Bathroom Renovation Steps to Update a Small Bathroom

Today I’m talking everyone’s favorite topic….bathroom reno and decor! 

But for real, currently the bathroom is my favorite room in the house. As you can see before I moved in the bathroom was half renovated. There was a new vanity and mirror, but pretty much everything else was old and beige, and blah. Today we are going to talk about the bathroom renovation steps you can take to update your small bathroom.

Bathroom renovation steps

Choosing paint

First step in the bathroom was a fresh coat of paint. I chose to paint the bathroom a different color from the rest of the house. I like the color but in retrospect it is too similar to the color of the rest of the house. The only time I notice the difference is when I focus on the hall wall and a bathroom wall at the same time. 

I didn’t think I had time to swatch different paints due to timing. I chose off of a paint chip instead. BAD idea. Never do this if you are choosing a whole room and whole house colors. Do yourself a favor take the few extra trips to the paint store, you won’t be sorry! 

Let’s talk tile

Next up I picked out tile for the tub. I went super budget friendly with the most inexpensive subway tile Home Depot had to offer. I chose subway tile for a few reasons. First, it’s super classic and won’t go out of style really. Also this is my starter home and I didn’t want to break the bank on tile. Tile can get expensive super fast. The final reason, call me lazy, is that it would be easy to clean. I chose a darker grey grout because I really liked the contrast to the white tile. Also it just added a little something, something. I had no idea though just how many colors grout comes it.

Last I picked out the floor tile. Again if I’m being totally honest I also picked out this tile because it was very economical. I also liked the wood like texture it has, and it cleans up really nicely and hides dog glitter aka dog hair.

Light it up

Next up the light fixture had to go. I replaced the light fixture first and foremost because it was hideous. Also, it was off center to the mirror. Once I see something is off center, I can’t unsee it.

To fix the centering issue, I needed a fixture with a longer face plate so I could center the fixture over the mirror. This is surprisingly hard to find. I actually just ended up buying a $12 fixture, spray painting it matte black with and bought three globe bulbs.

Once I had that hung up I saw a diy on Tik Tok that I decided to copy instead. Basically I left up the new light fixture I had just hung up ,but took another scrap piece of wood drilled holes the size of the bulbs with a spade blade. Then I stained it to match the shelf and just place it over the fixture and screwed the bulbs in. Easy, cheap, and so so cute.

Finishing touches

Once all of that was done, I messed around with the decor for months. Yes a 12×3 foot room took me months to get to my liking, but it was worth taking the time to figure things out.

The real gem of the room is the shower curtain. I consider myself to be a pretty financially responsible person ,but this purchase was ridiculous. I paid  $200 for it. After several months of looking at it online, thinking can I make it myself? I finally broke down about two weeks into quarantine and bought it ,and I regret nothing. It sparks SO much joy.  I’m not saying you should run out and buy a $200 shower curtain too, but sometimes one statement piece is worth it.

Now that I’ve spent an entire paragraph on the shower curtain the rest of the decor was minimal. I changed out the mirror the house came with to a sleeker black one I found at Lowes and sold the old one on facebook marketplace.

Little pro tip, selling things on facebook marketplace or other apps is a great way to fund your current project. Plus it makes me happy to see perfectly good items go to a new home and not into the landfill. It’s a win win.

Affordable artwork

Since bathrooms are prone to water damage I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on artwork that I wouldn’t be okay if it got damaged. I printed off artwork from Etsy, and thrifted both frames. The white one I left as is but the black one used to be wood. I just spruced it up really quickly with some spray paint.

Ideas for extra storage

I made a shelf and hung it above the toilet with two cheap brackets that I painted matte black and a scrap piece of wood that I  stained. This is a great place to but my most used products and some art.

Finally I added a cart from Ikea. Since the vanity storage is pretty minimal, and the bathroom is super small the cart added a ton of room to store things.

And there you have it a bathroom makeover.

In the future I may update a few things. I would like to update the faucets, the toilet paper holder, and the hand towel rail to a matte black finish. Right now those changes aren’t high on my priority list.

And, Voila! After almost a year of slowly trying things and redoing my bathroom is now my favorite room. If only I could get my bedroom up to par…stay tuned!