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Blush and Marble, Vintage Inspired Budget Bathroom Remodel

DIY projects· Home Decor

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This post may contain affiliate links from which I will earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

I’m so excited to share today’s bathroom makeover with you. I’ve been dreaming of improving this space for a very long time and kept waiting for a time when I could gut the space. Rip out the tub and put in a walk-in shower, replace the tile with one of the beautiful black and white patterned tiles I love so much and get a gorgeous vanity with all kinds of useful storage solutions topped by stunning lighting. Yeah, for so many reasons I realized that wasn’t going to happen. I didn’t have the budget or energy to deal with such a makeover.

After our sad saga with Anthony the cat and me spending weeks or I should say months in there together, this bathroom just made me sad. I felt like it needed a fresh start without costing me a ton of money. The thought of just working with what I had kept growing stronger and stronger in my mind. Why should this space make me so sad?  I didn’t have to live with it in the current state until I finally had the budget to make it a dream space because that day might never come.

Here is a photo of the bathroom right after I applied the stickers (see post HERE) and painted it black because my daughter wanted it black. I love black walls but I realized that they weren’t for me in a bathroom. You could see all the water stains, toothpaste splashes, cat hair, and dust. It looked disgusting after a while.

 

black bathroom with graphic patterned tile before budget bathroom remodel

image via Alison Conklin Photography

I had taken pictures of the disaster but can’t seem to find them but what I do have is a glimpse of it in my recent “real life home tour” video which I linked to below. Just drag the slider to the 6:29 mark to see the bathroom mess.

My Budget Bathroom Remodel

Working with what you already have

I thought to myself that the 20-year-old ceramic checkerboard tile isn’t awful, the vanity could be made over just like my powder room cabinet  (HERE) downstairs and my kitchen cabinets (HERE) and I could add some cheerful accents. So why not just give it a little facelift that makes me happy when I look at it? Mostly working with what you already have in place is always a good thing unless you have the money to do something bigger and most people don’t.

When the tile was installed about 20 years ago by my husband’s uncle, I had originally wanted them installed on a diagonal. I like that look so much better! But, guess what? He didn’t feel like it and it was too late when I came to inspect to change it since they were cemented down already. I was super aggravated and still think of that when I look at the tile. To this day we still have a ton of boxes left that would have been needed for a diagonal installation.

This is what I already had for the bathroom:

  • the tile
  • tub
  • vanity
  • cabinet hardware
  • faucet (HERE)
  • mirror (free Craigslist find)
  • bust of a girl (from Germany)
  • window shade
  • elephant plant stand (HERE)

 

Here is what I bought new for the space:

  • shower curtain (HERE)
  • vanity light (HERE or HERE which I spray painted gold)
  • vanity top (HERE)
  • paint (Strawberry Malt by Valspar)
  • trim and molding
  • curtain for litterbox closet (HERE)
  • flower pots (HERE)
  • gold tray (HERE)
  • towels (HERE)
  • towel and toilet paper holder – (HERE and HERE)
  • salt lamp night light (HERE)
  • 2 tubes of paintable caulk (HERE)
  • new Bluetooth speaker bathroom fan (HERE)
  • bath rug for $9 from Ross
  • grout renew but I haven’t even used that yet (HERE)
  • faux plants (see my faux plant guide HERE)

To some this all might still be a lot of money spent, I know, but if you compare it to what a total bathroom remodel would cost, then it isn’t all that much. The fact that I was able to reuse the vanity base, mirror, tub, and tile saved a lot of money. And I also did most of the work myself like adding the molding, new lighting, painting and installing the sink.

When I chose a wall color for the bathroom my daughter kept insisting that I’d pick a lime green from the shower curtains and if you watched the video above then you saw that I considered and actually added some samples to the wall but ultimately I didn’t like it.

lemon shower curtain in budget bathroom remodel

I also had bought a sample that matched the flower in the curtain. My daughter kept calling it an “ugly pink” but as you can see below it’s actually a true shade of light tan like the tile.  I put pinks next to it so you could see the difference. Strawberry Malt by Valspar is a winner and I’m so so happy that I didn’t listen to my daughter. She actually likes it now too.

