5 Great Ways To Refresh Your Bathroom On A Budget

Many times when homeowners want a new bathroom, their minds automatically default to hiring a general contractor to perform a complete bathroom remodel. This typically consists of fully gutting the bathroom down to the bare bones or “shell”, and building the bathroom back from scratch. While this is indeed a great way to provide for an astonishing makeover, it usually gets expensive. Not only are you paying for every piece of material needed to build an entire bathroom, you are also spending money on skilled labor and contractors. A city or county building or modification permit is often required for this type of work as utilities and sometimes structural modifications are necessary with a complete makeover.

Here, we will discuss 5 ways that you can surprisingly transform your bathroom, without the hassle of pulling permits and spending unnecessary amounts of money. These are all simple and affordable remodel “hacks” that will transform your space into a completely new, exciting, and refreshing bathroom for your home.

1. Hardware

Hardware, in this sense, refers to both cabinet hardware as well as towel hardware (hooks, rods, bars, hoops, etc.). Cabinet hardware is something that is usually subtle and minute, yet can drastically change the appearance of your cabinets. Depending on the age of your cabinets and current hardware, they may be at a point where they are worn, faded, scratched, or simply outdated. Many older styles of hardware are made of brass and can sometimes feature swirls or other accents that were in style many years ago. Nowadays, the “modern” look of cabinet hardware is usually made of a brushed nickel or chrome material. The modern cabinet hardware pulls and knobs are usually straighter lines and give off a more sleek and simple vibe. With regard to cabinets that utilize knobs instead of handles, the older ones are typically bronze or even a white marble. Again, this isn’t a bad style, just sort of outdated. Cabinet hardware can be super affordable and easily accessible, both online and in stores. For example, I buy all of my cabinet pulls from Amazon…that’s right, Amazon. Check out these modern cabinet handles that I use frequently on many of my new cabinet projects.

Towel storage hardware is similar to cabinet hardware. In fact, it is usually found that homeowners enjoy matching materials, colors, and styles of towel hardware to the cabinet hardware they chose. So, if you decide on brushed nickel cabinet handles, you may opt to use a brushed nickel towel bar or hook as well. This keeps everything visually satisfying and provide for a more uniform look in your bathroom.

2. Lighting

Lighting can be something that makes or breaks the appearance of any space, and a bathroom is no different. Lighting can be modified in many ways, both natural and artificial. Natural light can obviously only be accomplished if the existing bathroom features a window. This window can be utilized for natural light if found on the wall as a standard window, or in the ceiling as a skylight. In order to use light as a way to modify or makeover your space, you will, of course, need to change something. The ability to change natural light is limited, yet fully possible. One option is to add or remove window treatments. For example, if you current have no blinds, you could add blinds. If you currently have older blinds, considering removing them and adding a different color or shade of curtains. These curtains could be used half-open to allow for some light to shine through, yet not fully exposed. Consider half curtains, shades, shutters, blinds, or a combination of the aforementioned.

The other obvious option to adjust with lighting is artificial lighting. This is just a fancy way of saying “lights”. A newer light fixture with an updated modern design and/or bulb pattern can help in this regard. You can also consider bulbs with higher or lower wattages and colors. Whether you prefer bright white, warmer colors of white, or even other various colors of the spectrum, you can pretty much find a bulb for it these days. You could also upgrade your lights to LEDs to save on your energy or power bill. Combining both natural light and artificial light adjustments in your bathroom can completely change the look. This is especially true in secondary bathrooms as they are usually smaller rooms and can refract and reflect the light more intensely. Another element of a lighting adjustment to consider is a stand alone lamp. This would mainly apply to a master bathroom in a larger space that can accommodate a lamp. Lamps placed on a small table can also set the mood of your new bathroom space.

3. Paint

Paint is probably the most noticeable of all bathroom upgrades. A fresh coat of paint is fairly self explanatory, yet can truly help revitalize the interior of your bathroom. This is a fairly low cost investment as bathrooms are small and don’t require much paint. It’s also a rather easy task that doesn’t require a permit or highly expensive skilled labor. With any small room, bathrooms in particular, it is usually best to go with a lighter color or tone. This allows the room to feel much larger than a darker shade will. You could also consider multiple colors of paint within a single room. For example, maybe you decide to paint an accent wall a different color than the rest of the room. You could also paint door, window, or mirror casings a different color as well.

4. Mirrors

Mirrors are a way to add depth, and generally make your bathroom feel bigger. If you currently have a mirror, ensure it isn’t cracked or chipped around the edges or that the reflective film isn’t peeling or failing to adhere properly. One consideration for a newly refreshed space is to add a another, smaller mirror or series of small mirrors. You could also opt for a round or oval shaped mirror as opposed to a square or rectangle one. Changing the size or shape of your bathroom mirrors is a way to help enhance the new bathroom transformation.

5. Tubs & Showers

Tubs, or more popularly showers, are a large piece of any bathroom. They could be considered the centerpiece. After all, they are the large fixture that cannot be missed when you enter a bathroom. Since we are aiming to refinish a bathroom on a budget, we won’t discuss replacing tubs and showers. Instead, a more affordable option is to refinish them. If they are old and perhaps have discoloration or scratches, refinish the surfaces using DIY methods or paying a professional. Even though this is a budget-friendly bathroom makeover, spending money to hire one professional isn’t bad if it’s the only person you have to hire. If you’re willing to tackle the DIY challenge, go for it. It probably isn’t as difficult as you may think. If your tub or shower doesn’t need refinishing, consider enhancing them by adding tile above the shower itself. Many times, if tile showers do not run from floor to ceiling, the tile or fiberglass insert stops at a height just above the shower head. Specifically in a bathroom that has a fiberglass shower, tile could potentially look great above the shower in the space between the top of the shower and the ceiling. Since you’re probably not a master tile installer, consider the homeowner-grade or DIY peel-and-stick tile options. These are readily available and home center stores and are super easy to install. Best of all, they look fantastic.

While your bathroom may indeed need a full transformation makeover that involves a large budget, time, and sweat; it doesn’t always have to be. If your bathroom is in an overall functioning and appealing condition but you simply want a change or refresh, these are some options that you can potentially handle on your own or with little help, and at a very reasonable and affordable prices.