Bathroom Make-Over (on a shoestring budget)

I cannot tell you how excited I am to share with you this little make-over project my husband and I took on last week.

First, let me tell you our house is old...not old meaning 50 years...more like OLD meaning closer to 100 years.  Let's put it this way, when we had our kitchen remodeled about 9 years ago we uncovered a gas line in the ceiling that was used for light at one time.  Yeah, that kind of old.

Needless to say, we have to choose our remodeling projects very carefully because when we decide to rip a room apart it uncovers all kinds of other wonderful projects that often double or triple our initial budget.  Ugh.

But I sooooo wanted to remodel our bathroom...you see, it's got these "wonderful" paneled tiles on the wall...yeah...paneled (and painted)...oh, and bumpy plaster walls!  The paint colors were chosen years ago with whatever paint was left over in the basement.  Kind of dreary and not really coordinated.  Not quite my style.

I wish I had a better before picture, but the photos were an afterthought!

I've patiently waited for the day we would get to remodel.  Unfortunately this year was not going to be the year - we're headed off to Disney instead...and next year we'd like to put in a patio...so it looks like my dream bathroom is still a few years off, so when my hubby suggested we re-paint I jumped at the opportunity for the small change.  Little did I realize how much a simple coat of paint can change things.

Ready for the transformation?  

THIS is the same wall as above.  HOLY COW!  The white brightened up the room (ok, it still has painted tile paneling, but it looks oh so much better) and we went with a grey (with a greenish tinge) up top which modernized the room a bit.

I made myself some lined valences in a spicy reddish orange to bring some color into the room.
By the way if you like these, they are super simple - get my TUTORIAL HERE.

I picked up a 2x3' carpet at Costco for a mere $14.99.

And I decorated the walls to add some homeyness.  I found this cute box at Home Goods which wasn't really meant for hanging - I just added hooks to the back.  I filled it with items I had lying around the house and added some cute silver ornaments I found.

The botanical photos in the first picture are photos that I took myself.  The frames were re-used from the cheapo "Target" artwork that was in the bathroom prior to the make-over.

And here is a picture of the finished bathroom!

Total cost: $68.00

Paint:  $25.00
Fabric for Curtain:  $8.00
Rug:  $15.00
Box & Ornaments for wall:  $20.00
Pictures:  $0  (I took/had the photos and re-used the frames)

The make-over took us approximately 5-7 hours - most of the time spent priming and painting.

While this may not be my ultimate dream bathroom, it certainly has made a drastic difference.  I actually "like" my bathroom!