Our Small Bathroom Makeover, on a budget, all started with a crack in the bathtub… We needed a new tub. My Pinterest dreams, of a freestanding tub, and new shower, and new tile, started wildly dancing in my head…

The dancing daydreams came to an abrupt halt after we got a few quotes from contractors for our bathroom remodel. Whoa! The quotes started at $15,000- and that is for our very small bathroom. After digesting that, we sprinted the other direction, down the DIY path to our Light & Bright Bathroom visions.

I will detail the projects & cost of our small bathroom makeover in 3 sections:

The Bathtub DIY
Vanity DIY
Shower DIY

And then, after doing a drastic small bathroom makeover ourselves, while on a budget- I’ve got a couple insights to share:

Tips on How You Can Do a Small Bathroom Makeover on a Budget
How to Do a Small Bathroom Makeover Yourself

Small Bathroom Makeover Cost

Our DIY bathroom remodel was less than $500 Total. That is $14,500 less than having our bathroom remodeled. Definitely worth the hard work in my book!

Here is an actual cost breakdown for each section of our small master bathroom…

Small Bathroom Makeover: $100 Bathtub DIY

DIY Window Treatment $35– A faux roman shade made from an Opalhouse Curtain from Target. Check out how to install DIY Faux Roman Shades, here!
Painted Floor $30– The tan ceramic tile was transformed to a stylish white & black pattern with this Floor Tile Painting Method
Painted Window Frame $20– The bisque window frame blended into the walls, but the black painted window frame pops! The tutorial for this DIY project is: Window Grid Shower Upgrade.
DIY Bathtub Tray $15– With some wood pieces and strong glue this spa-like bathtub tray was created. A spa-like bathtub pillow tutorial using a towel, safety pins, and secret hooks finishes off the luxury vibe for the bathtub. Here is how you can easily upgrade your bathtub with a DIY Bath Pillow and DIY Bathtub Tray.
Painted Walls $0– A freebie because I used leftover paint from the rest of the house mixed together to create this light gray. Do you have leftover paint that you could use to create a pretty color for a small bathroom?
Painted Faucet $0– I used the same can of paint and technique as painting the window black to paint the bathtub faucet. Turning all the shiny chrome into matte black fixtures with a can of paint made such a big difference!

Small Bathroom Makeover: $160 Vanity DIY

New Lights $70– Replaced the old light fixtures with these Farmhouse Lights from Amazon for $35 each.
New Mirrors $40– Replaced the big mirror with antique mirrors, from Facebook Marketplace, I refinished with Briwax Liming Wax.
Painted Floor $30– from boring tan tile to this fresh white and black patterned tile: Heres the Bathroom Floor Painting Tutorial.
Cabinet Hardware $20– These really nice heavy black iron Cabinet Hardware and Drawer Hardware Handles are from Hobby Lobby. I got them when their hardware was 50% off. Hobby Lobby’s sales always rotate, so if you are patient you can wait until what you need is on the sale rotation.
Painted Faucets $0– I used the same can of paint that I had for the window, shower, and bathtub fixtures.
Painted Walls $0– Again, I mixed extra paint I had from the rest of the house to make this light gray.

Small Bathroom Makeover: $165 Shower DIY

Large Mirror $70– The White Nissedal Mirror from IKEA, it is very useful to have a full length mirror while getting ready. It makes the small bathroom feel bigger and brighter.
Rainshower Head $45– Available here at Amazon. It’s easy to install & makes for a more luxurious shower experience.
Painted Floor $30– Again, check out the tutorial for this light, bright no-stencil floor tile painting DIY, here.
Shower Grids $20– Here is the tutorial to add these black window grids to your shower. With this DIY method you can create this upscale shower look for $20!
Painted Shower Frame & Plumbing Fixtures $0– I used the same can of paint I had for the window and other plumbing fixtures.

I had the $30 Floor paint re-listed on each photo- so if you take that into account the grand total was $300! That is just mind boggling.

