I hesitated on whether it was appropriate for me to blog about my recent bathroom remodel on a food blog BUT since it was a frugal remodel and well heck it's my blog I figured it would be okay. The problem is now I'm hooked. So I might just have to create another one of these...maybe "Gourmet Remodels for Less" or "Designer Looks for your Home for Less"?? (grin) will have to think about that one.
In the meantime you all get to see my frugal and dare I say dramatic bathroom re-do that I accomplished all by myself...okay so Lee picked the toilet up for me (I needed some brute strength)and Will "the tool-man" Taylor my oh so awesome neighbor came over and put a outlet box in my wall for my new vanity light. Other than that it was all me...and I am proud of myself! Is that wrong to be so proud? Well if it is I'll ask forgiveness next week cause this week I'm going to be proud.
So without further ado my bathroom remodel that spanned 5 weeks with a two week vacation in between.
Now you can never fully appreciate a remodel without before pictures. I want to apologize before you view the pictures about the poor lighting. This is a windowless bathroom at the end of a long dark upstairs hallway with no natural light. So the lighting is a little iffy..but I think you will still be able to see what a dramatic change this is.
Before-Looking from bathroom door towards tub
After -New vanity, new flooring, frame around mirror, new light fixture, board and batten on the walls...you get the idea
Before-Old worn, knob-less oak vanity
After-repainted vanity (Black Raisin by Valspar 1 qt $11.99 painted vanity and mirror frame) new brushed nickel knobs ($2.12 each)
Before-hideous mauve and white linoleum floor with oak baseboards and oak towel bar
After-new linoleum tiles, board and batten walls, brushed nickel towel bar (9.99 Home Goods ..hand towel holder and toilet paper holder $7.99 each) AND a drop-cloth curtain (yes you read that right..$7.99), new towels (clearance at TJ Maxx 3.50), paintings (clearance Home Goods set of two for $20.00)
Before-toilet area just kinda blah
After-board and batten walls and decor (Towel basket-clearance TJ Maxx, $4.99, cottage style tray clearance Kroger, $3.49, picture frame clearance Home Good $3.00 painted white, basket clearance Home Good $2.00, washcloths to match colors Homegood $4.99 for package, picture of that cute adorable little boy on the beach...free!)
So now that I've shared all the before and after pictures. I will show you some of the details and give you price breakdowns. I will admit the breakdowns are approximate as these are items I have collected over time but they should give you a fairly accurate picture of the cost of this bathroom remodel. Have I lost you all yet? Cause the best is yet to come...
So this is an up-close of the biggest change to the bathroom. My faux Board and Batten treatment. I still stand in there and can't believe I did this all by myself. It is very empowering as a woman to realize that I can operate tools with no help. Because we are not a very "handy dandy" household I was limited on what I had available to me. So after doing a lot of research online I settled on copying Sarah and Thrifty Decor Chick. She had done a board and batten treatment in her son's room and made it looks so easy! I encourage you to check out her site she is incredible! I want to be her when I grow up...or at least I want my house to be her house when it grows up...grin. She gives very detailed instructions on her board and batten post. So I won't recount every detail, but I will say this. You will definitely need to purchase one of these:
If you don't have access to a power miter-saw. It definitely would be easier with a power miter-saw... Christmas gift anyone? But these are so cheap. I think I spent $11 on the box and saw at Home Depot. Get yourself one, they are just so cool and handy.
I had removed the baseboards to install the tile, so after sanding, priming, and painting them I put them back with some (confession here Liquid Nails and a few well placed finishing nails..that I hand nailed..again no power tools here people). Then I just taped off about where I wanted the top rail to be. Primed and painted the walls below with semi-gloss paint ($8.00 for a quart), cut each wood strip to the right height (by hand)and primed and painted one coat on the wood strips. I went with a 12" spacing because 1-that is true board and batten spacing and 2-it looked right for my wall sizes. After attaching the wood strips to the wall again with some Liquid Nails and a few well placed finishing nails. I added a strip of the lattice around the top of the boards. I really wanted a little faux ledge. Again, I felt it made it look more like true board and batten. So I headed back to Home Depot to look for something that would mimic a ledge. I found this shoe molding for a little over $2.00 for 8 feet. It is the foaming kind but works great when your walls aren't exactly plumb...which believe me these walls were not. I like it because it will mold to the wall. This is where my mitering skills were put to the test because...
See those two little columns between the two rooms? Well I had to miter the ledge around all of those little corners at the top. I'm so glad I got the foam molding for this part because it was a test of brain power to figure out how to cut inside miter corners versus outside miter corners and because the foam molding is so cheap and easy to cut it wasn't too painful when I made a mistake...but I finally did it! Now before you apply your final 3-4 coats of semi gloss white paint. You will want to caulk all edges of your wood with paintable white caulk...Caulk will be your friend on this project...trust me.