I mostly let the tiles guide the direction of the colors so they would look like they were intentional which I guess is the biggest tip when trying to work with what you have. In a bathroom the tile is usually the biggest thing to look at when incorporating design.

paint color for budget bathroom remodel

 

Wall Trim and Molding to add details and interest

Feet for the old vanity with base molding

I decided to build feet for our builder grade vanity like I did for the powder room vanity (HERE) but this time I didn’t want the entire kick plate to be gone. Unlike the powder room vanity, I had room to make it look like feet.

building feet for existing vanity in budget bathroom remodel

I also used my favorite new clamps for the edges (HERE) that I mentioned in my moulding post two weeks ago. They are so so handy. And speaking of handy, I couldn’t have done the bathroom without my new brad nailer (HERE). I love that thing so much.

mitering corners for feet in budget bathroom remodel

finished feet in budget bathroom remodel

coped corners for vanity feet in budget bathroom remodel

(Eeeeew look how disgusting the grout was above before I scrubbed it with an old toothbrush and bleach pen!)

 

Here you can see the fake feet and kick plate:

finished vanity feet

 

Monochromatic Fresh Coat of paint

I knew pretty early on that I wanted to go monochromatic and paint the entire room , moulding and vanity the same color to make it look less busy and also larger. I also think mit adds a touch of sofistication to this somewhat whimsical space.

I pretty much painted the vanity the same way as I did my kitchen and powder room vanity but this time I opted to also spray the body of it and not just the doors by taping and covering everything else. Click HERE to see my cabinet painting post.

taping off vanity in room for budget bathroom remodel

I used my favorite spray primer (HERE) and paint sprayer (HERE).

spray painting vanity in room for budget bathroom remodel

painted base of old vanity in budget bathroom remodel

 

Adding Decorative Wall Moulding in Bathroom Instead of Wall Tile

Lastly, I added the decorative moulding to the walls and you can see my video and blog post about that by clicking HERE. It was the exact same process. I opted for not adding the moulidng to the top of the shower sides because there is always so much soap scum and it would make everything so much harder to wipe.

I also added crown molding to this room and used the mouldings that are made for bathrooms. I don’t have a tutorial for that however because there are so so many good ones on YouTube already. Let me tell you though and I’m not going to sugar coat it… installing crown molding is a pain in the rear. It’s not that easy but it definitely adds something really special to any space. I just love it so much.

I totally could have left the old sink in place and it would have looked great (see photo below) but I love marble so much and the price and fit of the new one (HERE) were so great. The marble also breaks up the paint color a little bit since the existing sink was almost the same tone as the paint color.

old vanity top of existing vanity

Another star of the bathroom is the new fan in the ceiling! We had an ugly yellowish and loud fan before. This one is a fan with a Bluetooth speaker inside. So my kids can shower and listen to music. That’s pretty much the only thing my son cares about. He could care less about what the bathroom looks like.

I had to use a ceiling medallion to cover the slightly larger cut out of the old fan. And I’m really glad I decided to hire an electrician to do that job for me because I couldn’t have done it myself, especially after discovering that my husband had crushed the venting pipes in the attic with junk that he dumped on top of it.

finished view of blush and marble budget bathroom remodel with new fan

Let’s get to some more pretty pictures…

side view of blush and marble budget bathroom remodel

I love that I decided to have everything one color and I think Willy agrees. He is as always the best accessory in the room. I think he noticed that I didn’t have enough black and white in the room yet.

front view of blush-pink budget bathroom remodel with wall trim

And in case you are wondering about the toilet paper holder, well, it didn’t arrive yet but will be from the same line as the towel holder (HERE and HERE)

view from the shower curtains into blush budget bathroom remodel

If you missed my post about all my new faux plants, then you can click HERE to read all about them. The faux caladium (HERE) is definitely one of my favorites. And it just so happens that the bath towel (HERE) were the perfect color match and they are so soft too.

taking a bath in new budget bathroom remodel

My handsome little man thinks the towels are soft too.

black cat in blush bathroom

Most of you probably don’t know that we keep a litter box in the closet right next to the tub. It used to have a door on it that I took off a long time ago because it was difficult to open with the bathroom door being in the way. I so wish we had pocket doors to the bathrooms but that is definitely an expense I can’t justify at this point.
So I added a curtain instead to hide the box and supplies stashed in the closet. This curtain HERE was the perfect match and only $20.

blush towels and curtains in blush budget bathroom remodel

shower curtains with lemons in blush budget bathroom remodel

blush budget bathroom remodel with modern accents

brass faucet in blush budget bathroom remodel

Modern Wall Planters

Since this is all a very traditional and vintage-inspired makeover, I wanted to add something modern and fun which I found in the below planters (HERE). I bought two small and one large one. The stems in the large one are from Target a while ago and the two plants in the smaller ones are this one HERE and HERE. I ripped the hanging plant out of its pot so I could add it to the white planter. The pot it came with was a perfect color match to the wall but so tiny and I didn’t want to hang it. And the pot, unfortunately, didn’t fit inside the white pot.

