Master Bathroom Redesign on a Budget: PART 2
I’m back today with the second half of my master bathroom redesign! We lived with just the painted bathroom cabinet for a few months while I saved up for additional items in my design plan. Here is where we left off:
Much better, but not how I wanted it to look in the end! Time to inject some color and fun!
Shelby Dillon Studio was kind enough to gift me a gorgeous print of her artwork that inspired the colors and feel of the whole room. I used this artwork as the basis for my design, and spent a good deal of time shopping the internet for affordable things to spiff up the space.
I started by picking a neutral wallpaper that would add some texture to the room but not be super overwhelming. I then used the colors in the artwork to pull colors for accessories. I liked how the stripes of the bath mat and the angular shape of the light fixture shades mimicked the shapes in the wallpaper pattern. Overall, I wanted to create a design that was cohesive but a bit unexpected.
Next is where my skills as a graphic designer come in handy. I like to mock up my designs in Photoshop before I buy all of the supplies, just to make sure that what I think looks good in my head will actually look good in the space. Here is the mock up I created for the bathroom:
The mockup isn’t perfect, but it still allows me to better visualize the space. From here, I saved my pennies and then ordered the wallpaper and lights.
The wallpaper wasn’t terrible to install, but I had never done it before and I was pretty nervous. It was an easy peel and stick, and I was doing a small wall, so I figured I couldn’t ruin it too drastically! I started by wiping down the wall and making sure it was clean and smooth. I measured slightly less than the width of the paper roll and made a level line from the left hand side of the wall. I used a smoothing tool to get rid of air bubbles, and worked from the top down, slowly peeling back the backing paper. I left a little overhang on the top and bottom, and then I continued with the next panel, matching up the pattern.
At the end, I used a straight edge and very sharp utility knife to trim off the excess. Then my husband recaulked the edge between the wall and the granite to kind of seal the paper in place. Then we put up the new light fixtures!
I wish I would have taken a photo of spray painting the mirrors, but alas, I forgot. Basically, I just put painters tape across the glass, and then propped them up in the backyard on old shipping boxes.
As for the art print, I always try to find interesting frames to compliment the art and bring more texture into the final design. Before the pandemic started, I went to a local antique shop and found this super awesome frame in the right proportions. It had a hint of yellow in the off-white color and I thought it would match the print perfectly. I had my husband cut it down to size.
PROTIP: Buy cool old vintage frames and then go to a craft store and just ask them to cut glass and a mat. It’s WAY CHEAPER than buying a new fancy frame and it often looks much more unique. It’s also an excuse to go to an antique store, and who doesn’t love that?!
After I finally got to go to the store, masked and all, to buy a piece of glass, the bathroom was ready to assemble completely. We ended up replacing the handles on the vanity with something a bit sleeker as well. I am SO happy with how it turned out. The bathroom is so much more my style, and it really makes me happy!
Overall, this bathroom makeover cost us about $500, between the paint, light fixtures, wallpaper and accessories. It’s not an insignificant amount of money, but it beats spending thousands to completely gut and redo the bathroom. Some day, I’ll redo it and pick tile and granite that I love, but for now, it looks so much happier and more our style, so I think it’s $500 well spent.
Thank you so much for following along!