DIY Budget Bathrooms

Bathrooms on a Budget

Whether you are stuck in an old rental with an icky bathroom or you have purchased your first home and the budget is tight, updating your bathroom does not need to cost an arm and a leg.

With some trips to the local home improvement store or to a budget home wares shop, you can easily upgrade your bathroom on a budget.

Here are our top 3 bathroom upgrades on a budget:

Three – The loo

For some reason old bathrooms always seem to have the toilet be the first thing you see when entering a bathroom, so if it’s a gross ancient bowl it can really bring the room down. If you are a new home owner you could get a plumber to install a new toilet altogether, which is super quick and not too hard on the budget.

But if you are a renter, here are my top recommendations:

– Clean – I mean really clean that toilet (so gross) make it shine

– Replace – the toilet seat is easily replaceable (some people do this immediately when moving in) this requires no heavy lifting or professionals and you can add a bit of character

– Cover – I recently covered my horrid plastic cistern with marble contact paper, carefully measuring and applying. The cistern now looks beautiful, much better then aging yellow plastic.

Two – The bath

Some baths can really show their age and you can almost see when they were installed (hello 1977), changing a bath can cost quite a bit more than replacing a loo. Trends these days of Victorian or Jacuzzi styles are extremely expensive, so why not consider changing out the taps for a quicker fix. This change would require a plumber, so no DIY just to be safe!

But rather than spending all your food budget or real online pokies winnings on a new bath, why not paint it…with the proper products needed, do not paint it with enamel paint on! Try out Rustoleum Tub and Tile Refreshing Kit, follow all the instructions carefully and you will end up with a brand new looking bath (and surrounding tile if those are also gross).

One – The Vanity

Oh the sheer insanity of the ugly vanity, whether it’s old, cracked, yellowed, mouldy or just from 1977 there is a way to update it on a budget.

Here are my favourite quick fixes for vanities:

– Replace tap fixtures or refurbish – get a plumber in to install a more modern tap can do wonders or try spray painting your old set of taps. (Remember to follow instructions exactly for this kind of DIY)

– Paint – remove the vanity doors and paint them, quite often older vanities are made with chipboard and vinyl/linoleum so do some research or your paint won’t stick.

– Counter – replacing a counter can be expensive, so try a budget saver and cover your counter top in contact paper. I prepped my counter first by removing the mouldy calk around the sink, then I cut and fit marble contact paper and then I redid the calking (this helps prevent the contact paper lifting in the wet environment).

As I have recently moved into a tiny rental, with the only plus sides of said rental being location and light (it is so bright!) I have implemented a lot of the above tips and tricks. They have all worked well for me, but my little flat is coming along nicely, so give these a try before blowing your budget on costly professionals!