Think you need lots of demos and a home loan to give your bathroom a whole new look? Think again! We’ve come up with a handful of quick, inexpensive ways to make any bath look and feel like new. All you need is a little inspiration, a couple of coats of paint, and two able and willing hands.
Clean it up
Start by cleaning out whatever gunk the former residents left behind or that’s just been building up over your years of living there. This includes any discolored or damaged tile, grout, or fixtures in and around your bathtub.
Give your tub’s tile a good scrub down by using a steamer. Not only is this a safe, all-natural approach to cleaning, but many steamers come with a sprayer nozzle that can direct concentrated bursts of steam into tight places. If you do decide to use a cleaner or solvent, make sure it’s the right cleaner for your type of tub.
If you’ve got tub caulking that’s cracking or changing color, consider scraping it off and re-sealing it with new caulk. You’ll simply want to scrape away the old caulk with a multi-purpose tool, seal it back up with a thin line of new caulk, and wipe away any excess. Let it sit for 24 hours before using the shower again. It sounds time-consuming, but this is an inexpensive way to get your tub looking new again.
For those icky water stains that collect under and around the faucet, try a pumice stone. Yep, that same rough stone you use on your heels can work wonders scraping off all that rust! You won’t want to use it on a fiberglass tub, but it will work wonders on tub enamel without scratching it.
Change it up
Just like giving your bath a good scrub down, changing out the room’s hardware and fixtures can make for a quick update at a fraction of the cost.
Mismatched tub and sink fixtures are often a common problem. You can fix this by simply choosing a style of fixture you like and swapping out the old for the new. Change up outdated-looking gold tones for today’s more popular brushed nickel or hammered bronze. If you’re in the market to sell your home, potential buyers won’t overlook these key touches.
Once you find a fixture you love, don’t forget to get towel bars, toilet roll holders, and maybe even a shower head to match.
Mirror, mirror on the wall
A new lighting fixture and mirror can also work magic on a dated-looking bath.
Try a medicine cabinet with a mirror built into wood tones that compliment your flooring and vanity. Or be a little bold and swap the whole thing out for a funky mirror you found at a consignment shop.
For lighting, the possibilities are endless. You can go with sconces that give the room an old-fashioned feel, or install track lighting for a more modern look. Feel free to shop to your heart’s content, but keep in mind that you’ll want enough light to see what you’re doing. Also, if you choose a fixture that will sit above your mirror or vanity, measure it to make sure it will fit between the mirror and ceiling.
Choose a Theme
Finally, since a bathroom is a relatively small space, it’s a great excuse to play with a style or theme that you wouldn’t want to devote an entire room to. Plus, it’s great fun.
Sports fans can let their guests know just who roots for the home team by incorporating paint colors, rugs, and wall hangings from their team’s colors into the room. This is also a great way for fans with lots of memorabilia or mementos from their college days to frame and display what they’ve got. Imagine swapping out your bath mat for this fun Penn State rug.
Simply finish out the room with some blue and white paint and you’ve got a bathroom any Nittany Lion would be happy to call home!
If you’re a single girl living alone, see this as your chance to have the girly bathroom of your dreams. Go for old Hollywood glamor with shiny platinum fixtures, a sexy red shower curtain, and framed prints of classic starlets on the walls for glamorous inspiration.
For a more sophisticated look, think about using geometric patterns in deep, subtle hues or even an art deco look. These are just a few of the hundreds of theme ideas you could come up with to take you’re your bath out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary.