This Bathroom Makeover Proves One Small (Just $53!) Project Can Transform a Whole Room
Although home transformations often start with a budgeting plan and a big demo, making a dramatic change in a room doesn’t necessarily have to take a lot of time, effort, or money. A few simple tweaks can make a huge difference.
Georgia Hetherington (@houseofhetheringtons) shows how it’s done. In this project, Georgia transformed her family home’s bathroom floor with just some paint, a little elbow grease, and £42 (around $54).
According to Georgia, the old floor was aged and outdated, with cracks in some areas. “The room felt dull and unreflective of me and my taste,” she says. “I didn’t want to spend time in the room.”
The bathroom, complete with a roll-top soaker tub, had plenty of potential, and Georgia was determined to go down the DIY route and transform the space on a budget. She had previously painted the paneling with Farrow & Ball’s Dead Salmon, and she wanted to bring more rosy red tones into the space.
Three chalk paints create the checkerboard look.
Georgia started by filling in the cracks on the bathroom tiles before getting to work on the aesthetics. Opting for a bold-checked pattern, she chose three Chalk Paints from Annie Sloane: the darker tiles used Primer Red, a deep and earthy red shade; the light tiles were painted with a mix of Pure and Country Grey to create a custom neutral shade.
“I was so eager to be playful and introduce pattern and color,” Georgia says, adding that it was one of the first spaces in the home that she worked on. She painted the floor completely freehand without the guidance of painter’s tape — an impressive feat, considering that she had never painted tiles before.
“Following the lines of the tiles was easier and more satisfying than I expected,” she says. “I was really pleased with the results, and it’s holding up well.”
Waterproofing the bathroom paint job was important.
The tiles were finished with a water-resistant lacquer, an important step when painting in a room that’s going to get wet and humid. Georgia offers a word of warning for others who might be considering using chalk paint in their own DIY makeovers: “Be sure to use a protective layer on top of it to ensure it remains hard-wearing and wipeable,” she advises.
The paint project has been one of the cheapest and easiest projects that she has completed, and Georgia says it really packs a punch. “I love the boldness of it. The rest of our house is a bit more subtle; it was fun to be able to create a more impactful space without it being a too ‘in your face’ room,”
“I learned that you don’t need a big budget to make a big impact,” she adds. “The entire floor glow-up only cost me [$53], and yet it’s one of the biggest transformations in the whole home.”
Inspired? Submit your own project here.