The 10 Best Bathrooms Makeovers of 2024 Prove the Power of DIYs (The Redos Start at Just $60!)

Geneva Slye’s (@just.geneva) bathroom is almost like a 1950s time capsule: Its sweet pink tiles have brightened this space for decades. Geneva didn’t want to leave these original details in the dust, but she did want to update the surrounding components with new peel-and-stick flooring, bold floral wallpaper, and modern lighting. And to make those pink tiles glimmer to the fullest, Geneva cleaned them up with fresh white grout, bringing the entire project’s total to $750.

Ericka Gularte (@oakandmarsh) described the oak cabinets in her kids’ bathroom as “old and dingy,” but she and her family weren’t ready to do a full gut renovation just yet; they hoped a few DIYs would be enough to make the space feel like new until they were. After adding paneling behind the vanity and painting the walls white, Ericka replaced the long sheet mirror with two separate panes. She then painted the vanity a grayish brown and added new hardware, which complemented new peel-and-stick flooring, all for about $1,000. “I hope this project inspires anyone who wants to freshen up an outdated bathroom but doesn’t have a large budget to do so,” she says.

The main components of Rachel Reinhart’s (@ourlittletosahouse) bathroom were in great shape — namely, the vanity, sink, and 1940s floor tiles — but she still wanted to make small changes around them to give the room a fresh feel. The biggest visual difference came down to a $19 stained-glass-style window cling sourced from Amazon, which was paired with a free marble shelf under a gallery wall, for upgrades that totalled all of $60. It’s that micro budget (with max impact) that makes this one of the year’s best.

Apartment Therapy contributor Heather Bien’s bathroom was cramped and dated, and she wanted to make a mix of small and significant changes that would heighten its functionality and overall style. She nixed the bathtub for a shower with a half-wall that concealed the toilet, and installed a bright floral wallpaper that complements a compact vanity. Pair those shifts with a flurry of thoughtful storage features, and Heather’s bathroom is an inspiration for others who similarly live in historic homes.

Lorna Denton (@thegreenrabbithouse) emptied her entire bathroom to start from scratch, but even at 30 square feet, the space was still a major challenge. It required new plumbing and fixtures, full-length cabinetry that doubled as a vanity, wallpaper on uneven walls, and tongue-and-groove paneling to cover up electric cables. And that’s not even mentioning all the painting, thrifting, and finishing touches! “It’s an inviting space now — not a room to use only out of necessity and that you’re desperate to get out of,” Lorna says. 

Yvonne Langen and her partner, Michael Rizk considered the powder room in their 1940s home to be boring, which just wouldn’t do as the home’s first impression. “We wanted to transform it from forgettable to memorable,” Yvonne says. To make that happen, they installed bold wallpaper with a navy backdrop on the top half of the walls, and wainscoting on the bottom half finished in a bright yellow. Complementary navy paint was added to the ceiling, while teal tiles cover the floor. How’s that for a first impression?

Cindi Yang (@cindiyang) had long wanted to make over her guest bathroom, and had kept her eyes on a pink wallpaper pattern for years. The existing style was “really boring, beige, and brown,” she says, but the layout, vanity, and windows showed promise. She kept the latter trio and replaced the former with that long-dreamed-of pink wallpaper alongside a black vanity and matching floors for about $1,300.

Nnedy Obiwuru (@everylastlayer) loves jazz clubs and boutiques for their intentional designs, but her guest bathroom didn’t reflect this sense of style — instead, it was builder-grade basic. She used her $170 to transform the room with jazz-club style in mind, complete with a gallery wall of vintage photos, moody lighting, and peel-and-stick floors. The makeover took all of three days to complete. “It feels like my little secret speakeasy, hidden away from the workday,” she says. “I’ve had this idea in my head for years, and I’m really proud of how it turned out.”

Jenny McRae’s 60-square-foot bathroom was last updated in the 1990s — even though it was originally built in 1907 — and it showed. It had a clunky shower-tub combo, a low light fixture, and far too many earth tones. The bathroom felt like a cave, but even more importantly, Jenny knew that the tub and toilet had been leaking for several years. The budget was $35,000 to make everything right, including the new additions of vintage-inspired tiles and an oversized shower. “I’m so proud that the bathroom looks like it could have always been in the house that way, but is still my style,” Jenny says.

Lexie and her husband had been slowly updating their house since they bought it in 2020, but they hadn’t touched the ‘80s aesthetic of their bathroom — complete with sunset-gradient tiles from floor to ceiling. They hired professionals to help rip everything out and extend the bathroom into an old closet (while also removing a soffit), and then updated it all with fresh paint, modern tiles on the floor and in the shower, and a new vanity under an oversized mirror.