I have been complaining about the downstairs bathroom for quite some time. It is still on the list to remodel but as life goes, things happen and priorities shift. Soooo...I put on "my creative, let's thinks outside the box and make this work on the cheap" hat. I couldn't change the the walls right now, but I did make a few inexpensive changes.
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| BEFORE |
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| AFTER--btw I know the toe kick isn't painted. that is going get wrapped with baseboard. i didn't want to lay on the floor to paint it :) |
I removed the rusty old medicine cabinet. The previous owners notched the window frame so the medicine cabinet would fit. I have installed a less obtrusive mirror. The mirror was stashed in the garage and just needed cleaned up a bit.
Since I lost some storage I bought a small plastic drawer system ($14) that fit neatly under the colorful metal table which I already had as part of a nesting trio of tables. I am debating about skirting this table with fabric in the same color scheme as the shower and window curtains (using industrial velcro) to make it easy to remove for cleaning.
We installed sheet vinyl remnants that were pieced together, which were free from my sister! It is not an exact match to my kitchen vinyl floor but it is the same color even if the blocks are bigger than the kitchen vinyl. I still have a 4ft by 5ft piece we can use for patching if needed. We had the adhesive leftover from installing our kitchen sheet vinyl. There are a few minor imperfections from piecing the the vinyl and a few less than perfect cuts on my part. I truly don't mind because it is leaps and bounds better than what we had. Since the flooring was free, it is temporary until we gut this room. I spent $5 on aluminum threshold to cover the sheet vinyl seem between the kitchen and bathroom. (I still need to paint the door and trim white)
I also painted the the old sink vanity. I used a brush technique to make it look aged/ worn. It turned out pretty nice. I still may go back and hit it with a little sandpaper to mimic worn areas due to constant use (corners and by the handles). The old hardware was rusty and a little gross but I just hit it with a wire brush to knock the worst of the rust, wiped it down and reinstalled. It goes with the whole aged patina thing.
I had a 1 yard remnant of fabric and sewed a new curtain panel. Surprisingly the colors are an exact match to my existing shower curtain. I fashioned the tie back from ribbon remnant. This swag also hides the notched out frame.
This a dual purpose bathroom and laundry room. The water lines and drain are awkwardly placed and visible. I spent $13 at Lowes for melamine laminated shelving. I simply drilled pilot holes, screwed the pieces together and made a 3 sided box to cover the water lines and drain. It makes a great plant stand! If we need to access the water valves or drain, we can simply move the box frame.
Overall I feel pretty pleased with the outcome. It freshened up the look of the room, at minimal cost
Since I lost some storage I bought a small plastic drawer system ($14) that fit neatly under the colorful metal table which I already had as part of a nesting trio of tables. I am debating about skirting this table with fabric in the same color scheme as the shower and window curtains (using industrial velcro) to make it easy to remove for cleaning.
We installed sheet vinyl remnants that were pieced together, which were free from my sister! It is not an exact match to my kitchen vinyl floor but it is the same color even if the blocks are bigger than the kitchen vinyl. I still have a 4ft by 5ft piece we can use for patching if needed. We had the adhesive leftover from installing our kitchen sheet vinyl. There are a few minor imperfections from piecing the the vinyl and a few less than perfect cuts on my part. I truly don't mind because it is leaps and bounds better than what we had. Since the flooring was free, it is temporary until we gut this room. I spent $5 on aluminum threshold to cover the sheet vinyl seem between the kitchen and bathroom. (I still need to paint the door and trim white)
I also painted the the old sink vanity. I used a brush technique to make it look aged/ worn. It turned out pretty nice. I still may go back and hit it with a little sandpaper to mimic worn areas due to constant use (corners and by the handles). The old hardware was rusty and a little gross but I just hit it with a wire brush to knock the worst of the rust, wiped it down and reinstalled. It goes with the whole aged patina thing.
Here's a helpful hint. When painting flat surface items and if there is a side edge which also requires painting, do NOT paint the edge when lying directly on newspaper. ASK ME HOW I KNOW THIS! I tried to move the cabinet doors after priming and the newspaper came with the doors. DOH! Once I scraped of the newspaper--which looked like a preschool art project--I placed the cabinets on bamboo skewers. That was kind of cool with the rolling action that went along with it, haha. I finally used another bamboo skewer stuck in the cabinet pull hole to hold it in place while painting and I didn't need to touch a wet edge. Ingenuity at it's finest.
I had a 1 yard remnant of fabric and sewed a new curtain panel. Surprisingly the colors are an exact match to my existing shower curtain. I fashioned the tie back from ribbon remnant. This swag also hides the notched out frame.
Overall I feel pretty pleased with the outcome. It freshened up the look of the room, at minimal cost
