DIY Bathroom on a Budget
Home renovations never come cheap, but there are simple ways to lower your costs. The best way to save money on a renovation project in a bathroom is to take plenty of time picking out a design to be sure you get the best deal. If you are in too much of a hurry you may end up spending more on something you could have found cheaper somewhere else. There are also plenty of simple tricks you can use to save money and still have your bathroom turn out looking great. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Home renovation magazines (optional)
- Online or in-store tutorials
- Discount furniture and fixtures
- Wall-mount shelves
- Door-hanging storage units
- Old ladder
- Primer
- Ruler and stencil
- Polyurethane
- Fabric
- Personal photos or magazine cut-outs
- Paint or wallpaper
- Decorative trim or molding
Instructions
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Review home renovation magazines, tour showrooms and visit the homes of friends to get an idea about what features you want to have in your new bathroom. Once a picture starts to form in your head, make a list of all the must-haves for your bathroom and stick to it. You will save a great deal of money by avoiding impulse spending.
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Do as much of the work on your own as you can to save money on labor. Many large home improvement stores offer free tutorials in stores or online to teach homeowners how to do things like lay tile, rewire electrical connections and install lighting. Before you hire someone to take on the project, consider which components you can do yourself and which you might enlist the help of DIY-savvy friends.
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Browse the classifieds in your local paper or visit garage sales and thrift stores to find discount furniture and fixtures for your new bathroom. You may be able to find a like-new vanity or sink for a fraction of what a custom item costs. Even if the sink itself is unusable, you may be able to find a vintage faucet worth salvaging.
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Refinish your existing cabinetry to save yourself the cost of new or custom cabinets. You may also consider non-traditional storage alternatives like wall-mounted shelves, collapsible units that hang on the back of the door or even an old ladder re-purposed as a towel rack.
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Paint your existing vinyl flooring rather than ripping it up and installing expensive tile or hardwood. Apply a coat of primer then use a stencil or ruler to apply a tile-like pattern or a decorative border. After painting, apply a minimum of four coats of polyurethane to protect your hard work from peeling and water damage.
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Sew your own window treatments and shower curtain. Purchase the patterns at your local craft store when they go on sale and pick out the fabric yourself. Constructing a shower curtain is as easy as hemming a fabric panel and creating a sleeve for the shower rod.
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Select personal photos or magazine cut-outs in place of expensive artwork to hang on the walls. Home and garden magazines are full of nature photos which, when framed, look just as good as a custom print or painting.
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Add a fresh coat of paint or new wallpaper to the walls for an updated look. Get creative by installing a border of decorative trim or molding around the room about halfway up the wall. Apply an elegant wallpaper below the trim and paint the walls above it in a complementary, neutral shade.
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References
- Photo Credit Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images
