Hey everyone! I have been trying to write this bathroom renovation post for what seems like forever! I guess having an early baby changes all the the best plans. Ben and I are so happy that we did the mini reno before Beckett was born. It has been a lifesaver. We still have a few things to do but I wanted to share this with you all anyways.
This bathroom is a great example of how small DIY projects can make a big difference. We did all of the work ourselves through a lot of experience and watching a ton of YouTube videos. Believe it or not this was our first time tiling.
Check out the video at the end of the post for a tour!
These are the inspiration images we used to guide us in this mini reno.
Inspiration
This is what the bathroom looked like before the mini remodel. Not terrible, not great. I love the vintage yellow tile. I knew that our mini reno didn’t mean ripping out this tile. So the plan was to work around the tile and still give it a fresh look. Even with keeping the tile the list of things to do was extensive. We ended up changing the original plan based on what we found when we starting getting into it, which always happens but the inspiration was the same.
Check out the bathroom inspiration post and how we cleaned up our vintage shower tile. Cleaning and repairing tile is a great way to give your bathroom a refresh without spending a ton of money. It works great if you rent too since you might not be able to renovate your bathroom.
Work Breakdown
Remove the mirror and replace with 2 mirrors
One interesting thing that happened is that when we removed the mirror, which was ridiculously heavy btw, there wasn’t a wall behind it! The wall was totally open. Trigger my awesome drywalling skills. It was so strange to see open wall behind the mirror and it had been that way for 60+ years. The wall was sealed from moisture by wood blocking around the edge of the mirror.
I love the two round mirrors. They are great to break up the long wall and add a modern touch to the vintage bathroom. We installed these using anchors behind them so that they are super secure.
Remove soffit, replace light fixtures and move the fan
Check out my previous post that talks about the fan project. I don’t think I ever want to spend this much time in my attic again!
The light fixtures and soffit are an area that we deviated from in our original design. At first we were going to demolish the soffit and relocate the recessed lighting. We were then going to add wall sconces. Instead we found these awesome lights from IKEA. They are super affordable and have a great woven cord and brass details. I love mixing metals and adding a little brass touch was just enough in this small room.
Paint walls and ceiling
Paint is a miracle worker! I always say that you never know your ceiling isn’t white until you paint it. We had painted the ceiling before but since we relocated the light we have a drywall patched area in the ceiling. We painted the whole ceiling again. Tip: Use a satin or semigloss paint in bathrooms on walls and ceilings. This will help you wipe moisture off of the walls if you forget to turn on your fan during a hot steamy shower, which I LOVE! We kept the walls the same color grey. With the drywall patching from the mirror all of the walls just needed a new coat.
Add shelf
This was a crazy adventure I think it needs its own post. This is one of those instances when the way that I thought we would build this turned out to be totally different from what actually happened. What we ended up doing it buying a metal L bracket to attach to the wall and then attach the shelf to the metal bracket.
Install Penny tile
Our first tiling excursion! We used white penny tile and white grout. It was so much fun! Once you learn to tile you feel like you can do anything! It is sooooo satisfying. I know a lot of people are apprehensive about tiling but I say go for it! I can’t wait to tile our kitchen backsplash if we can ever decide on a tile! This too needs it’s own post. I have a lot of references to include for anyone that wants to do a small tiling project.
Clean tile
This is a great way to give your bathroom a refresh. It is soo simple. I used Dawn dish soap and a toothbrush. I diluted the dawn with hot water in a small bowl and then scrubbed the tile and the grout. No harsh chemicals. If you have mold or dirt on your tile/grout I recommend Scrubbing Bubbles and a toothbrush in hard to get areas and let it soak awhile. These methods brighten the tile so that it looks new again.
New Shower Caddy
I researched this waaaayyyy to much and spent too much time picking this out. I wanted something that we could remove and use again but that wasn’t held up by suction cups that would slide down. We went with this one because it is 2 tiered for more product storage, held on by sealant, and stainless for easy cleaning.
New Toilet – TBD
We had planned on doing this before Beckett was born. Oh well! I also researched the heck out of this. Stay tuned!
