Bathroom

Spend less, and still absolutely love the result.

Money-saving and seriously stylish? Sign us up.

This was the year of statement-making tile, and these redos are the best of the best.

This budget-friendly trick is timeless, and these stunning projects prove it.

We recently moved into a charming 1913 American Foursquare home in Joplin, Missouri. Our first major remodel was the upstairs bathroom. It was replete with plumbing issues (missing a sink), sporting stick on floor tile and press board wall “tile.” Our desire was to make things functional and restore it what it may have originally looked like, while adding our own sense of flair. From start to finish, the project took about a year and cost $2500.

Sometimes a little unexpected “trouble” can go a long way toward creating a beautiful room. You start out with the plan of simply changing up a few decorative elements and find yourself in the middle of a full-on makeover. It happened to Renato, and he not only lived to tell the tale, he’s got a great looking room to show for it. Take it away, Renato… Tired of living with a bathroom falling apart, one day I woke up with design school ended, no jobs and nothing to do.

Becky sent in before and after shots of her master bath makeover. She writes: Our house was beautifully renovated about 15 years ago, long before it was ours. All the important stuff was done perfectly, but a few aesthetics left something to be desired. Like our master bathroom. BOOOR-ING. Square tile on the walls, pinkish-peach square tiles on the floor, builder grade sink top and vanity. Cheap, boring fixtures. And GIANT wall-encompassing mirror.

Renovation by: Wendy Location: Nevada City We wanted the look of a stacked stone accent wall in our bathroom. However, we were unable to find a stone veneer that would fit behind our toilet. We decided to use reclaimed pine which we got from used pallets. We cut approximately 350 pieces of wood into different lengths and depths all with the same height (2.5 inches). We used a very strong floor glue to adhere the pieces of wood to the wall. After the wall was complete, we painted it a light gray.

Renovation by: Sofia Location: Toronto, Ontario When we purchased our house 4.5 years ago, our basement had a lot of potential with large windows and a beautiful backyard view. The operative word here is “potential” as the space was completely unlivable at the time. The primary objective of the entire basement renovation — and especially this bathroom — was to do it stylishly on a budget.

Project by: Louise Location: Utica, New York We live in a 1930’s Dutch Colonial house in Central NY. The second-floor bathroom (the only one with a bathtub) was a disaster when we bought the house and stayed that way for several years. The room is extremely narrow. And to make things worse, the previous owner installed a vanity so large that there was no space to move around in there. The renovation had to be affordable, so the toilet, tub and sink had to remain in the same spots.

Makeover by: Paige Location: Naperville, Illinois My husband and I just finished our latest project: updating our main bathroom for under $250. We went back and forth about doing a larger renovation in here, but in the end we decided to work with what we had first. If we could get it to look great with minimal labor for us, then why not try it? We replaced the counter top (which was veined with purple!

Project by: Sarah & Chad Location: Montreal, Canada We thought we were going to take a break from renovating our 1950s attached house in Montreal after completely gutting the kitchen and updating the whole main level but a leaky toilet derailed our plans.

Justin sent us before, during and after photos of his recent bathroom makeover: I bought my condo 2.5 years ago and the upstairs half bath was pretty awful. My girlfriend and I did a ton of research on materials since we wanted to go with a more modern renovation. No timeframe, but we needed it done sooner than later considering we’re talking about cohabitation.

When remodeling a bathroom, consider adding a recessed shower shelf into your design. It’s a practical and streamlined way to add storage space for shampoos and soaps, without taking away elbow room. Built-in shower niches are also a great alternative to gunky corner shelves and rusty shower caddies. For all of you DIY renovators, read on to learn how to build a shower shelf of your own.

Applying grout is always exciting. It’s the final touch to all of your hard tiling work, and much less tedious and time consuming. (If you missed it, see my earlier tutorial on how to tile your shower.) Yet, there are still some steps to ensure the longevity of your grout lines and the lifespan of your tiles.

Unlike painting, tiling isn’t as quick and easy as it looks. Tiling is for those who enjoy tedious, repetitive perfectionism. And I can’t say that I do, but in the end, the three days that turned into three weeks (seriously) was all worth it. Clean white subway tile transforms spaces — all in such a timeless way. So, before you start mixing the thin-set, check out the lessons I learned about how to tile your bathroom.

A couple Benjamins and a little elbow grease make for one stylish bathroom redo.

How I got what I wanted, for a whole lot less.

In the market for new granite countertops—or just looking to take care of the ones you have? We have the low-down.

The tile in this bathroom will give you serious heart-eyes.

We'd say those 30 hours (!) of hand-painting really paid off.

This is a very welcome twist.

Sponge painting, but make it FASHION.

The new bedroom and bathroom are a little fresh, a little funky, a lot stylish.

If you have to go, you might as well make it fun.

Let these bold changes inspire you.

This easy project adds both style and function, with very little effort.

Hello, 1995? We're here to give your beige tile back.

This family got the best of both worlds: a fresh new bathroom with a classic old-school look.

Some clever DIYing turned this bathroom into a space you won't even recognize.

A few high-impact, low-cost swaps totally transform this builder-basic bathroom.

One UK couple DIYed the meh away, and might make you want to paint your tub orange.

A layout switcheroo plus some fresh new finishes made this bathroom way more spacious and relaxing.

This beige-on-brown bathroom wasn't pretty, and it definitely wasn't practical.

Like many half baths, Jo Char's powder room is tiny and windowless. Logically, she initially went with a light wall color, but all that did was make the room feel "sterile and anemic," she writes.

It took about three weeks and cost around $6,400 to complete this bold black and white bathroom renovation.

Get ready to see a lot of plant action.

As soon as Hope Mendes and her husband saw their Cobb, California, cabin, they knew it was the place they'd been searching for.

When we see a bathroom renovation roll in for under $200, it gets our attention because, let’s be honest, a light fixture alone can cost well over $200!

At first glance, Nidia Serrano’s monochrome bathroom seemed like one we’d all love to come home to at the end of a busy day.

Lucinda Mitra and her husband inherited a bathroom from their UK home's previous owners that was "completely livable, but somewhat tired and dated," she writes.

The powder room didn’t quite make it to the top of Laurel list of must-immediately-make home improvements—until she found out that a wall had to be taken out completely and rebuilt for proper support.

When Katie and ​David​ purchased their home in Memphis, the house had all of the charm of the 1940s—but the bathroom left much to be desired.