hanging wall planters with faux plants in blush budget bathroom remodel

vintage checkerboard tile in blush budget bathroom remodel

beautiful shade of blush in vintage inspired budget bathroom remodel

three modern wall planters in budget bathroom remodel

 

Greek bust in budget bathroom remodel

beautiful and affordable budget bathroom remodel

 

faux variegated houseplant in budget bathroom remodel

wall planters above toilet in budget bathroom remodel

tone on tone budget bathroom remodel

beautiful affordable marble vanity top for budget bathroom remodel

Below you can find some more bathroom projects:

DIY towel holder

DIY hand towel ring

Revamped Ikea toiletpaper holder - Cuckoo4Design

Ikea toilet paper holder makeover

DIY Fabric Painted Gold Polka Dot Towel

DIY Painted Gold Polka Dot Towel

bathroom cabinet kick plate makeover

Bathroom Cabinet Kick Plate Makeover

How to make crystal vanity light shades from a spout cover

How to make crystal vanity light shades from a spout cover

Delta Faucet 574T-CS-DST Zura Single Handle Centerset Bathroom Faucet with Touch2O.xt Technology @deltafaucet

installing a Delta Touch faucet on an Ikea floating vanity

custom black and gold vanity light

My new custom black and gold vanity light

stylish black and white powder room

Little black squares stencil wall

black and white budget bathroom makeover

Bathroom update

black, white and gold powder room with sharpie stenciled walls

The new gold arched mirror is here

How to update plain checkerboard floor - Cuckoo4Design

Updating my plain tan checkerboard floor

Our bathroom makeover with black and white peel and stick floor tile

Our bathroom makeover with black and white peel and stick floor tile

My honest review of cheap peel and stick floor tile

My honest review of cheap peel and stick floor tile

 

My daughter wanted a bathroom that reminded her of a castle in Germany and I think I somewhat accomplished that without being too over the top, don’t you think so?

We are all very happy with it and the bathroom is no longer a space that makes me sad.
I asked yesterday on Facebook and Instagram what I should name this blog post and someone said ” When life gives you lemons make Strawberry Malt” hehehe, I love that and it’s so fitting.

Tschüß,

Previous Post: « How to choose artificial house plants
Next Post: Why I chose Karndean vinyl wood plank flooring »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. N says

    April 10, 2019 at 5:58 am

    Lovely shade of pink. Feminine without being syrupy sweet. Great remodel!

    • Julia says

      April 10, 2019 at 6:46 am

      Thank you so much!

  2. Elan says

    April 10, 2019 at 6:42 am

    So pretty! I love the hanging wall plants.

    • Julia says

      April 10, 2019 at 6:47 am

      Thanks! I’m in love with them too. I had to have them!

  3. Amy Hogg says

    April 10, 2019 at 6:54 am

    Great job! I love that you were able to make the old floor tile look intentional. The wall color is beautiful and the new marble top sink works really well with it.

    • Julia says

      April 13, 2019 at 12:34 pm

      Thank you Amy! The number one thing I wanted to do is make the old tile look like it was intentional. I’m glad that I accomplished that.

  4. Marty says

    April 10, 2019 at 7:26 am

    Wow, what a difference. It looks amazing. I love how you add all the molding, so pretty

    • Julia says

      April 13, 2019 at 12:34 pm

      Thanks Marty, I’m addicted to moulding now 😉

  5. Linda says

    April 10, 2019 at 7:40 am

    Love it, looks like an entirely new room and on a budget.

    • Julia says

      April 13, 2019 at 12:35 pm

      Thanks Linda!

  6. Stephanie @ Casa Watkins Living says

    April 10, 2019 at 8:28 am

    Julia it’s perfection!!!!! I’m loving this shade of paint so much! The monochromatic design with the trim, moulding, and even the mirror works so spectacularly! Well done and awesome job.

    • Julia says

      April 13, 2019 at 12:36 pm

      Thank you Stephanie! I’m already thinking about adding more moulding in the house. Maybe ceiling moulding.

  7. cassie bustamante says

    April 10, 2019 at 9:02 am

    this is freaking INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!! you outdid yourself!

    • Julia says

      April 13, 2019 at 12:39 pm

      Ha! Thanks Cassie

  8. donna says

    April 10, 2019 at 9:02 am

    That makeover is one of the best I’ve ever seen! You are so talented and so lucky to be able to do this work yourself. Any kind of renovations cost a small fortune and trying to find someone competent to do the work right is very hard. Now your bathroom is bright and cheerful. The best accessories in there are the kitties though!