I would even add $200 for paint, poly, painting supplies (pre-paint cleaners, brushes, etc.), along with extra items that always come up mid-project…. That is still only $500 all-in, for this crazy-dramatic small bathroom makeover!

You can also see a video tour of our Bathroom Renovation for Less here:

1. How Can I Renovate my Bathroom Cheaply?

Bathroom Makeovers on a budget start with paint. Paint is the key to transform what you have into the look you want. Paint alone is half of of our bathroom makeover.

EVERYTHING was beige when we moved in. In the before picture I had already painted the trim and the door white with Behr Marque Ultra Pure White in Semi-Gloss. We painted the ceiling flat white and that actually brightened the bathroom up a lot! I created the light gray wall color by mixing leftover paint from the rest of the house.

Lastly, I painted the tan ceramic floor tile into a white and black patterned tile masterpiece. Check out the whole Floor Painting Process here. Long story short, every square inch of the bathroom was painted.

You need to stay on a budget but don’t want to grab a paint brush? Easy bathroom makeovers can be done with just decor and cabinet hardware. The DIY towel holder & DIY bathtub tray & bath pillow are bathroom decor that instantly adds function and style to our bathroom. The black iron cabinet hardware on our vanity is the finishing touch for this small bathroom makeover.

Also, anytime you can figure out how to work with what you have rather than replacing it, you save money. If something is broken- Can it be repaired rather than replaced? For the crack in our bathtub- we bought a $15 Bathtub Repair Kit, rather than a $1,000+ new tub. Thats a huge $$ difference.

I also dreamt of one of those cool grid shower doors.. I made the one we already have look like one of those trendy, expensive shower doors by adding grids to it for a mere $20 (Shower Door Grid Tutorial). The bottom line to renovating your bathroom on a budget is to always try to transform what you have into what you’re visualizing, especially for the big expensive things like tubs and showers.

2. How Do You Do a Small Bathroom Makeover?

Okay, so you’ve seen the before and after pics, you’re SO in with the cost savings of DIY, so how do you do a bathroom makeover? The benefit of doing it yourself is you are on your own timeline. You get to live in, and use your bathroom daily and see what functional needs you have.

My advice is to take it one project at a time. See what bothers you, and what you appreciate about the space as you’re living in it. For us we kept realizing we have no place for clean towels. To solve that we made the Wall Mounted Towel Storage..

While a mass overhaul in 2 weeks is an exciting thought, patience will get you farther here. In the long run, it will be worth it! You can take the time to discover and meet all your tastes and needs. You will also keep more of your sanity and prevent burnout if you do one project at a time and live in it before tackling the next.

Do any of these ideas give you inspo for your bathroom? Please share your before and after pictures with me if you tackle any of these DIY’s! I’d love to celebrate with you and (with your permission) send out your successes to my monthly newsletter subscribers to forward on the inspiration. You can make your bathroom visions come true on a budget, DIY style!

This black and white floor paint pattern reinvigorated our whole Master Bathroom! This herringbone floor paint pattern took our bathroom floor from dull, dated, basic-beige ceramic floor tile- to this fresh, light, & bright modern vibe.

The impact from painting a fresh pattern onto your floor is huge. The floor is the anchor for the whole appearance of a bathroom. Therefore, changing the flooring instantly changes the entire feel of the bathroom. We’ve got that beautiful, bright, luxurious bathroom floor we’ve daydreamed of for our little ensuite for less than $100!

If you’ve considered creating a floor paint pattern in your space you’ve likely seen the same old floor paint pattern stencils over and over. There are not a whole lot of variety available if you add your floor paint pattern via a stencil. You’ll have the same exact floor paint patterns as everyone else.

**Watch the whole process from start to finish on the video at the end of this post!**

Painting Floor Tile- PREP WORK:

This is my second bathroom floor to paint so I learned some things along the way on the last project, most notable being: its all about the prep. This was the step that I didn’t mind so much how small the bathroom was because that meant less tiles to clean, sand & prep for paint. The tedious job that no one likes to do.

