7 Easy Bathroom Ideas to Do Yourself when you can’t Afford a Remodel

We’re sharing 7 easy bathroom ideas you can do by yourself when you can’t afford a remodel just yet.

Even a small bathroom remodel can be expensive, costing upwards of $10k or more depending on the design and materials. As much as I would like to completely gut our bathroom, we’re going to save and focus on affordable updates you can do yourself.

Today, Im sharing 7 ideas that can help transform your bathroom, without the need to spend thousands of dollars. But, if your a renter these ideas are perfect for you too! So let’s dive into all the ways to give your bathroom an easy makeover on a budget.

7 Bathroom Ideas you can DIY on a Budget

I’ve mentioned it before but a budget doesn’t have to be restricting. This past year I’ve really leaned into setting a budget and allowing myself to spend within it. Meaning I’m not trying to come out of this project with money left over.

If I’ve allotted myself a certain amount to spend on a project, I’m going to make sure I splurge on at least one thing that I’m obsessed with. I promise if you start thinking of a budget in a freeing sense it will change the way you think about saving.

Earlier this year we actually used a few of these ideas to transform our bathroom! You can see how we budgeted for a bathroom makeover here.

Let’s go over 7 bathroom DIY’s you can do on a budget.

Use Paint to update your bathroom!

Paint is such an easy and inexpensive way to update your bathroom. We painted not only the walls but also the trim and the bathroom vanity. It was the one project that made me really appreciate just how far I can stretch our budget. With a little bit of paint, we were able to get rid of the orangey wood cabinets without buying a whole new vanity.

Since paint is so inexpensive you can really have fun, try something new or go bold. I’ve always wanted to design a dark and moody bathroom.

Another tip is to test out the paint before committing. Try painting a sample on the wall and see how the light hits it. For example, I used Revere Pewter, and sometimes it can look shades darker or even shades lighter depending on the light. I love that but it might conflict with other design choices you have.

Update the Lighting

Lighting can make or break a room, and it’s one of the easiest ways you can transform a bathroom. Actually, that was one of the first things we did in our bathroom. We took out the 90’s style lighting and installed a beautiful (and inexpensive) brass light.

To this day I’m still obsessed with the way it looks. It’s also an area you can easily splurge in if that’s within your budget.

I have a ton of suggestions for lighting you can check out below.

Install New Hardware & Change the Mirror

This is an area I would suggest you splurge on. I love mixing highs and lows in our projects, like pairing painted tile with the vintage rug. Or even painting a bathroom vanity, and adding luxury hardware.

Shop my favorite splurge-worthy hardware below.

One of the easiest things you can do in your bathroom on a budget is to change out the mirror. You can really show your creativity in this area, find something vintage, modern, or whatever your style is.

Splurge on Window Coverings

While we were planning our budget for our bathroom makeover I decided to choose three areas where I would splurge. Everything else I would either DIY or buy used to balance the budget. Window coverings were one of those three areas, and I found a local seamstress who could make faux roman shades for us.

Did you know that installing window coverings can also be a great investment? especially when you’re thinking about the value of your home. Not to mention if you rent, they are quite easy to remove and bring with you or even resell when you move.

Shop your Own Home First

My favorite thing to do when I’m working on a project or making over a room is to shop my own home. Since I do this for a living I tend to have a little more decor to choose from, but I also know most of us have a lot of things in storage we can easily repurpose.

When I’m shopping my own home, there are a few things I always look for:

• Anything wooden, like stools or small bowls.
• Old vases are great to add to a sink or to a bathtub surround.
• Metal storage baskets can be used as a place to hold toilet paper rolls or collect beauty /cleaning supplies.
• Glass containers can be used to sort Q-tips, cotton balls, or that sort of thing.
• Empty glass or ceramic soap dispensers can be easily repurposed.
• Old paintings, frames, or photos can be re-hung in the bathroom. (or repainted as a quick DIY)
• Vintage or faux vintage-style rugs look great in bathrooms.

Add or Remove Tiles

Tiles require a little more work but this could be a great idea to give your bathroom a refresh without remodeling. Depending on the bathroom you might have old tile you don’t like or look dated. Or maybe you don’t have tile but you could easily add some character by DIYing it yourself.

Another option for tile that you don’t like is to paint it! There are so many DIYs on the internet. Either way, it’s worth looking into!

Add Character with Wallpaper

Im going to end with our last idea to add wallpaper to your bathroom walls or even the ceiling. I love how much character can be injected into a space simply by adding wallpaper. Since it can be expensive I try to wait for sales or end-of-year cleanouts to buy what I need.

You can also be conscious of your budget by installing it yourself.

There are even removable wallpapers so you can easily turn your rental bathroom into your dream bathroom.

I hope this gave you some ideas on how you can transform your bathroom. I know waiting sucks when you’re trying to save for a remodel, or your own home. It can feel so discouraging when your house doesn’t look the way you want it to. But I hope you’ll stick around and read more of our other blog posts because I felt the same way when we bought the house we have now.