11 tips for renovating a low-cost bathroom?

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Answer
Here are 11 tips for renovating a low-cost bathroom:
  1. Paint Existing Cabinets: Painting your existing cabinets can make a significant visual difference without replacing them. This is a cost-effective way to update your bathroom3.
  2. Use Affordable Storage: Look for low-cost bathroom storage cabinets from stores like Ikea or Bunnings. Consider DIY assemble cabinets to save even more3.
  3. Freshen Up Tiles: Instead of replacing tiles, use products like White Knight Tile Paint to give them a fresh look. This can save a lot on waterproofing, labor, and new tile costs3.
  4. Choose Colors Wisely: Select colors that create a sense of luxury and intimacy. Dark feature walls can add drama, while light colors keep the bathroom feeling light and airy3.
  5. Update Caulk and Grout: Freshening caulk and grout can make a big difference for a low cost. This can add a professional touch to your bathroom3.
  6. Use Creative Lighting: Instead of a single ceiling light, use a variety of lighting to highlight different areas. Task lighting is essential for tasks like shaving and applying makeup3.
  7. Revitalize Old Fixtures: Reglaze an old claw-foot tub instead of replacing it. This can save a significant amount of money4.
  8. Add a Tub Surround: Create a vintage look by paneling the exterior of a drop-in tub. This can be done with materials from home centers for under $1004.
  9. Use Faux Candles: Use battery-powered LED wax pillars to create a candlelight effect without the fire hazard4.
  10. Repurpose Furniture: Retrofit a vintage dresser as a sink cabinet by making a cutout for a drop-in lav. This can add character to your bathroom at a lower cost4.
  11. Plan for Proper Ventilation: Ensure proper ventilation in your bathroom to prevent mold and mildew buildup. Invest in a good fan and timer to maintain indoor air quality5.




Author: The Paint People



Key insights

  • A bathroom renovation is one of the most costly renovations, second only to the kitchen, and can have many things that can go wrong.
  • Working with a professional can provide a straightforward quote that includes labor and materials, giving you a clear understanding of the costs from the beginning.
  • Ventilation is often forgotten in bathroom renovations, but it's crucial for maintaining air quality and preventing mold and mildew.
  • Ventilation is crucial in preventing moisture issues in the bathroom, often overlooked by homeowners.
  • Make sure the drainage of the bathroom is functioning optimally to avoid moisture, mold, and mildew build-up.
  • Adding a soft ambient glow to the bathroom can create a serene and spa-like atmosphere, perfect for relaxation.
  • Investing in better quality materials may save you a ton of headache in the future, even if it costs a little more upfront.
  • ️ Moving a projector screen just three inches allowed for the door to open into the room as intended, showing the importance of careful planning in renovations.

Timestamped Summary

  • 00:00 Set a budget and clarify all details upfront to avoid costly mistakes in bathroom renovations.
  • 02:07 Plan ahead and clarify plumbing and storage placement to avoid costly mistakes in bathroom renovations, and ensure ample storage and proper ventilation to avoid clutter and moisture issues.
  • 03:47 Make sure to have proper ventilation in your bathroom and consider hiring a professional for renovations to avoid costly mistakes.
  • 04:50 Choose one standout tile as the focal point of your bathroom design and keep the rest neutral to avoid a cluttered look.
  • 06:13 Ensure proper drainage and lighting in your bathroom renovation to prevent moisture issues and maximize functionality.
  • 07:12 Invest in quality finishes and add layers of light to create a serene and spa-like bathroom space.
  • 07:55 Invest in high-quality materials for your bathroom renovation to avoid future issues, and consider durable options like cork and leather.
  • 09:19 Consider clearances and door openings carefully in bathroom renovations to avoid costly mistakes, and share your own tips and experiences with bathroom renovations.

