Tips to refresh your bathroom on a budget

Stephen and I love our home and creating a space that is unique to us and our needs as a family. One of the projects that we wanted to tackle after living in our home for a few months, was our guest bathroom. The guest bathroom was already in pretty decent condition, but I just wanted to jazz it up a bit. This is usually one of the spaces that guests see the most when visiting our home.

I would probably define my design style as cozy modern. I absolutely love clean straight lines with beautiful minimal details. I love the simplicity of a really good design that's not over-designed. Mixing neutrals and adding a few pops of color with greenery or artwork to add character and personality.

Our main goal for this guest bathroom refresh, was to make small updates without spending a significant amount of money, and create something that is more our style.

Here are some ways that you can refresh your bathroom without breaking the bank:

The previous owner of our home basically slapped grey paint on just about every surface of the house. Don't get me wrong, grey is a great color just not in every space. We knew we wanted to change the vanity color and paint the entire room.

1 - Updating the paint color is a pretty inexpensive way to easily change the overall look of the room. We swapped out the grey cool color vanity for a nice crisp black and new cabinet knobs. Which made a huge difference! We chose a creamy white color for the walls which also brightened up the room.

I wanted to create a "statement moment" in our guest bath and I thought adding board and batten would be a great way to add more character. Which leads to my second point...

2 - Add trim or decorative wall treatment like board and batten adds interest, movement, and character to a space. We used 4 x 1 pine pre-primed planks to create this look. Our first step was to measure out the space and determine exactly how many planks we would need. Once everything was measured we took a quick trip to our local hardware store to get the planks, nails, and caulk. Adding caulk to the seams helps give the finished project a more continuous look.

3 - Changing the lighting also helps create a more cohesive look. We changed the dated round bulb fixture over the vanity to something more modern and also changed the overhead boob light to a flush mount LED fixture.

The original mirror that was in our bathroom was rectangular and held on the wall with plastic caps in all four corners. Honestly this was probably my least favorite thing about the room so I was very excited to change that mirror with something more sleek and round.

4- Lastly, probably the easiest change that made the most impact would be, changing all the fixtures and finishes to matte black which brings the whole design together. Which includes; the towel holder, shower curtain rod, toilet paper holder, faucet, door knob and door hinges. It looks so cohesive to have everything match compared to different finishes on the door knob, hinges, and faucet.

I'm so happy with how this bathroom came together, also thankful for Stephen and his handiwork! I have all these ideas for how I want something to come together but not all the skills to execute those, so definitely glad he's able to figure it out.

Once I find the right pieces, I'm planning on adding some artwork and more decor items as well. It's crazy how drastically different a space can look with a few small changes. Take a look at the before and after pictures of this guest bathroom below.

I hope this inspires you to create a space in your home that reflects your style as well! :)

Thanks for following along,