Decorating Your Bathroom on a Budget

Luxurious bathroom looks needn't be confined to those with plenty of money.

We'll look at some cheap but effective ideas to get a good-looking bathroom on a budget...

Get creative!

Have some fun!

Save money!

Update Your Bathroom Suite

• Before you discount a new bathroom suite, consider a budget suite, ex-display or discounted lines.

  You can get a whole suite from around £200 (UK) - and fit it yourself, with a little DIY knowledge - especially if you are not changing the layout of the bathroom.



• If you don't want to change your whole bathroom suite, instead try fitting smart, modern taps.


• If your current bath is a little stained or discolored, try re-surfacing it - you can now buy special kits to do just this, at a reasonable price.


• Do you have a colored bathroom suite?

  Don't discount it out of hand...

  Read this page for style and design tips, including using a colored suite, before decorating your bathroom.

• Use MDF panelling to update your bath, with new bath panels. Leave it smooth, for a more minimal modern touch.

  Add tongue-and-groove, or wooden panelling, if you prefer a traditional, or country-style, bathroom.



• Use MDF to build a vanity unit around your current basin, or just build a cupboard or shelving, to fit below the basin.

Update Boring Tiles

• If your tiles are dated, or have seen better days, get an easy new look when decorating your bathroom, with a tile update.

  Depending on your budget, and the time available:
  
  

  • Tile over your old tiles - this just makes the whole job, a little quicker and easier.
  
  
  • Add tongue-and-groove, or wood panelling, over your old tiles.

    I find this an especially useful trick (used in my own bathroom!) for covering over tiles than are uneven, or well and truly in the wrong place.

  
  
  • Use your tongue-and-groove horizontally, if you want an unusual, modern, dynamic feel.
  
  
  • Paint your tiles:
    • Use a specialist, all-in-one, tile paint, or a specialist tile primer, over-coated by an ordinary gloss paint, in your own color choice.
    • Use a quality brush, or small gloss roller - I have got a good finish with both.
    • Make sure your tiles are all very clean - use sugar-soap to clean your tiles before you start.
    • Seal the edges well, with some waterproof sealant, to stop the water creeping in at the edges.
  
  
  • Re-grout your tiles to freshen up the feel. Use white, or try out some colored grout.

    A word of warning though - again from personal experience, in my previous house - if the tiles have been put on the wall wonky, or crooked, in any way, a contrasting colored grout will really draw this to everyone's attention.

  
  
  • A grout pen is a good idea, for just cleaning up/tidying your grouting - or for drawing in the grout lines over painted tiles. But it does get a little tedious, after the first few!
  
  
  • Add tile transfers, to liven up dull tiles, or stick-on tile decorations.

    These are especially good to tie into a specific style or theme, which you have chosen for decorating your bathroom.

  
  
  • Add a row of more expensive, colored or decorative tiles, to a wall of dull tiles.

    Try adding one row of 'fancy' tiles around a bath and above the basin - this even works well when you tile over the top of old tiles.

    Make sure you get a proper finishing edge, though, to make the job look professional and tidy.

  
  
  • Add stencils to walls, and even tiles, to personalise, and brighten up your bathroom.

    If you want to stencil on tiles, make sure your tiles are clean and dry first, then use tile paint, and an artist's brush to paint on your design. (Practice on an old tile first.)

    When you have completed your design, protect from chips with a coat of varnish.

  
  
  • We have just discovered a great new product - acrylic 'tile-effect' sheeting.

    It comes in a few different designs, in fairly neutral colors. Each sheet is the correct size for one wall of a shower cubicle, and is simply glued onto the wall.

    We purchased it from B & Q, we used it for a while around our bath.

    We found it a great budget solution, and a good alternative to tiles - but we did eventually replace it for the real thing (tiles).

    The sheets are made to fit a shower, so I think they would be much more suitable in a shower, than attempted to fit around a shower-bath, as we did.

    They wore well, though, and didn't scratch, or come unstuck. Thumbs up there!

  
  
  • Graham and Brown do vinyl tiles on a roll - yes, these are actually coming back into fashion, it seems...

    (I can remember my father-in-law scouring the shops for some, about five years ago).

    These are fantastic for a splash-resistant tile effect, for decorating your bathroom, or even kitchen.

    I wouldn't recommend using it anywhere it would get wet (rather than just splashed), such as around a bath or shower.

Accessories and Color

• Accessories will get the major attention, when it comes to quick and easy ideas for decorating your bathroom.


• New accessories can give a neutral bathroom a major face-lift - all with very little expenditure, time and effort. This is especially true, if you have kept to a neutral suite and tiles.


• Choose brightly colored, and co-ordinated, towels, shower-curtain and bath-mat.


• Choose modern soap dishes, towel rails etc.


• Repaint with a stunning paint color. It's probably not as big a job as you think.

  Usually, there is actually very little to paint in a bathroom, as half the wall will, most likely, be tiled.



• Use bright colors as accents in small areas, or just for the accessories.


• The bathroom is, actually, a great place to experiment with bright colors and unusual color combinations.

  The bathroom is usually a small room, and you don't spend too long in there at any one time.
  
  

  • If your bathroom is small, and you want to make it feel larger, check out these ideas for decorating small bathrooms.
  
  
  • Otherwise, get creative, and try out some crazy color combos...

    Look at how to use the interior design color wheel to come up with great decorating color schemes...

    ...or stick with these tried and tested suggestions for decorating your bathroom...

    Try :

    • red and purple (for a dramatic feel)
    • lilac and aqua (for a fresh feel)
    • soft pink and blue (for a restful feel)


• Use a large mirror for decorating your bathroom, or arrange mirror tiles on the wall in unusual patterns, to make a statement.


• Also, arrange open shelving in patterns on the wall, to make a style statement, and bathroom focal point, out of a cheap and practical item.


• Buy cheap and simple, unfinished, wooden shelving, and paint it to match your wall color.


• Try making your own shelving from two wall brackets, with some lengths of rope tied between, to make a rack suitable for towels.


• Use a tall, thin CD unit, as a slimline storage unit, for toiletries - great for fitting into a narrow spot.

Budget Bathroom Flooring

• Fit cork tiles to your bathroom floor - they are cheap, soft and warm - coat them with varnish, or a sealant, to make sure they are waterproof.


• Vinyl or lino flooring is also very cheap. You could try painting your old vinyl flooring.

  Try stripes, or patterns, in bright colors, to really put your own creative stamp on the room.

  Again, make sure that the flooring is clean and dry, before you start, and use a specialist paint, designed for this purpose.

I hope you have fun decorating your bathroom on a budget. It's great to get creative, and save money at the same time.

Read how RM from Yorkshire decorated their pinky-peach bathroom suite for an attractive period feel

A reader wants to know how to make the most of green bathroom fixtures, to sell the house

More readers' bathroom Q&A, here...

Are you interested in decorating small bathrooms? Read practical and stylish tips for decorating your bathroom, here.

Read more style and design tips for decorating bathrooms.

Look at practical bathroom decorating tips.

Return to the main decorating bathrooms page.

Return to the main Inexpensive Decorating page.

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