Video Full Text

  • 00:00 Bathroom Renovations are something you really don't want to screw up. They're extremely expensive and they can give you a huge return on your investment if you're eventually going to sell your house. It's one of those Renovations that has so many different things that can go wrong. So I stumbled upon the perfect article to talk about today from good old Martha Stewart ever heard of her what a lady yeah someone asked me if Martha was still relevant and I was like duh Martha's always relevant okay. These are 11 mistakes to avoid when you're doing a bathroom renovation and for most people next to the kitchen. A bathroom renovation is probably the most costly of them all. In some cases it could be more expensive depending on what you're doing and I've actually gone through two bathroom. Renovations myself in the last year so hopefully I can impart some of my own personal experience as we go through these points. This is one you don't want to miss so number one is not setting a budget. This is a big one you want to know exactly what you have to spend at the very very beginning before you do anything keep in mind when you're working with a professional. Usually it's pretty straightforward at least for the most part give you a quote. It should include labor and materials and all that you know what you're getting yourself into from the get-go if you're going on it on your own. Then that's where things can become a bit tricky because you might change and shift things throughout the process. For some reason I always assume it's going to be more expensive than what's been quoted. I even like set like a 20 buffer just to make sure that if things go a little Haywire I'm prepared for it also be sure to clarify if things like grout and mortar and paint are included because sometimes those are just added after the fact so you want to be. Sure. Everything is completely clarified right from the start so you're not getting any bad surprises and also it just helps you compartmentalize the important things what are the main aspects of the bathroom that maybe you want to splurge on a little bit more maybe a fancy tile a beautiful vanity. You came across maybe a nice freestanding tub and with a proper budget you know okay. We can Splurge a little bit here you pull back a little bit. There all good number two not having a plan. This is a huge one as well like you got to make sure you know exactly how everything's going to be situated. You don't want to just buy a bunch of stuff and then hope it. All fits make sure you do proper. Measurements make sure everything's arranged properly before you start going for it.
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  • 02:07 So you don't want to get halfway through the project and realize oh there's actually no room for a tub here oh wait that double vanity not gonna happen I love what the author is saying in this article. A bathroom is a puzzle made up of functional and decorative plumbing heating ventilation. Electrical finishing materials literally everything like all the main components of Contracting is going to be in the bathroom. That's why oftentimes it's usually not one person doing a bathroom you might have the contractor at the top and then they might hire a plumber and an electrician and maybe a tile person because all the pieces to this puzzle are very nuanced so make sure you plan ahead know exactly where the plumbing is supposed to go where the toilet is where the shower is where the sink is going to be any of that storage stuff. All that needs to be clarified at the beginning and hopefully your contractor can help you with that number. Three is storage space. This is one that we often forget about when it comes to bathrooms because it's usually a smaller space that we're working with and you don't necessarily want to just stuff it with all kinds of stuff. It's nice to keep it a little bit open and Airy that being said you will need storage space. One single vanity is probably not going to cut it for a lot of people if you can get maybe a tower of some sort. Anything you can do to give you more places to store all of your paraphernalia I know for me I got a beard and I like my beard oils my beard balms and I'm not gonna have it just sitting on the counter. Just as an eyesore I need to put that stuff away my wife. And I we love going to Costco a bulk buyer body washes and shampoos and all that that needs to be stored somewhere as well. You may only think oh what do I need shampoo conditioner soap that's it there's a lot of stuff makeup cosmetics and Skin Care toothbrushes toothpaste water pick flossers. If you're into it don't forget about storage make use of that space number four forgetting to install ventilation.
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  • 03:47 Hopefully. You should already have a ceiling fan installed and if you don't make sure you get one because it's very very important. Oftentimes I get people that complain about moisture issues in their bathroom and the paint starts to peel because of all that steam guess what 9 times out of 10. It wasn't the paint that failed. It was the ventilation of the space either they weren't using a fan or they had a window that they weren't using. Ventilation is super important. So if you don't have any make sure you get them installed number five renovating alone and we touched on this earlier. I interpret this two ways one you probably don't want to tackle a bathroom renovation. By yourself. My brother-in-law did it. It was fine it's one of those home renovation projects that has so many things to think about from different trades. A plumber is specialized with plumbing an electrician is specialized as an electrician but to combine those two and then have someone that can do General Contracting and Demolition and tiling there's so many things to think about. It's rare that you find a contractor that can do it all and do it well jack of all trades. Master of none you know what I mean but especially if it's yourself if you're just a DIY person.
