Small Bathroom Inexpensive Makeovers – This DIY basement bathroom remodel was completed in a short amount of time on a shoestring budget. The entire bathroom was transformed from unusable to DIY skills and creative design.
We moved into this 1980’s house two years ago and immediately started renovating. I’ve done big projects and like most renovations, they often took more time and money than planned.
Small Bathroom Inexpensive Makeovers
I say small, but it’s only one square meter, every piece of this bathroom had to be considered. From new plumbing to electrical work and even shower walls… the only thing left here was the floor plan.
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I gave myself a very tight time frame and recruited my dad* to help me get this bathroom makeover done in a hurry. I’ve shared one of her bathroom remodels here, she’s done more than I can count! It was an incentive to cross something off our list so soon (a week!) and it was better than we could have hoped for.
We wanted to use materials we had on hand and saved from previous projects to make this project as affordable as possible. We’ve been doing DIY home improvements for a few years now, so picking up some of these leftover materials from other projects is an affordable way to make major changes without breaking the bank.
Before we get into the renovation, I want to acknowledge that not all old tiles are around or family members are available to help keep labor costs down. I’ve done other DIY bathroom renovations completely on my own without asking for help, so even if you’re not in a position to ask for qualified DIY help, I definitely think you can learn all the skills you need to achieve a DIY bathroom. . . Remodeling like this without hiring a general contractor.
If nothing else, you can do smaller parts of the project, such as plumbing or electrical, and do the rest yourself. If you can’t handle all parts of the project yourself, this is a great way to stretch the budget.
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* This disclosure was originally published in partnership with Lowes on their website, we have rewritten it to include helpful information and tips. See all my policies here *
In addition to reusing materials and accessories I’ve saved from other renovations, I bought the last few items I needed at Lowes, and the end result I’m proud of. I mean… let’s see each other before and after.
Isn’t the transformation wonderful? I’m always proud of how much we can do in a small room with a little time and great planning.
I wanted to take a second to highlight how great planning can affect your budget, your timeline, and how much fun it is to complete a project. I wrote a whole post about how planning your DIY makeover can save you time, money, and stress, and this space is truly a testament to that.
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Keep in mind that this space was completed in just one week, with just two of us working on it (not our pros!), here are a few things that will affect how much time or cost you will have compared to us. .
The first thing I want to point out is how small this space really is. If it had been bigger, we wouldn’t have been able to complete it as quickly, and we wouldn’t have been able to use the scraps that really affect the cost of a bathroom remodel. If it was larger, if it included a freestanding tub, or if you were doing your first bathroom remodel, I would definitely increase your budget and give it a few months to do the project.
I actually had a hard time photographing it to see the size because it’s so small. These horizontal pictures are probably the best pictures I have.
This is also a small bathroom in the basement. It does not have as much traffic as our main floor restroom. A lot of my design decisions here were based on budget and time. If this was our master bathroom, we would have made different decisions (like tile!).
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As for the timeline…I had nothing else to do that week (besides managing my four kids!), so I doubled down on the project to get it done on time.
I also planned our project daily with tasks for each of my dads to make sure we were maximizing our time even when the mortar or paint was drying.
For example, I could cut tile sheets to size while my dad measured, marked and installed them. I can build the outdoor toilet with the floor tile in place. We can paint the beadboard in the front yard and then tap it in place to let the dead dry, etc. This planning was really key.
When we ran into problems (like realizing we needed a new shower frame that needed to be replaced), we adjusted our timeline and looked at our budget, but we didn’t go back completely.
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As for planning… a great budget will help a lot too. I have an affordable DIY room makeover pattern that you can get for free if you’d like. There were a lot of $0 line items in our budget that we were able to salvage from other projects (yay!).
We also didn’t need to move the plumbing – it was already in, we just replaced the fixtures and fittings. Additionally, when we moved into our (our) new residence, we also inherited a semi-planned renovation by the previous owners. When we took over the house, there was a shower stand and some items left on the storage shelves. We didn’t get to use them all, but it sure helped!
My dad was just finishing up a major renovation on his house, so I was able to use the leftover tile, grout, paint, and beadboard that was taking up space in his garage.
I thought it would be a good idea to talk about some of the design and renovation hurdles we tackled with this change. I think we often look back and forth with little discussion of “how” we got there – and one thing I’ve found time and time again is that reconstruction is a really great problem-solving exercise.
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I love interior design and I design all the spaces in my house and even some other houses. I love a good challenge and this bathroom was definitely one. I wanted the space to be cohesive and feel like it was intentionally a part of our home and our design choices in the rest of the house, but I also wanted to make the most of materials that were reused, so I knew you had to. Some compromises
You see we went from black to chrome fixtures and when we realized we needed to replace the shower base we ditched the tiled shower surround for a one piece kit.
As with any room remodel I do, I spent some time planning the design and budget ahead. You will see that it has definitely evolved with the work on the renovation and the budget.
When we started planning this small bathroom remodel, I knew I would use this leftover black and white ceramic tile that my dad had in his basement bathroom. He had bought a bunch of boxes and although he didn’t have a ton left, he had enough for this small space to cover the bathroom floor.
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I struggled to find a design that would fit the style we remodeled the rest of our house with this tile in mind. We have a comfortable modern style with classic finishes like shaker cabinets in the rest of the house and this tile is definitely a retro classic. I used black putty to modernize it a bit and natural wood for shutters to add some warmth to the windowless space.
We’ve talked about this many times, but adding wood or other natural elements to a modern space (or any space, really) can help add a lot of warmth and interest to a room…even a bathroom. In a bathroom or wet room of any kind, wood floors are not ideal. Bringing that wood color to the bathroom sink allowed us to add wood at no extra cost. I’ll be sharing more about that budget bummer soon!
After starting the space, I started bringing in items that we used for the touch drawing board. I love how this can evolve as you go and you can confirm your design choices with samples before installation. See how this looks in the image above.
One thing we ran into were the floors – amongst the random boxes and accessories stored there, we realized the floor was quite uneven and needed to be flooded.
