Are you bored with your bathroom? Is it starting to look shabby? You wake up in the morning and get ready for work. As you’re brushing your teeth in the mirror, you start to look around and get this urge to remodel your bathroom. Then you think about the cost and decide it’s not the best time.
An average bathroom remodel can set you back around $10,000. If you’re going for something upscale, then the cost goes up to about $25,000. Sure, you can think of it as an investment. Bathrooms and kitchens are important to potential buyers, so if you decide to sell your house, you’ll probably recoup the costs later on. Still, it’s not like you have that kind of money just lying around. Perhaps you’re light years away from being able to spend $10,000 on your bathroom.
Does this mean you’ll just have to live with it? Of course not. If you do some of the work yourself and get creative, you can bring down the cost somewhere between $1,000 and $3,000. If your budget is under $1,000, you can still remodel, but you’ll have to stick to cosmetic changes like new paint or new fixtures. You don’t need to tear down everything and replace it to make your bathroom look up-to-date.
Paint
Photo by Anete Lusina from PexelsIf you want to change the way your bathroom looks but you don’t have a lot to spend, a fresh coat of paint might be your best bet. Another advantage is that you can do it by yourself and save the money you’d pay if you hired a professional since it’s not such a large room. Just make sure that you watch a few tutorials beforehand.
And a word of warning: even though it’s a smaller room, repainting it will take longer than you might think. There are many things you need to paint around, like the tub or shower, the mirror, the sink, and so on. This takes a lot of patience and a lot of painter’s tape.
You also want to consider the moisture. To avoid mold and mildew, you’ll want to spend a little more on quality paint with a satin finish. Even though you’re on a budget, it’s worth buying paint that can resist mold growth when you remodel your bathroom.
Update Fixtures
Ok, so you’ve repainted your bathroom, but you’ve been looking at the same cabinets every day for years. You’d like to get new ones, but let’s face it: buying and installing new cabinets can get pretty pricey. What could you do instead? You can give your old cabinets a fresh look by replacing the hardware.
To make life a little easier for yourself, remember to make sure the screw alignment for the new hardware matches with the holes on your existing cabinets. This way, you don’t have to drill new holes. Also, thanks to products like Sugru, you can even replace one of your cabinets with open shelves. You’d be maximizing space and sprucing up your bathroom without having to drill.
And while you’re changing hardware, you could also replace your sink faucet. Facets are not difficult to install. The hardest part is usually removing the old one, but that happens when there are problems like corroded pipes or poor access to fittings. You’ll see that just by replacing your faucet, you’d be giving your sink a whole new look without having to replace the vanity, which would be much more expensive.
Once you’re finished with the faucet, you can move on to light fixtures and towel racks. All these details may not seem like much, but we assure you that they make a big impact when you remodel your bathroom. Check out interior design magazines or simply search for ideas on Google. You’ll see a lot of options that are not in your price range. Don’t worry about it. You can always DIY your way to a more affordable solution.
Use Budget-Friendly Materials
Photo by Max Vakhtbovych from PexelsAnother great way to save money when you’re remodeling your bathroom is to reuse the materials you already have. However, if you have to change them, you can look for budget-friendly options.
For instance, instead of using wood or tiles for your bathroom floor, you can use luxury vinyl. The vinyl flooring you can find in stores today is much better than the types you might have seen in the past. You can do a quick search online for plank vinyl or luxury vinyl, and you’ll see that it looks great.
As for the countertops, you can use high-definition laminate or quartz that imitates the look of natural stone for a fraction of the price. You can also get tiles for backsplashes made of porcelain and faux-stone ceramic that looks just like marble or travertine.
Refinish the Tub Instead of Buying a New One
If you’re trying to save money, replacing your bathtub should be your last option. As you probably know, it’s not so much the cost of the tub itself (although they can get pretty expensive) but all the labor involved that racks up the bill. If your current bathtub only has a few cosmetic problems like some nicks or cracks, you can refinish it.
Perhaps you were considering bathtub liners, but they’re not as cheap as they may seem because they also require professional installation and don’t last that long. In contrast, refinishing your bathtub gives you a better-looking result for less money.
Mirror
You could swap your current mirror with a cheaper one or go hunting for a fancy used one at a flea market. However, you can also give it a new look by placing decorative molding around the edges. You can even go the extra mile and paint the molding.
If your mirror has been hanging on your bathroom wall for many years, it might have some wear and tear around the edges. You can hide this by simply buying a new elegant frame for it.
Freshen Caulk and Grout
Refreshing the caulk and grout might now have been the thirst thing to pop into your mind when you started thinking about remodeling your bathroom, but with time they can get grimy and make your bathroom look less appealing.
It only costs a few dollars to clean the grout and add some fresh caulk around your sink and tub, and you won’t believe what a difference it makes!
Featured Photo by Sidekix Media on Unsplash