    • Julia says

      April 13, 2019 at 12:41 pm

      Wow Donna and this is the nicest compliment I have ever received. Thank you so much! And I agree they are definitely the best accessories.

  9. Renee says

    April 10, 2019 at 9:22 am

    First….I would have killed the Uncle. It’s one of those things….if he wasn’t going to do what you wanted, you probably would have paid someone to do the tile versus what you would up with.

    I need to paint my bathroom too, it’s currently blue with a brown painted vanity. (It was in style 10 years ago.). My friend said I should paint the walls, vanity and trim all one color and I just couldn’t see it….now I can.

    Unfortunately, I installed a tile floor when I moved in and I PICKED IT OUT….I created a ‘rug’ with a tile border and now I wish I would have gone with a plain floor. I need to go get a paint deck to match to the right color paint. It’s beige tones with a white geometric border. My tile is white, but it’s cracked in places and not in great shape, I have to live with it, or at least the countertop for a while longer.

    • Julia says

      April 13, 2019 at 12:42 pm

      Ugh Renee! It makes me so mad to just think about it. I’m glad you can envision the monochromatic look now. Have a great weekend.

  10. Colleen says

    April 10, 2019 at 11:32 am

    It looks beautiful! Well done!

    • Julia says

      April 13, 2019 at 12:45 pm

      Thank you Colleen

  11. carol says

    April 10, 2019 at 11:50 am

    You are so gutsy…..from black walls (yikes) to pink….it looks unbelievably great.
    The floor…OMG!! It looks custom.
    The cat IS an integral part of the whole room.

    • Julia says

      April 13, 2019 at 12:46 pm

      Thank you so much, Carol! Haha the black walls! Love my cat accessories

  12. Alisa B Smith says

    April 10, 2019 at 12:06 pm

    WOW! Amazing. Thank you for sharing!

    • Julia says

      April 13, 2019 at 12:48 pm

      Thank you Alisa!

  13. Michelle says

    April 10, 2019 at 12:49 pm

    It looks fantastic. I LOVE the plants. That’s something I should add to my bath. Great job with everything

    • Julia says

      April 13, 2019 at 12:49 pm

      The planters and plants are perfect for any bathroom. So much better than art because of the humidity always ruining everything

  14. Debra says

    April 10, 2019 at 2:25 pm

    I love this bathroom! Love all your work. We have similar styles. I’m bad about commenting, but always read your posts!

    • Julia says

      April 13, 2019 at 12:49 pm

      Well thanks so much for always reading Debra and for your comment. I really appreciate it

  15. Ale says

    April 10, 2019 at 2:44 pm

    Really amazing work! I love the wall treatment. I love the wall plants. I love that everything has the same color, which gives the chance to the depth of the 3-D shapes to shine through (i.e., mirror, vanity, even the decor pieces). The shower curtain is just the right pop of color to tie it all together and bring it to life. Even the cat-model seems perfectly designed to the space. 🙂

    • Julia says

      April 13, 2019 at 12:50 pm

      Thanks Ale. Willy looks perfect in any space, right?

  16. Jen Biggs says

    April 10, 2019 at 3:16 pm

    Great job as usual, Julia!!!!

    • Julia says

      April 13, 2019 at 12:52 pm

      Thanks so much Jen!

  17. Tammara says

    April 10, 2019 at 6:26 pm

    Love it!! I was impressed and surprised that the prior tile held up so well. Anyhow, love the new look.

    PS – could not view or find the video

    • Julia says

      April 13, 2019 at 12:53 pm

      Thanks Tammara. They are chipped here and there but nothing awful, so yes they held up great over 20 years.

  18. Alison says

    April 11, 2019 at 4:18 am

    What a beautiful job you did, Julia. I shudder to think what my results would look like if I ever attempted to do a makeover on our bathroom! You’re so talented! And I really appreciate your honesty about being on a budget – that’s the reality for most people, and I see so many bloggers who “seem” to have unlimited funds for such things, although I find that hard to believe. Naturally, I love the cat accessories. 🙂

    • Julia says

      April 13, 2019 at 12:55 pm

      Yes, I get baffled by how some people look like they have unlimited funds too. We certainly do not! And thank you so much

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Cuckoo4Design


I’m a German citizen living in the US who is cuckoo for all things DIY, design and pets. This is my design journey of our small home on a budget. Come stay a while and look around.

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