My wife and I bought our first house in the late 1990’s and we’re currently in the middle of some serious DIY renovations. A while back, I wrote about our kitchen upgrades: we put in some new tile, painted our cabinets and installed some new hardware I scored at Overstock for just $40 total! Next up? The bathrooms.
According to HomeAdvisor.com, the average bathroom renovation costs between $8,000-$10,000. We can’t afford to spend anywhere near that much, so we’ve been researching some low-cost updates we can do ourselves. Our goal is to make our bathrooms more livable and more our style and still stick to our budget.
Below are five different DIY bathroom updates, and each of these options are things we’re considering ourselves.
Re-grout or caulk the shower tiles and tub.
This is a small project that makes a huge difference in the appearance of your bathroom. If your tub or shower is getting up there in age, take a look at the caulk around the outside. Is it covered in mildew? Is it peeling? Imagine how new and clean it would look with some fresh, white caulk. Take the time to peel off all the old caulk using a sharp tool like a box cutter. Next, just re-caulk the same areas with new caulk. You can actually do this same process with grout between tiles if that needs a little updating too. The Family Handyman has a great tutorial for doing both.
Paint the tub or shower.
I had no idea this was a thing until we bought a house with a sky blue shower. We don’t have the budget to install a new shower and tile, so we found this Tub and Tile Refinishing Kit for around $26. I read as many reviews as I could about this to see if it was easy to use, and make sure it would actually last. According to the reviews I read, the answer is yes to both! The Rust-Oleum paint can be used on porcelain, ceramic or fiberglass tubs and showers. We’re going to do this to our own shower next week and I’ll report back with an update!
Add more storage space.
If you’ve got a bathroom with small square footage, think about utilizing the space above your eye level. You don’t have to stick with under-sink cabinets or medicine cabinets. My grandparents attached some wicker baskets as shelves up near the ceiling where they keep extra towels. I loved the idea of adding shelving or cabinets up near the ceiling so you’re not detracting from foot space. You can still make the most of small spaces by thinking “up.”
Swap out the faucet.
Similar to changing out your kitchen hardware, this is a small change that can have a huge impact on the look and feel of your bathroom. There are a lot of affordable faucets out there. I recommend going to the store and picking out the style you like, then visiting a few websites to find something similar for less. If you really prefer to buy one that you can touch and see in person, we’ve had the best luck finding sales at Home Depot. Also keep in mind that Lowe’s regularly has a 10% off coupon that can really help with the savings, especially if you plan to buy the materials for the entire bathroom all at once.
Get a new shower head.
During college and throughout my husband’s grad school career, we moved around a lot. We bought a really nice shower head for one of our last apartments, and we’ve brought it with us every time we moved. A nice, new shower head can give almost any shower a luxe appearance and feel. We chose a pretty simple Culligan shower head with a filter that we swap every few months. If you’re on a budget, the key here is to just stay with the same style that is already installed. Yes, a fancy modern shower head is gorgeous, but if you’ve already got the plumbing for your standard nozzle, stick to it and save the cash!