Bathroom Make-Over for under $300

Our house was built in 1946. And with it came lovely 1946 bathroom tile.

 

This peachy-pink tile was on the floor and went up all of the walls.

These pictures are actually flattering because at least there was daylight to wash the color out a tad when these photos were taken. In the evening is when it really "shined."

 

Additionally, although the tub, sink, and toilet were new, the hardware and accessories were very dated, and the window had old yellowed blinds on them (which was already removed when I took the photos). 

We didn't have a huge budget to renovate the bathroom, but I couldn't stand looking at this tile any longer. So I slowly went to work and 6 months later ended up with this:

 

The biggest expense was the flooring which came in at just under $100.00 (and I actually have a ton left over. I made some errors more than once when cutting the planks so I had to purchase another box. I probably could have done it with just one).

The flooring is Teak Vinyl Planks from Home Depot. They come in at just under $50/box and covers up to 24 sq. feet (yes! our bathroom is that small!). These were a perfect solution because we couldn't afford to tear up all of the tile and re-tile. It looks fantastic and is water resistant so it's perfect for bathrooms. I first cleaned the tile with commercial grade bathroom cleaner and then laid the planks right over the tile. They snap together really easily. The hardest part was cutting around the toilet and sink. The planks can be cut with a box cutter (which is what I used) but making straight cuts were much easier than making round cuts. Needless to say, my arms were pretty sore the next day but it was so worth it!)

Before                                                                           After

 

The next task was painting over the tile that went up the wall. Since the space is so small, I wanted a nice clean look so I went with a bright white. I first scrubbed the tiles with commercial grade bathroom cleaner to remove all soap scum. Then I coated them with 2 coats of oil based primer. I know that oil based is a pain to work with and it's STICKY but it's an absolute MUST when painting bathroom tile. It prevents moisture from getting in and your paint will last a lot longer. After the tile was primed, I put on two coats of white semi-gloss. I used a brush, not a roller and used long, even, up and down strokes to give it a polished unified look. Lastly I painted over the brown paint (which made the bathroom appear darker and smaller than it was) with a beautiful pale blue. Total cost for primer and paint was about $80.00

The rest of the update was just in the details. We bought a new light fixture (around $60) and new faucet (around $70) both from Home Depot, and a new shower curtain and rug from Target on sale (total around $25.00).

Before                                                                          After

The last piece of the puzzle was the window. The window overlooks our neighbors driveway, so we had to make it private. However, since the bathroom is so small I wanted natural light to come in so I did not want to use a curtain or blinds.

I ended up purchasing Etched Leaf Window Film from Amazon. You just cut it to the size you want and apply it to the window with water and the provided squeegy. It lets the light in, but prevents unwanted eyes from peering into the bathroom.

 For the top, I created my own curtain out of a shower curtain I got on sale at Home Goods for $15 and two tension rods I got from Target for $3.00 each. I combined the tutorials at Imparting Grace and Young House Love to create a window treatment that worked for me. I cut the shower curtain to size, leave about an inch extra on each of the sides and doubling the length so I could double layer it. I used no-sew iron on tape and folded over the sides and create a hem. Then I folded the fabric end to end and used the no-sew iron on tape to connect the top to the bottom. I stuck a tension rod through the top, then the bottom, and installed it in the window.

 Painting the window frame yellow was an after thought. The previous owners had left us a can of this yellow paint because that it was the color of the dining room (that was the first room we changed. I'll post about that later). I hate having things go to waste, so I thought it would be a fun pop of color. Ultimately the yellow next to the blue wall looked too pastel for my taste, so I painted just that wall grey to make the yellow really pop.

I am so pleased with how it turned out and now I don't dread taking a shower in the morning. What makes me love it even more is that the transformation cost under $300. Who said home renovations have to cost a fortune?! :)

Those stairs have GOT to go!

I loved most everything about our house when we bought it. Just because I loved it, however, doesn't mean I didn't want to change it :) I'm constantly re-inventing our home to give it an extra special "pop."

However, there was one thing I absolutely HATED...
Our gross, carpeted stairs!!!!

Carpet is gross. Carpet on stairs when the rest of the house has beautiful hardwood floors is even more gross and out of place. One day I had had enough. My husband came home from work to find me feverishly ripping up the carpet. I was thrilled to discover this underneath!

Who in their right mind would cover that up?!

I soon found out the answer. 

 

Oh-oh. Someone decided to paint. 

And it got worse!

 

The stairs went from white to yellow to blue. Previous owners apparently had no idea what they wanted to do. I am still baffled by this.

So, what was I to do now? I could try to sand off the paint, but ultimately decided against this for 2 reasons. One, I didn't know what condition the wood would be underneath and two, our home was built in 1946. From what I could gather there were at least 3 to 4 layers of paint on the stairs. I didn't want to take any chances that one of those older layers might contain lead. Even though when we bought the house there were no known traces of lead, the last thing I needed was lead dust flying around the house for my four-year-old son and three cats to inhale (and it wouldn't be so great for my husband or me, either!)

I decided to work with what I had and add yet another layer of paint.

I primed the stairs with oil-based primer. I know oil-based is a pain to work with. It's sticky, it takes forever to dry, and cleaning the brush afterwards SUCKS. But using an oil based primer would create a stronger seal that would prevent chipping on the off chance any of the old paint was lead based (again - paranoid). I also painted the molding on the sides and and the hand rail the same grey that is in our living room and our upstairs hall to tie it all together.

It's already starting to look better!

After 2 coats of primer, I added 2 coats of Behr Porch and Floor paint. Before putting on the second coat of paint, I added Behr Floor Finish Additive to give the stairs a little grip. I tell you what, this stuff works. Even while wearing socks I can feel my feet grip to the stairs. 

For the finishing touch and to truly tie the stairs into the rest of the house, I wall papered the risers with a textured damask wallpaper from http://www.grahambrown.com. It's GORGEOUS.

 

I'll admit, wallpapering the stairs was a bit of a challenge. I cut out strips to fit the risers a little over-sized so I could  trim off the top and bottoms with an exact-o knife. This proved to be a little challenging in such tight quarters and because there were so many layers of paint in the cracks between the risers and the stairs boards, I couldn't always get an exact straight cut. Additionally, the stairs were wider than the the roll of wallpaper, so matching up the pieces was a tedious task.

The final result, however, was SO worth it.

 

Before and After

And what about those gorgeous wood stairs at the top?
Don't worry - I made them work :)