Revitalizing Your Home : How to Update Your Bathroom Without Breaking the Bank

There is a time and a place for everything, but renovating your bathroom tends to break that rule. Let’s face it, if your toilet or shower breaks, there is very little you can do other than jump on fixing the problem rather immediately. And as things are, sometimes a minor defect in our bathroom can prompt us to do a more significant intervention – because let’s face it, why fix only one thing, when you can fix more things at the same time?

However, that’s where pricing and budgeting concerns come into play. And you’re sitting there thinking, should I rehaul the entire bathroom, or just update some things? If so, you’ve come to the right place – let’s discuss the best way to do a bathroom renovation without breaking the bank.

Paint the Tiles And Go For a Vinyl Floor

So how to give your bathroom a completely new look without replacing everything?

Well, here’s a simple trick: start from the largest, most visible things first. Which means the flooring and the walls of your bathroom. These can both be repainted or just refreshed quite affordably. 

For example, you can either repaint or replace your tiles, which doesn’t cost too much nowadays (or rather, there are plenty of good-looking but also affordable options). A trip to the nearest home improvement store can also give you lots of inspiration and ideas to try. If your bathroom had been, say, greenish in hue, why not add pink details or yellow ones? If your bathroom has walls without tiles, on the other hand, a bucket of paint will do the job. For those of you who feel more creative, you can even try painting a mural or patterns on some of the walls and turn your bathroom into a very ‘Instagrammable’ work of art. 

But what about the floor? Well, you have plenty of affordable options in this regard too. If your bathroom floor has tiles that are in good condition, arranging a pressure wash will make them look brand new and squeaky clean. But if your budget allows for it, our recommendation is to go for a vinyl floor. 

Vinyl flooring is one of the most popular options for bathrooms due to being highly water-resistant. This makes it an excellent choice for high-moisture environments like bathrooms and even kitchens. As an additional plus, vinyl is also relatively low-cost and easy to install, which makes it an attractive budget-friendly option for those looking to update their bathroom flooring. Last but not least, vinyl is soft and comfortable underfoot, easy to clean, and a quite durable material requiring very little maintenance.  

Replace Mirrors and Old Faucets

We continue focusing on the items that are next in size and visibility. So the next things you could replace in your bathroom without breaking the bank would be your mirrors, faucets, and shower curtains. 

Depending on how dated your bathroom mirrors are, you have several options. You can either clean the mirror thoroughly or perhaps repaint the cabinet that tends to come along with it. But mirrors are usually not very costly to replace, so why not replace the whole thing? For smaller bathrooms, large, frameless mirrors will help to create the illusion of more space. If your bathroom is spacier, then adding a mirror with an artful, elaborate frame can contribute to an air of soothing mystery.

Next up, your faucet and/or sink. Depending on your current situation, you might just want to replace the faucet. Is it rusty? Is it fully functional, or is it producing weird and uncomfortable noises, like grinding or squeaking sounds? If so, your faucet is due for replacement. And lucky for you, most new faucets are quite stylish looking but also affordable. Make sure to go with a faucet that will complement the overall style of your bathroom.

Replacing your old shower curtain can also breathe new life into your space. Updating your shower screen may also add safety: old screens tended to use float glass which shatters into many small, sharp glass shards, while most new shower screens are made of tempered, or safety glass, which isn’t as dangerous when damaged.

Declutter and Add Some Shelving

Next, cabinets and cupboards! Or the lack of them. 

We all have a bunch of things stashed around our bathrooms for potential use, sometime in the future. Yet this need never seems to materialize, for years on end… So, step number one: declutter your bathroom.

Throw out everything that you haven’t used in the past year because chances are you won’t be using it anytime soon, or before their expiration date runs out. 

Next, reorder and reorganize the remaining, truly useful items in your remaining space. If there is more stuff than you can fit comfortably in your current space, consider adding some wall shelves, freestanding storage cupboards, or even a new cabinet or two. Replacing your waste bins and laundry hampers is also recommended – the brand-new, shiny items will breathe new life into your bathroom!

Add Plants and Accessories

Finally, it’s time for a little bit of tasteful decoration. Why not add a trinket here, an accessory there, or even a plant or two – or fifteen?

If you have the room, why not add some plants to give the space an air of welcoming nature? That being said, not all plants do well in the usually cold, humid, or sometimes very warm environment of the average bathroom. To make it easier for you, here’s a handy list of some of the most bathroom-friendly plants:

• Aloe plant
• Snake plant
• Alocasia
• Air plants
• Elkhorn fern
• Staghorn fern
• Bird’s nest fern
• Kentia palm

And many more. If you’re not sure about a particular plant, just visit the local florist and ask them about plants that are suitable for the bathroom environment. They will give you many good recommendations

Finally, decorate! Treat yourself to a new toothbrush or an accessories holder, new soap dispensers, new towel racks, new tumblers, and so on. Every little detail counts, and you can even enhance your bathroom’s new look by adding new hand towels, shower towels, and vibrant new floor mats. Your imagination is the limit, so feel free to experiment and re-introduce some beauty to the most private area of your home – the bathroom.