DIY Half Bathroom Makeover On a Budget
It’s powder room reveal day! I’ll share with you all the details of our DIY half bathroom makeover on a budget and provide all the steps you need to take to do the same.
When we moved into our home a little over a year ago, both bathrooms were already updated within the past few years.
I love how the main bathroom was remodeled but wasn’t so fond of the powder room remodel. The vanity was made from particle board, with a cheap sticker-like finish. The top layer was starting to peel on some of the corners.
We were in the middle of laying all new laminate flooring in the house and saved this half bathroom makeover until the end, since we knew we would be doing more than just laying new floor.
**This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase using one of these links. However, I only recommend items I personally love. Thank you for your support of my creative business!**
Cost of a DIY Half Bathroom Makeover
While we knew this was going to be a DIY project, I always check the average prices to hire out work before starting any home project.
Sometimes I do this just for fun, so I can share how much we saved by going the DIY route.
Other times I do it to see if it would be worth it to hire out the work at hand.
According to the Home Advisor* website, the national average to remodel a powder room is $1,400.
Our budget was….wait for it….$200! In other words, far less than than the national average.
Steps to a DIY Half Bathroom Makeover
If you’re thinking of joining us in a DIY half bathroom makeover on a budget, there are several steps to this project:
Step 1: Remove the Vanity, Mirror, Lighting and Toilet.
You should already have basic plumbing and electrical knowledge before removing these items. If you don’t, hire a professional to do the parts you’re not comfortable with.
If you are not replacing the floor, you will not need to remove the toilet. Unless, of course, you are going to replace the toilet 😉
Step 2: Remove the Existing Flooring
Since we were redoing the flooring, the old floor needed to be taken out. The old floor consisted of cheaply made sticker backed laminate (hence why we were in process of replacing all the flooring).
Step 3:Paint/Decorate the Walls
If you will be painting the walls, putting up wallpaper, etc… do this now and before you install the new vanity, toilet and flooring.
Trust me, it’s a lot easier to paint when there is nothing in the room and you won’t be as worried about accidentally getting paint on the floor since the new flooring is not laid yet.
Step 4: Lay Down New Flooring
The new laminate flooring we chose was incredibly easy to install. If you are going to lay down tile or another kind of flooring, this may add some time and additional cost to your project.
Step 5: Install New Vanity, Mirror, Light and Toilet
Same story as above here. You will want to have basic plumbing and electrical knowledge before attempting to install the toilet, vanity and lighting.
Step 6: Decorate to Your Heart’s Content!
My favorite part! Decorating the newly done powder room. We used the existing shelves and added a few simple thrifted décor items on each shelf.
Powder Room Vanity
The farmhouse style powder room vanity we chose came from a going out of business auction at Sutherlands.
We had been on the hunt for a small powder room vanity for several months before we found this one on the auction site.
I squealed like a kid in a candy shop when I saw it, but didn’t have high hopes that we would win.
However, the stars were aligned that day and our bid won at only $135!
It’s becoming a bit more difficult to find the exact style/brand of powder room vanity we have. You can find the same style (different brand) here.
And, here are several small powder room vanities that are similar to the style we chose. For reference, our vanity is 24” wide.
Cost Saving Tips for a DIY Half Bathroom Makeover
In addition to saving on the vanity, here are some other ways we saved on our DIY powder room makeover:
- Painted the existing mirror, light fixture, and vanity handles to match the new faucet ($5 for a can of black matte spray paint)
- Created a DIY wall stencil and painted the design on the back wall ($2 to make the stencil and approx. $5 for the paint)
- Used the existing shelves ($0)
- Thrifted all the shelf décor ($15)
- Purchased this faucet in “like-new” condition on Amazon ($45)
- Used the same toilet but replace the seat for a new one we found at Habitat for Humanity ($20)
- Sold the existing vanity on FB Marketplace for $80 ($80 back toward the budget!)
Grand total for this project: only $147!
That means not only did we save over $1,200 by DIYing this powder room makeover, but we also came in under budget by $53!
I think this is the first time in history that a project has come in under budget. I’ll take it 🙂
DIY Half Bathroom Makeover Before and After
Without further ado, here is the before and after of our DIY powder room makeover!
Have a question about this project? Leave it in the comments below.
Until next time,
Krista
PIN FOR LATER:
*Home Advisor Website Stats as of 4/1/21- Click here for the most up to date info.