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  • 04:50 Maybe this isn't the project to start your construction career on try painting a closet first and then kind of work your way up choosing too many tile styles that rhymed and I didn't even mean to 2. Accidental rhyme. This is a tricky one because I find there are so many cool tiles that exist. Now there's countless styles that are coming into prominence and I love a lot of them. Not all of them. My best piece of advice for this is if you are going with multiple tile options. Whether it's on your floor. The walls maybe the shower itself try and pick one as sort of the showpiece. The standout tile and then the other one or two tiles try and keep them neutral and not distracting if you have a ton of different things just competing with one another. It'll lose specificity and focus in your design. So allow that one really fun accent tile to draw the eye to be the focal point of the whole design and then for the rest just pick something minimal plain colors or not even colors. Shades or whites or Grays. Less is more because you also have to remember. It's not just tile that's going in the bathroom. You may have other design aspects so that could be another thing to compound all of the different things that are just sort of working together and it could look a bit haphazard if you're going. Accent on Accent on accent and also tiles kind of permanent once they're in they're in it's not like you can just change the color of your hand towels or get a different pot for your plant. Those are staying so have your primary accent tile and then some support tiles that's how I kind of look at it.
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  • 06:13 Number. Seven is kind of a boring one but it's important you know considering your drainage. The actual functional behind the scenes aspect of your bathroom. Now you don't want to do the Plumber's job for them but just clarify that the drainage of the bathroom itself is going to be functioning optimally. So you won't have any moisture or mold or mildew build up everything's done nice so make sure you get someone with a high rating online and also something as simple as going back to your plan and thinking about okay where is the toilet going where is the shower gonna go. Where is the tub gonna go and make sure. The work is done ahead of time so that you can actually put those things in the right spots not layering your lighting. So a lot of people will approach a bathroom and be like okay. Great I got my sconce lighting above my mirror. I'm done take the opportunity to explore multiple points of lighting. You have your own overhead lighting. That's great maybe you have one pot light in the bathroom and then another one in the shower that's cool you can go one step. Further. I installed a vanity and a matching storage tower that had built-in accent lighting within it.
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  • 07:12 These little touch sensitive buttons to sort of create this. Very Serene glow so if myself or my partner were taking a bath and the lights were off. You can turn on that soft. Little ambient glow from the vanity and it's just enough light so you can still see what you're doing. But it's way more chill and calm and Spa like I love a spa. But I hate a massage just fun fact. This could be done super simply even if you have a cute little NightLight you can plug into the outlet. I just bought this really cool plug-in wax melt. So. It's a night light that also heats up a wax melt to give you a nice smell just to give you another layer of light to add some visual Intrigue to the space and some practical light too that you can use number nine not investing in quality finishes guilty.
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  • 07:55 So I bought a matte black drain and faucet for my tub and my condo and uh you know times were tight. So I found a good deal on some matte black fixtures and it turned out to be quite a bad deal because eventually after about six months the paint started to peel like. It's not magically just matte black. It's metal that's painted black so that wasn't cool but luckily I'm a paint guy. So I just grabbed some heat resistant trim clad spray paint and then just refinished it and it turned out way better. But I wouldn't have had to do that if I splurged a bit more and just bought something that was better quality so just keep in mind that you are are investing quite a bit in a project of this magnitude. But if you spend a little bit more on those little key details it's going to save you a ton of headache in the future. It probably would have been like an extra 30 or something and that's Canadian when I think about it in retrospect. It's like what was I even doing choosing unsuitable materials. Maybe you don't want a cork bathtub or something more realistic like concrete or natural stone. If you maybe have kids or you like using a lot of chemicals in your hair or whatever it probably won't be as durable. It may not last as long as you might want. Things like leather pulls too on your vanity or your. Cabinetry sounds good in theory but combined with moisture and oils like beard oil getting on that leather. It could really kind of deteriorate it over time and probably won't look cute so consider the materials themselves not just the quality.
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  • 09:19 This one hits pretty close to home because it relates to the bathroom. I did in this basement over here not considering your clearances so the actual Pathways that you're going to be doing your entrances. I guess your entrance for most people how the door opens where where it opens to can it open. So I did consider this and we were deciding whether the door should open into the bathroom or into the room. We decided bathroom because there was a projector screen on the other side of the door and we figured okay well if the screen's going. There we don't want the door to open into it. Let's just open it into the bathroom. It fit like you could open the bathroom door but it like barely fit like it just nearly grazes the vanity as you go in because it's a very compact basement bathroom and we just figured you know what we done messed up okay. So what we ended up. Doing was we just moved the projector forward like three inches and then we were able to put the door the way it was meant to do opening into the room. I hope you learned something from this video. Let me know if you have any other tips about bathroom. Renovations because we could use more there should be way more than 11. So let me know about your experience and you gotta check out this kitchen video which is another massive renovation that you need to know how to do properly before you dive in.
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