Our First Floor Bathroom Refresh – The Reveal


Disclaimer: This post is brought to you by Lowe’s Home Improvement. Thanks for supporting the brands that support this blog.

Our initial plan with phase one of our renovation was to leave the kitchen and bathrooms alone. That way we could slowly transform them ourselves as we figured out exactly what we wanted in each space. Not to mention, these are the most costly rooms of any renovation, so we wanted to save our pennies to really make some big upgrades!

As I discussed in this post, we did have to change out the tile floor in our first-floor bathroom in order for it to be level with the hardwood on the rest of that level. That meant that this room was going to get a mini refresh right from the start! No waiting on this space.

You’ve already seen the awesome durable floor tile from Mohawk, my mood board for the space, the XL shower curtain I chose, and last week I revealed our DIY wood wall (still obsessed with this easy upgrade!). Today, let’s take a look at the final bathroom refresh starting with the before and after!

Before & After

These before and after photos make me so happy! It’s crazy how much better it looks and we didn’t have to gut the entire thing or spend tons and tons of money! New tile, fresh paint, upgraded lighting, accessories, and an easy DIY project took this bathroom refresh to the next level.

Bathroom before

Our bathroom after the mini makeover

Our bathroom after

Our Bathroom Refresh – The Details

The new tile upgraded the space quickly. Once we had that Mohawk ForeverStyle floor tile from Lowe’s in there (which was super inexpensive, btw), the entire room felt different. With the tile down, I was able to choose a paint color for the walls. A beige, white, or gray would have looked dingy in there, so I ended up going with a gorgeous sage color. It’s the color “Clary Sage” from the HGTV Home by Sherwin Williams line. It’s a warm light green and I want to use it all over the place!Wood wall treatment DIY

As you guys saw in last week’s tutorial, Finn and I installed this wood molding onto the blank wall across from the vanity and toilet. It makes the entire space feel more high-end and custom. I highly recommend this project for any blank wall in your house. It only took some budget-friendly supplies from Lowe’s to get the job done! My guess is we spent about $150, total. Brass vanity light from Lowe's

If you want to transform your bathroom quickly, new lighting will do the trick. I swapped the outdated vanity and overhead lights in here for brass fixtures from Lowe’s. This vanity light has the prettiest brass color and gives off a traditional vibe. Overhead light from Lowe's

The semi-flush mount was quite the find! It’s only $62 from Lowe’s. It’s vintage bronze with brass accents and emits a soft warm glow. If you have ugly overheads to replace in your house, I would stock up on these. They are perfect for a hallway, closet, or entryway. Pedestal sink and black faucet

To save money, we kept the pedestal sink and the toilet. They were in fine shape; they were just in need of a good scrub down! I did swap out the faucet for this black Delta one. If you don’t want to shell out lots of money for a new vanity, upgrading the faucet is always a good idea. Black bathroom faucet

This matte black faucet adds a modern touch to the room and it’s just so sleek! You can’t go wrong with a little black in any room and I definitely recommend this bathroom faucet. Antique shelf from The Painted Lady

I found this rustic shelf from a local shop here in town and instantly knew I wanted to put it above the toilet in here. The drawers are tiny, so they’re not suuuuuper functional. But I was able to squeeze some matches in there.

Up top, I placed a planter with a golden pothos in it. I’ve been buying so many indoor plants from Lowe’s and I’m scattering them all around our house. My goal is to be a better plant mom here and so far my plants are thriving! Golden pothos are good ones. I love the color, the leaves grow long and drapey, and they’re pretty easy to maintain. Framed art from flea market

I found the art at a flea market for $25 (including the gold frame). It reminds me of our trip to Sorrento, Italy and makes me smile every time I walk in the room.

New towel hooks and a toilet paper holder are the finishing touches on this space. These are both from Delta in the color “champagne bronze.” I adore that they’re a bit more traditional and ornate and the color complements the sage green beautifully. Wood wall treatment

I thought this bathroom would be an eyesore for quite some time, but I’m thrilled that it looks so good and we’ve only been living here for about a month! Since guests use this bathroom more than any of the others, it was the perfect place to invest some time and a little bit of money to get it looking good. Speaking of budget…

Budget BreakdownBlack faucet with sink accessories

Gutting this entire room would have cost at least $3-$5k for labor, plus the cost of materials. Keeping the shower as is and focusing on the rest of the space allowed us to save quite a bit of money. For way under $1,000 our bathroom looks completely different!

  • Tile = $100
  • Wood Wall Project = $150
  • Paint = $45
  • Faucet = $190
  • Toilet Roll Holder = $30
  • Towel Hooks (2) = $42
  • Light Fixtures = $208
  • Accessories = $75
  • TOTAL = $840

Our Bathroom Refresh – SourcesOur bathroom refresh on a budget

Paint Color: Sherwin Williams HGTV Home โ€œClary Sageโ€ //ย Mohawk ForeverStyle Floor Tileย //ย Black Faucetย //ย Brass Vanity Lightย //ย Flushmount Fixtureย //ย Towel Hookย //ย Toilet Paper Roll Holder // Shower Curtain // Shelf (vintage) // Art (vintage) // Golden Pothos Plant

What Now?

Honestly, this space will probably stay this way for quite some time! I absolutely love it! We haven’t used the shower down here at all (but you guys made great points in the comments of this post about why it’s actually a good idea to have a shower in this room!). Maybe someday we’ll re-tile the shower, but for now, I’m totally fine with it hidden behind our shower curtain.

I’m considering this budget-friendly refresh a big win for our Finn Fixer Upper! Now onto the other spaces in our home that are in desperate need of some TLC…

Casey


The Year of Casey

Hey there!

Iโ€™m Casey Finn, the voice behind The DIY Playbook. I’m a Chicago gal teaching you how to design, DIY, and maintain your home…by yourself! Learn more about me right here.