New Accessories
Getting new accessories for rooms makes a huge difference. While we are still collecting these for the bathroom a few things we have added are plants, new pictures and frames, candles, makeup holders, vases, and containers. I tend to collect these over time. It’s nice to not buy everything at once and buy them as the room evolves.
This bathroom was on a tight budget so I hit up all of our usual places for accessories… Ikea and Target. For the art I always go for local pieces or things that we pick up on vacation. This time it is a page out of a dictionary with a quote printed on it from our local vintage store Junket Tossed & Found. This place is awesome. If you are in the Twin Cities I highly recommend that you check it out!
New faucet and under cabinet plumbing
I am a plumbing master! Well I like to think I am. This is the second time that I have replaced a faucet and plumbing. I also did it for our kitchen. Anyone can do this. It is super easy. My advice. Watch youtube videos and take a pic of how the plumbing was installed BEFORE you take it apart. That way you can always return it to the way it was if you have issues.
We picked an awesome faucet. This what marriage is all about. Compromise! Ben and I couldn’t decide on a faucet. So I got to pick the profile and Ben picked the finish! It took us a long time and multiple research trips to get to this point.
Lower Cabinet Shelving
This is inspired by those wonderful people from Young House Love. They are experts at DIY and they turned their open vanity space into shelves as well! As soon as I saw this I knew it was the perfect solution for us!
Paint Cabinets
We painted these cabinets with the leftover paint from our kitchen cabinets. The cabinets were already white but with a flat paint and it was almost like a primer and was so faded. I did the same process as the kitchen here just in a much smaller quantity. Check out the kitchen cabinet post for our process. It works great. This is an awesome way to update cabinets without removing and replacing them.
New Cabinet Hardware
Ben is a hardware installing master. He is great at figuring out exactly where they are supposed to go. He makes sure that they are all balanced and align together. At first I thought we were going to go with knobs but when we found these midcentury inspired pulls I knew they were the ones. There were super affordable from Home Depot and a great pairing with the new faucet.
Vinyl Tile
We also added vinyl tile to the drawers just like our kitchen. This little project is amazing! I want to do this to every cabinet ever, especially the vintage cabinets. It’s easy and makes such a difference to how clean your cabinets and drawers can be. Check out the kitchen post. If I could tell anyone to do one project in a vintage house to make you happier it would be this one!
Anticipated Budget
Lighting $200
Toilet $350
Accessories $100
Shelf Above Counter $50
New Fan and Light $80
Ceiling Paint $0
Shower Tile Repair $10
Shower Caddy $40
Mirrors $250
Faucet $150
Plumbing Under the Sink $30
Cabinet Doors/Paint $0
Door Hardware $30
Misc. Wall Patching and repair $10
Vinyl Tile for Drawers $0
Under Sink Shelving $20
TOTAL: $1320 + $66 (5% CONTINGENCY) = $1386
Actual Budget
Lighting $60
Toilet $350
Shower Curtain $25
Picture Frames + Art $25
Candles $10
Tray $20
Soap Dispenser $10
Vase $4
Rug $40
Tissue Holder $7
Shelf Above Counter $50
New Fan and Light $80
Ceiling Paint $0
Shower Tile Repair $10
Penny Tile $50
Shower Caddy $40
Mirrors $260
Faucet $190
Plumbing Under the Sink $30
Cabinet Doors/Paint $0
Door/Drawer Hardware $50
Misc. Wall Patching and repair $30
Vinyl Tile for Drawers $0
Under Sink Shelving $30
Misc. Home Depot $50
Total: $1421
Wow that is close, even for my budgeting. Usually we are a little over. Yes! Check out my project planning post to see what questions to ask yourself if you are thinking about a DIY project.
There you have it folks! I am going to write some more detailed posts about specific things in the renovation like the demo and installation of mirrors and tiling but I wanted to finally show you all the bathroom I am so proud of! I hope this inspires everyone to look at their spaces and see what small things can be done to make a big difference!
Oh… I think my photography skills are getting better. Not perfect but I am having fun!
Linda v says
I love the clean lines! What a great change 😃