Oh and while we're on this picture...check out the new flooring...approximately $50 at Lowe's. I decided to use a brick pattern for interest and I love the larger tiles with the thick "grout" line. It looks very "real" and feel's cool to the touch just like real tile...but for much cheaper. Boy this was a test of my measuring and cutting skills! I am so glad that I chose to take off the baseboards and it made it much easier to butt the tile right up to the wall. Gives you a little wiggle room on your cuts because you know the baseboards will cover up your cuts. Also you want to remove your toilet. Now don't gag when you take that baby off because let's face it toilets are just gross...especially ones that have been sitting there for 12 years. We went ahead and put a new fresh wax ring one. And now it's sitting pretty on my new flooring. Oh and I forgot one step in this whole process. Before I started any of these projects I applied a new coat of paint to the walls after pulling the baseboards. This allowed me to go all the way to the floor, I didn't worry about drips because the old flooring was still on and I painted the ceilings the same color to add height to the room. Easy peasy paint job...(total $17.00) And see that cute shower curtain puddled on the floor yes that is a canvas drop-cloth. Clipped and on a shower bar (shower bar purchased on clearance at Kroger $7.99)
My one other big project in this room besides the board and batten and the new flooring was making the frame for my mirror. I thought about removing the builder grade vanity mirror and buying a new one, but a large mirror for this space would have been pretty pricey. So for $16.00 worth of molding (I got real wood molding for this project) I was able to frame out the existing mirror. First I cut all of my moldings to size and then mitered the corners...boy this was a job because the molding is real wood and very thick. My arms got quite a workout with all of this sawing. I then painted the front and back of the wood (you always want to paint the back or else it will reflect the unfinished backside of the molding into your mirror and everyone will see it...it's just the nature of mirrors. After all the molding pieces were dry I started with the bottom piece and worked my way around to the top. I used a thin coat of Liquid Nails making sure not to get any near the mirror edge..again you will see it in the mirror if you do this. I held the pieces in place with painters tape for about an hour for each piece. Lay your top piece last so it can rest on the side pieces to help hold it in place...and there you have it a custom frame for your mirror for $16 or less!
Before I wrap up this post I will share a few more details of my bathroom
New little shelf (clearance TJ Maxx $2.50), Blue bucket ( free, had it laying around aged it with leftover vanity paint, added a little plant and shells I already had)
Mirror-free! I wanted a small mirror for the wall by the toilet. I didn't want to spend a lot. I remembered I had this gold mirror in my garage sale bucket that I had originally bought on clearance for $5 at HomeGoods like 4 years ago. I dug it out, painted two coats of the vanity paint on it. Painted two coats of the white semi-gloss paint from the board and batten. Sanded it slightly to get the brown to peek though and then touched all edges of the moldings with the brown paint. And there you have it a cottage shabby chic mirror and I didn't have to pay an extra dime!
Picture frame (clearance HomeGoods $5.00) Jars (small one Goodwill $1, Large one $5 Home Goods) Shells-free from lots of walks on the beach
I love these little metal beach signs I found. This one reminds me of my girl and her love of the beach. I just love the saying on it. The other one is above the doorway between the two "rooms" in the bathroom. (clearance $3.99 each HomeGoods) Picture frame (WalMart $5.00...pictures free from our trip to Bella Beach Oregon printed off in sepia)
New nickel light fixture...purchased for $50.00 Home Depot
Installed by my most awesome neighbor who had to cut a hole in the sheetrock and install a new outlet box because, before a hideous oak hollywood vanity light resided here. Which did not need an outlet box which totally surprised me when I removed it and found a big wire poking though a hole. Thank you Will for rescuing me from that hideous light and helping me to avoid calling an electrician. You helped me keep my bathroom remodel frugal and on top of that you are the best neighbor ever.
My favorite sign...It sums up my bathroom in a nutshell. Love the sign, love the colors, love the word. (Full cost $9.99 HomeGoods)
Thank you for visiting my remodeled bathroom with me. I have estimated the total cost of my remodel to be under $250.00. This includes paint, flooring, board and batten, light fixtures, towel and toilet paper accessories and all decor. It was a lot of work but it was rewarding and fun. I just love my new bathroom. I find myself wandering in there to just look at it. It feels so calming and vintage cottage beachy which is what I was wanting. I am no inspired to continue on with other areas of the house, so I will be posting my remodels as I complete them. I'm thinking traditional wainscoting and crown molding is up next for my dining room and entryway downstairs or more board and batten for my mudroom...we shall see. In the meantime I will be enjoying my new guest bathroom.
I hope you are inspired to try out some of these projects in your home. Let me know if you do!
Enjoy!
