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Home » DIY » Home Decor

Small Bathroom Remodel – Ideas on a Budget

February 12, 2018 By Anika Gandhi

Before and after of the bathroom decor.

A small bathroom remodel on a budget. These cheap bathroom remodel ideas for small bathrooms are quick and easy. If you are wondering – how do I decorate a small bathroom, don’t miss these modern bathroom ideas on a budget.

Ready for my small bathroom remodel reveal?

Not yet… I have to give you the “before” tour first!

This was the only room in the new house which we had not touched since we moved – no new paint – nothing.small bathroom remodel before view - brown cabinets.

It wasn’t too bad… except for the moisture damage on the cabinets…Moisture damage on brown cabinet in small bathroom makeover

And these cabinets installed on one of the walls… yes… they never trimmed out that bottom cabinet.View of two cabinets installed in small bathroomDid I mention this is a teeny-tiny bathroom? It was very easy to bump your head on that cabinet corner while getting off the toilet… I have nursed a few bumps on little kid heads… possibly some on grown-up heads too…

Very interestingly, this bathroom has the best shower in the house!beige and brown shower stall in a small bathroom remodelI love everything about the shower… it’s large and even has an amazing shower head installed… probably not the color I might have picked but I love what they did with that tile…

Its like they blew their budget on that shower and left the rest of the bathroom as is… I am not complaining because we don’t have to worry about re-tiling a shower which would make this post not quite about “quick and easy updates to refresh a bathroom”

RELATED: $100 Rental Bathroom Makeover

Quick small bathroom makeover

This is what the bathroom looks like now! I love the clean and fresh new look. There were 6-7 different projects and each took about an hour or so totally. Not bad at all! It can be easily done in one weekend. small bathroom makeover ideas- after

And here is the wall on the left.Small bathroom decorating ideas with hanging ladder shelf, test tube vases on wall and wreath in window

Ready for all the details and more pictures?

Here you go!

Small Bathroom Makeover Ideas

  1. Paint the bathroom. The power of paint is amazing! The old paint was a yellowish white which made the bathroom feel drab and boring. I perked it up with a fresh coat of paint in 1 hour!! More details on the paint color and tips and tricks to painting quickly here.
  2. Replace old baseboards. Or just repaint them. My bathroom had dark brown baseboards which were actually door trim. I took them out and added new baseboards to match the rest of the house.Installing baseboards using a nail gun
  3. Give a facelift to the cabinets by restaining or repainting. I decided to go dark because I wanted to match the dark tile in the shower and tie it all together. It was super quick and easy to update the cabinets with gel stain. See how I did it with a step by step tutorial and video!Re-stained cabinets using gel stain
  4. Trim out old windows if applicable. The windows in this bathroom had rounded edges. I trimmed it out to match the door trim. Now they look so much more defined and “not-naked”.Window corner with DIY trimmed casing
  5. Replace the light fixture for a more cohesive look. We had can lights which I updated with a glass pendant over the vanity. Here is the full tutorial on how to convert recessed to pendant lights.Canned light replaced with glass pendant light
  6. Add new modern shelving or storage. After taking down those cabinets, the bathroom instantly felt larger. I added much-needed storage with this easy floating ladder shelf. Check out all the details and plans for the shelf here!DIY floating ladder shelf on the wall
  7. Deep clean and remove all the crud.No remodel or refresh is complete without a full cleaning. Especially in a bathroom – the tile, grout, and shower will need a complete and thorough cleaning. See how I did this with chemical-free and with barely any elbow grease! Clean tile and grout using steam cleaner

Cheap bathroom decorating ideas

  1. Add scrap wood wall decor. I debated about the artwork on the wall. But I couldn’t find anything I liked. So, I decided to make my own and created these fun test tube vases. The flowers bring in much-needed color and easy to change out too! See how to make these.DIY test tube vases mounted on scrap wood blocks on wall
  2. Window treatment ideas in the bathroom – I am not a big fan of fabric in the bathroom. Plus I didn’t want to block the only source of light in this tiny room. The window already had a privacy film. After trimming out the windows, I decided to hang a wreath from a clear hook in the window to bring in more green. I love how it looks. Plus it can be changed out easily too!faux boxwood wreath form in bathroom window

The bathroom feels so fresh and luxurious now! Plus the only money I really spent was on the paint, gel stain, baseboards, trim, test tubes and the pendant. The shelf was built with mostly scrap wood. Overall, the cost just a little over $125!

Here is the final before and after comparison because I know how we all love those!Before and after comparison of the small bathroom remodel.

And the before and after of the other side of the bathroom.Before and after comparison of the wall with cabinets in the small bathroom remodel on a budget.

What do you think? What is your favorite project in the space?Love it? Pin it! button to save to PinterestSmall bathroom remodel before and after collage with text overlay

Before and after of the bathroom decor. Small bathroom makeover ideas on a budget collage with text overlay
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sara Lugo

    June 10, 2019 at 12:50 am

    Awesome tips. This is a simple way to change the whole look of the bathroom on a budget. It looks wonderful, pretty, updated, and hygienic. It is really creative and amazing. This is really helpful. Thank you for sharing such a nice post.

  2. Madison Lane

    June 17, 2019 at 7:48 pm

    I love the glass accents and window in the bathroom. You did one fine job here. Kudos!

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