rooms Sherwin Williams Sea Salt (and loving it) I knew I wanted to use it in the bathroom. Sea Salt is the perfect muted green-blue-gray color that changes in appearance based on sunlight and other items in the room. It looks fresh and clean, which is why it is a great color for a bathroom.
–> Make sure you buy a sample of paint and actually try it in your room before deciding if it is right for the whole room. Colors can look very different in the store and with different lighting.
In our story and a half home, all rooms upstairs have slanted ceilings. The slants make these rooms unique, and provide the perfect opportunity for fun wall features! Instead of trying to disguise the quadrilateral-shaped space, we decided to make it a feature wall instead! Shiplap paneling looks great as an accent wall, and I love the look of it behind a mirror. It adds interest and texture to the room. We used nickel-gap tongue and groove MDF painted SW Extra White for our shiplap. The trim and cabinets are the same shade of white.
2. Remove Shower Door & Add Curtain:
Removing the shower door was not a super easy task, but it is doable, and we felt it was the best option for now. The process involves taking the doors off the track, drilling out the rivets, cutting out and cleaning up the caulk, then filling the holes with an acrylic epoxy patch kit. It did clean up really well, and you cannot tell there used to be sliding doors attached to the tub. I definitely think it was worth it!
We replaced the doors with a curved, chrome shower rod and striped shower curtain. This change definitely helped update the overall look of the bathroom, and being able to slide the curtain completely open makes giving baths much easier. I bought this shower curtain as another option, and decided to keep it as a backup as it looks great too!
I wanted to keep the decor simple in this bathroom, so I chose one framed cactus print for above the toilet. The natural wood frame ties in nicely with the wood mirror. A natural basket to hold a couple of rolls of extra toilet paper fits the space perfectly!
3. New Fixtures
The sink faucet, showerhead, valve, spout and drain all needed to be replaced. We like chrome fixtures for a classic look, and really like the style of the Delta Cassidy line, but it can be a little pricy. We decided to purchase the Delta Cassidy faucet for the sink, since it would be used the most, and is the most visible, but went with a more affordable option for the shower fixtures. The Glacier Bay Lyndhurst fixtures look very similar so we went that route, purchasing from Home Depot. This is the set we bought, but in a chrome finish, which unfortunately appears to be sold out.
4. Mirror
A new mirror may be one of the easiest ways to update a space. A fun shape or colored framed mirror makes a dramatic impact. We were replacing a lighted, honey oak medicine cabinet, and decided to go with a round natural wood mirror. I like to include natural wood materials in all rooms, as it brings in a warm feel to the room. We chose a 30×30 mirror in rustic brown.
–> Bathroom mirrors should be approximately 2-4 inches narrower in width than your vanity, centered above the sink (we had a unique challenge), with the center of the mirror at the average eye level of the people using the bathroom. Since this bathroom is primarily used by two of our children, we made sure they could see in the mirror (using a step stool), and we could also see when standing in front of the vanity.
We had many discussions about how to handle the cabinet that was not the full width of the space, whether to off-center the sink or keep it centered with the cabinet and where to place the mirror and lights in relation to the off-centered elements. In the end, we decided to center the mirror and lights between the walls, and center the sink with the cabinet. This is not ideal but adds to the uniqueness of the room. Sometimes you just have to work with what you’ve got and make it the best you can!
5. Lights
As you can see above, we decided to go with two sconces flanking the mirror. This was a better use of the space than a bank of vanity lights would have been. The scones are called oil-rubbed bronze, but after reading reviews that they looked black (which is what we wanted) we decided to see for ourselves! They are definitely black! There is no oil-rubbed bronze on them at all.
We had already replaced the towel ring, toilet paper holder (similar), door handles, and hinges with matte black replacements, so the black sconces looked great with the other updates.
–> Selecting two main metals for a room keeps it looking fresh and will not date as quickly as one metal choice potentially will. Our two metals in this room are chrome and matte black. The perfect ratio of main metal to secondary metal is 2/3 to 1/3.
6. Towels + Rugs
All bathroom update projects deserve new towels and rugs! While I love the look of a vintage rug in bathrooms (well, everywhere really), I knew we needed something practical and easy to wash since this bathroom is primarily used by our children. These gray and white striped rugs fit the bill! We have one in front of the bathtub and one in front of the sink. The gray ties in nicely with the tile floor (which we did not change at all). When the one in front of the bathtub is not being used, I hang it on the side of the tub and it dries out easily. They are also machine washable!
I may or may not have bought 5 or 6 different shades of gray towels to select from. 🙂 I had to consider the tile, veining in the countertop, and how much of a contrast looked best. I ended up choosing Dark Gray Spa Bath Towels, hand towels, and washcloths. They are a nice contrast to the sea salt and white walls and compliment the countertops. A dark color also does not easily show dirt! For summer or to change out the look, we also use Turkish towels. They are much thinner than traditional bath towels and dry very quickly. I love the look of them!
7. New vanity countertop
Our old countertop was in sad shape. We debated replacing the entire unit, the counter, sink, and cabinets, but then we ran into the issue of the way the tile was laid. Since we had made the decision to keep the tile, as it was in good shape and we didn’t hate the color, we knew we had to work around the cabinet. Knowing we were going to keep the cabinet helped us decide to only replace the countertop and not the entire unit.
We considered different surfaces for the countertop and priced out several options. We ended up deciding to go with quartz because of its durability and classic look. Since it was a small (but randomly sized) space, we were able to find a remnant we liked and had cut to fit. This was a great way to go as we saved money and were able to have the countertop custom fit.
8. Paint Vanity Cabinet
After deciding it would be best to keep the vanity cabinet in place because of the tile and odd width of the space, we knew we wanted to paint the cabinets. The open space on the right bothered me a lot for a while, but we decided to just go with it and hope that the other bathroom updates would be dramatic enough that we wouldn’t notice the awkward space! It really does not bother me anymore, and it is actually a nice place to hide the plunger and garbage can! Sometimes you just have to embrace the quirks of your home.
Painting honey oak can be a challenge, as the grain is prominent. After removing the doors, we used a wood filler to help fill in the grain of the cabinets. Then we sanded them down and painted the cabinets Sherwin Williams Extra White. This is the same color as the trim and shiplap. Finally, we put the doors back on with new black hinges to complete the look!
Painting the doors was such a great way to use the current cabinet but give it a fresh light look. Since we were doing all of the work ourselves, the thought of removing the entire vanity was daunting! This was a much easier solution and we are very happy with the results.
9. Plant(s)!
Of course, I have to have a plant included in our bathroom update. I believe that every room should have at least one plant (ideally more!). Since this is a relatively small bathroom, primarily used by children, I knew I couldn’t go too crazy. I chose one small snake plant (similar) to put on the countertop. It adds the perfect touch of green. I got mine at Home Depot for $5! This location receives low, indirect light, so a snake plant is a good choice as it does not require bright light. The cute pot was from the Target dollar spot!
I love seeing this room completed and knowing we saved money but still achieved the look we were going for is just icing on the cake. Remember to embrace the quirks in your home, as they are what makes it unique!
I hope you found some inspiration and tips for your own bathroom update.
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