Our Small Bathroom Remodel

They say good things take time and after this bathroom remodel, I can agree that nothing could be more true. My sweet husband poured his time and expertise into our very first home remodel! It took a few months but we are so happy with how everything turned out. FINALLY, I am able to share the finished look with you all!

If you already following me on Instagram, then you have been able to watch this journey from the beginning. If not you may watch it right here in my highlight button! I’ve also made sure to include before and after photos in this post because that’s the best part right?!

*Affiliate links: this post is not sponsored or endorsed by Lowe’s or Home Depot but I have included a few affiliate links for your convenience. When you shop these links directly I may receive a small commission. We appreciate your support!!*

The Vision

I knew I wanted to transform our basic flipped bathroom into a space that represented us and our current stage of life: family friendly, functional, and a touch of my current home decor obsession aka boho style. Although I wanted this space to reflect my style, I didn’t want to take it “too far” with finishes and tile selection for resale appeal and value. The decor items and paint color were really what elevated this timeless look into something that feels so personal to our family… come see how we did it!

Starting Point + Before

We were working with a flipped bathroom (that was probably completed in a day). Stock laminate cabinets, granite counter tops and back splash, cheap vinyl tub surround, and tan travertine tiles… The first thing to tear out was the vinyl surround although we decided to keep the tub for budget and ease purposes.

This part is NOT pretty at all! The vinyl surround was in terrible condition. It was constantly molding and despite our best efforts to keep it clean- it was just unmanageable. We knew wanted this gone quick, fast, and in a hurry! The ugly surround came down as well as the drywall, to be then insulated (our home is from the 50’s and not well insulated!) then dry wall again to…

SUBWAY TILE. Ahh just thinking of all that shiny clean tile makes me smile! We ended up adding tile to all of the bathroom walls, which is why this project took so long! There are hundreds of tiles that were hand laid by my hubby. We don’t have photos of this process but essentially he had to take the current dry wall down, insulate it, add cement board, and then finally the tile!

Click here for the classic subway tiles we chose.

I love classic white subway tiles because they are easy to clean and elongate a space for that “light and airy” effect we have all come to know and love. They are also very budget friendly at just 15 cents a tile or $12 for a whole box! We ended up using 8 boxes keeping our main tile work at under $100!

More Tile Love

Of course, the best part of tiling your own bathroom is that you get to choose your own accent tile. I love cement tile but not the price ($13 per 1 square tile). I found this pattern of matted mini tiles that offers the same cement tile look for WAY less.

Here are the exact accent tiles we used but in black. I chose the soft grey color because it blends so harmoniously with the white tile without being too bold or harsh. We even added the tile above the vanity (my hubby’s idea) for an extra special touch. I am completely over the moon about the tile!

Flooring

For flooring I wanted the real wood look without the maintenance of real wood. Luxery vinyl flooring was the route we chose because of the amazing price point, ease of installation, and durability (hello dog owners and crazy kids)! We went to 4 different stores before I fell in love with the one we chose. The color is called fresh oak and it couldn’t be more perfectly named. It warms up the space beautifully in contrast to the star white of the walls and counter tops.

Here is the exact flooring we chose. I cannot wait to replace ALL of our laminate with this someday 😍.

Vanity + Reveal

I’ve got to say, replacing our stock cabinets with a beautiful free standing vanity was a big highlight of this project! With the space already being small, the bulky vanity cabinet was only making it look SMALLER which is no bueno..! Our new vanity fit beautifully in the space for a custom look that we were dreaming of.

Here is our exact vanity and counter top we chose. The color is called “cloud grey” but looks faint blue in the light! The counter top is marbled with a square sink. Just the shape of the sink updates the space for a modern look that’s also classic.

Finishes

Of course if I could have it my way, I’d buy up every brass finish on Anthropologie’s site and call it a day, BUT I am not made of money 😂. Also, like I mentioned earlier, we wanted to keep the look simple so that when we sell or rent out one day no one is throwing a fit that it’s “ugly”. We chose brushed nickle for faucets, shower head, knobs, light fixtures, towel and tp holders… to my surprise I was able to warm up the space with the added decor pieces, flooring, and paint color to prevent the room from looking too sterile.

I also decided on a frameless beveled mirror. There are so many wonderful options with mirrors now but I kept this simple and I’m happy that I did. With the color of the wall and all of the textures I chose, a frameless mirror helps the space feel easy without being too heavy in a somewhat tighter space. Here is our exact mirror.

The lights are bell shaped although I would have preferred a globe light since they are trending! Lowes and Home Depot did not have any globe shaped vanity light fixtures in stock. I love lighting with glass enclosures because it creates that open and airy feeling. These are easy to clean and very affordable. Click here for our bathroom vanity light fixture.

Paint

We wanted a bold color that also seemed effortless and fit our home’s personality so well. Do you feel like your home has its own personality too?! Moving on, I chose this green color and honestly HATED it the second we put it on 🤦‍♀️ BUT I currently couldn’t love it more. It adds a punch of personality without being overbearing or throwing off the whole color scheme of our house. The color is called “Privilege Green” by Sherwinn Willaims. We found it at Lowe’s and used a semi-gloss finish for easy cleaning.

Decor Accents

The decor was tricky because all of my shopping had to be done via online shopping thanks to quarantine… It worked out though and I’ve never been more grateful for modern day conveniences like online shopping and Target pickup!

My favorite (and very budget-friendly) added decor accents are the floating shelves above the toilet. They were under $30 for each! A fair warning, my husband had a PAIN installing them because the measurements were way off. But if you can figure it out, they work out so nicely! I especially love how they add visual interest with height as well as all around function for storing bathroom essentials like tp, bath bombs, q tips, and more.

The shower curtain pulls the whole look together and is another very budget-friendly item. It is only $19 and the perfect touch of boho decor in a lovely neutral color pallete. In person it looks as if it has been hand stamped, which I love. The fringe at the bottom adds the perfect touch too 😍.

The rug has little pom poms on it which I am currently obsessed with! Boho bathroom dreams really do come true with this one. It’s easy to throw in the wash and perfect for soaking up post bath time fun. The kids love stepping on the poms and feeling the material between their toes 💕.

I’m also loving the hand towel and bath towels! More tassles in classic white for easy washing. And who can forget a good soap dispenser? This hobnail one is has rave reviews and I know why! The container is large and beautifully made… all for under $10.

For a minimal look I created a pampas grass arrangement with what I had on hand… dried pampas grass from the fall and dried florals from my last Trader Joe’s visit. I had the vase on hand and it’s one of my favs! With spring in season, cherry blossoms would also look heavenly.

Here is our waste basket that I already had on hand. Gimme all the sea grass baskets and boho decor! Just adding in this little guy instantly updates any bathroom, remodel or not.

I have found exact links for mostly everything below for convenience.

Ending Thoughts

This project seemed like it would never end… and I think not only is a bathroom remodel a hefty job but we chose to add a lot of tile which added to the workload! In the end, we are thrilled with the turn out and can say the wait was defintily worth it. It’s amazing to have a space that truly represents us and even bigger joy to share it with all of you 😍.

If you want to see more live action footage of this bathroom remodel, head to my insta-stories titled “bathroom” right here for the beginning to end project. I’m even covering a full tour after this post goes live!

For more DIY + home decor fun, see my mantle refresh from last fall here and last spring here where I made a garland with dollar tree florals!

Next, I’ll be tackling the mantle yet again and I can’t wait to share with you all what’s inspiring me now. Don’t let the projects scare you away friends, they are ALWAYS worth the work in the end 😉.

X o x o ,