First I cleaned each tile with Krud Kutter’s No-Rinse Prepaint Cleaner. This cleans and takes the gloss off.
Then I sanded the tiles with the power sander using course sandpaper. I used sanding blocks for the areas the power sander couldn’t get to- like the corners and under the cabinets.
Then I used a wire bristle brush and gave the grout all a good scrub.
After that I used TSP to give everything a good clean. This is a strong chemical so I re-read the box every time to make sure I get the correct ratio & wear gloves. You also can’t pour it down the drain when you’re done. Its a whole process but it is the strongest and the best pre-paint cleaner, so when you want to be sure you’ve done your prep well… this is it. I rinsed off the TSP warm water and rags and then also with the steam mop 2 twice to be sure it was all rinsed off and my paint would stick well.

Painting Floor Tile- PRIMER COAT:

Next I used Zinnser Bullseye Primer in white. I used a brush to apply that to the grout and the tile. Only 1 coat needed and it can be top coated in 1 hour, so this step was super quick!

Painting Floor Tile- FLOOR PAINT:

The most exciting part- adding the first coat of floor paint. This was my first project with Behr Porch & Patio Floor Paint. I used it in Low-Lustre Ultra Pure White. I painted over the grout and tiles with a big angled brush. The recoat time on this is 4-6 hours so I got both coats on in 1 day.

Adding Floor Paint Pattern- DIY HERRINGBONE STENCIL PATTERN:

I let the freshly painted floor tile sit for about 48 hours while I planned and practiced my herringbone floor paint pattern on a piece of scrap wood. For this design I used painter’s tape as my stencil and a sponge to apply. The paint I used was a sample size of Behr Marque Flat Paint in Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black.

First thing I did was tape the grout lines with painters tape so that I would have a clean, uniform part where the floor paint design stops on each tile. Then I taped the herringbone floor paint pattern onto the tiles. One diagonal section of herringbone on each row of tile.

DIY HERRINGBONE PATTERN TIPS:

One thing I would do differently is make the diagonal lines on each part the same angle. I was at a loss of how to do this other than eyeballing it when I was in the midst of it. But now, I would have used the long level (or any long flat edge and go from one diagonal to the next column in the same direction to get the start.

Then cut a piece of paper lining the edge to the edge of the tile and cut along the line so you can flip it and use it for the other side of the “V” to get that direction going at the same angle. Once you get one diagonal line in each column it is pretty easy to get the rest in the row by eye.

After I got all the blue tape down I sponged the tricorn black paint on in between the painters tape to make the herringbone floor paint pattern. I liked the more imperfect ones where I used less paint and let some white shine through rather than the dark crisp black lines when I used more paint and covered the white completely.

I pulled off all the painters tape while the black paint was still wet. My creative little 9 year old asked if she could, “do the honors” and pull off the tape. So I had a helper for this part! We got a few smudges of black paint here and there and I just touched those up by going over them with the white floor paint.

Floor Paint Top Coat:

None, so far. I was planning on doing a top coat with Floor Poly, but I could tell this paint seemed so durable. If it can hold up on porches and patios in the rain and dirt of the outdoors it can handle our wet feet getting out of the shower and the dirt and dust inside. Besides if I need to touch up anything it will be so easy without a top coat overtop. It has such a nice matte finish it looks great as it is!

Using the white really brightened up our bathroom! I love the transformation that painting the floor tile made for the whole bathroom. The whole feel and vibe of the room is different!

Here is a video of the whole transformation from start to finish:

Painting this Floor Paint Pattern on our bathroom floor was step 1 to our Master Bathroom Facelift! We will be sure to show you everything else we are working on to refresh this cute little bathroom!

If you want to see another idea besides adding a floor paint pattern, you could paint your tile to look like high end slate tile. We painted our other bathroom floor with this Faux Slate Tile Method! The tile in that bathroom was the same builder beige ceramic tile to begin with. But now it has a rich variety of marbled gray slate tones!