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Determine your style. One way to do this is by drawing inspiration from your home's architectural design. Stay on budget by not making big structural changes. Work your design into your home's architectural style so it is cohesive throughout the house.
A Victorian house, for example, may have intricate woodwork such as crown moldings, chair rails, baseboards and window frames. Refinish the wood with a stain to make the wood grains more prominent.
Traditional style is what you see in homes with a more traditional architecture, such as the Georgian style. Traditional style combines formality with comfort.
Country style is more laid back, such as something you see in cottage and cabin homes. Country style is all about comfort.
Contemporary style is both modern and comfortable. The style uses sleek, clean lines. You can add splashes of colors and textures to your contemporary design to give it warmth and character. -
Update your bathroom by making small changes, but with a big impact. Change the plumbing fixtures, such as the faucets, shower heads and shower control knobs to give the bathroom a newer feel. Choose one type of metal finish to make them match. Change your light fixtures to have the same metal finish.
Choose a brass metal for Victorian style bathrooms, while for traditional style choose brush nickel. Choose copper finish for a country style bathroom, while for a contemporary style choose chrome. Buy fixtures inexpensively by going to architectural salvage yards.
Update cabinet fixtures with matching metal finish and style to match the plumbing and light fixtures. Frame your plain bathroom mirror inexpensively by using wood moldings cut to size.
Add color. A small can of paint can change the look of any room without the big expense. If you are on a very tight budget and cannot afford to change even the fixtures, sometimes new paint on the wall is all you need to make an old bathroom look new and fresh. Try some faux-painting techniques such as ragging, stippling, sponging and stenciling to give your wall more depth and character. Paint horizontal or vertical stripes in alternating colors that match. Use similar colors by using a darker tone as the main wall color and then using a lighter tone for the stripes. Try metallic colors for the stripes to make your room sparkle. -
Buy accessories at thrift shops or garage sales. Frame calendar pictures and then group them together by lining them up on the wall horizontally or vertically. Add framing mats to make them look expensive.
Hang towels and tie them up together with silk flowers, ribbons, raffia or tassels with colors that match your overall color scheme.
Place a small clear vase with cut flowers on top of the vanity. Put a medium to large potted plant on the floor at one corner to give it life.
