12 Cheap bathroom remodel ideas you want to see

How to remodel a bathroom on a budget

Does your bathroom look outdated? Do you think your style changed and now have no idea how to make your bathroom yours again?

All of us love a bright, stylish bathroom.

However, when we think about bathroom remodeling, we picture it like this: Removing cabinets, changing floors, ripping out appliances… It can be expensive and exhausting.

Luckily, there are so many small changes you can make in your bathroom that will give a new vibe, design, and style. You can create a peaceful, happy, fun bathroom on a budget in no time.

These affordable designing tips and bathroom remodeling ideas will turn on your creativity and keeping money in your pocket.

Let’s see step by step.

Design the bathroom by yourself

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I’m gonna walk you through the process of the changes we made in the small bathroom remodeling project.

First, you want to create a mood board to achieve the look you have in mind.

Make a mood board with your favorite colors, textures, patterns. It can be as simple as the one above.

Most of us have a problem to see the whole picture and determining what colors and style you want to use in your bathroom can help.

Create a color palette. What colors you like, and which colors complement each other.
Think about textures. What kind of floor will match your existing cabinets? Patterned towels and bath rugs can add texture too.
Mix different metals, like silver, copper, and gold.

There is a FREE tool you can use to create a mood board easily for your cheap bathroom remodeling DIY.

It’s called Canva. A lot of bloggers use this tool to create digital promotions, BUT you can use any of the free mood board templates to design your bathroom remodeling too. I created the mood board above with this softer for FREE.

Once you mix and match colors, textures, and bathroom accessories, you have a better idea of what you need to buy or what you can repurpose.

Cheap bathroom remodel ideas.

Quite a few changes you can make on a budget, so I decided to help you out and start the DIY bathroom ideas list from the floor and working our way up.

Once you have your design and mood board ready, you can pick the best fit for you from this extensive list.

1. Cheap bathroom floor makeover

Change those outdated 80’s vinyl floors.

Do you have a dull old floor but low on budget? You can choose from a gazillion affordable materials that look updated and unique.

Low-cost luxury vinyl flooring comes in so many different styles and colors. They look like tiles or wood. They are easy to install and lightweight. We chose the greyish color, which matches perfectly with our original bathroom design.

Paint your bathroom floor. You might think that replacing a bathroom floor is not the remodeling task you are up to.

Painting your bathroom floor might be your answer. It is a faster and easier DIY project than changing the whole floor.

Applying a good reliable primer and waterproof floor & outdoor paint can be a few hours project the most. This is an attractive, fast, and inexpensive way to give your bathroom floor a stylish look.

Restain your existing wood floor. If you watch HGTV, you can see how many times they salvage wood floors and turn them back to life again.

Keep those beautiful wooden floors and protect them with a new fresh stain and enamel.

2. Replace the bathroom mat

Refreshing your rug or mat is one of the most inexpensive ways to add texture and style to your bathroom. There are so many affordable bathroom rugs with different patterns that you really don’t want to settle down for a boring one.

I decided to add a little fun to the new neutral floor and chose the black & white Boho bathroom rug.

3. Update the toilet paper holder and towel racks

Installing a matching new towel and toilet paper holder is another quick and cheap way to remodel your bathroom.

You can choose different materials like silver, gold, copper, or black iron, so this is where your mood board comes handy. Mix and match those metals and create a refreshing, stylish bathroom with these small items.

I decided to buy a toilet paper holder and towel rack set with a strong adhesive, which allows me to avoid making holes in the bathroom wall. Easy to install, and the stainless steel material is waterproof and rustproof.

4. Install an inexpensive shower panel

Once the shower is cracked or damaged, you want to give a full update. Luckily there are many inexpensive shower panels and bath panels you can choose from.

Instead of buying tiles and hiring a crew to install them, choose lightweight, cheap bath panels. They look amazing and much easier to work with. The adhesive properties they have will help you to install them easily.

Refinish your shower or bathtub. If your shower is still in good shape and you only have a cosmetic problem like yellow surface or small cracks, you can give a little love, scrub, and paint. This project will save you money and the installation project.

5. Update your shower head

It is a good idea to switch your old showerhead to a new low-flow showerhead. Match its color with the towel rack and the toilet holder.

Low-flow showerheads are affordable, stylish, and you can control the flow of the water. This helps you to save money, and you help the environment as well.

6. Bathroom wall ideas on a budget

Consider wallpaper over tiles. Wallpapers are back! They are super trendy, and you can choose from bold geometric patterns to nature, calling floral and endless colors.

Bathroom wallpapers are so much cheaper than tiles. Choose waterproof wallpapers and peel and stick style. They can be easily installed and changed so you can refresh your bathroom walls anytime you have a new style in mind.

I chose a geometric boho pattern from Roommates.

Peel and stick backsplash. They look just like real tiles. However, they come in panels and super easy to install. They are lightweight plastic material, and most of them come with adhesive on the back.

We have a grey peel and stick subway backsplash right now in our bathroom. I still like it, but I want to have a little brighter bathroom wall, and I will change it to the refreshing white with black geometric patterns wallpaper soon.

7. Switch your soap dispenser

Another budget-friendly bathroom improvement is to switch out the old soap dispenser. Adding a pop of color with an inexpensive dispenser is much better than looking at the label on a plastic bottle.

My bathroom design called for a little rose gold color, so I chose this cute white-rose gold soap dispenser.

8. DIY a bathroom organizer

Everybody has to store their toothbrushes Q-tips and other essential bathroom items somewhere. Why not DIY your own?

Look around the house or in the thrift stores and find cute little items you can repurpose. With a bit of love and paint, you can make a brand new bathroom organizer and the good thing about it that it costs almost nothing.

9. Get a stylish storage basket

Rope baskets come in different shapes and sizes. They are an affordable addition to any bathroom remodeling. Perfect for adding a little texture and natural look to your home decor.

I picked up a set of small ones, which we store shaving accessories and hairbrushes.

The oversized rope basket on the picture is perfect for laundry or as a towel holder.

10. Freshen up with new towels

To add texture and color to your bathroom, you can switch your old towels to new ones. It’s an easy way to add style and brighten up a bathroom. Chose colors and patterns that go with your bathroom design.

These Turkish towels are very trendy nowadays, and they come in a wide range of different colors. You can pick the one that will complement your bathroom design.

11. Add greenery and painted mini pots

Finishing up your cheap bathroom remodeling add some decoration. Invite nature in with some greens.

Since our bathroom is small, I decided to use mini faux succulents and painted my mini terracotta pots with rose gold to give a little pop of color.

Small items go a long way when you want to add cute decoration to your bathroom. Make some fun, happy bathroom decorations today.

12. DIY relaxing organic candles

Who doesn’t like a little me-time? Imagine a nice long bath with candlelight.

You can make your own organic candles with essential oils. For the ultimate bathroom decoration, add some dried flowers as well.

Cheap bathroom remodel ideas recap

I had fun making little changes in my bathroom. These DIY ideas work well equally in small, big, guests, and master bathrooms.

No matter the size, make sure you start with the bathroom designing first. That way, you’ll know what colors, patterns to use and what items you’ll need to buy. Using the Canva FREE version, you can create a mood board with one of their templates.

Depends on your DIY skills, pick the projects you think must be changed. If the cabinets, walls are still in good shape, think about adding a fun, playful wallpaper or a new color with paint.

An inexpensive way to renovate bathrooms on a budget is to switch out the old bathroom accessories to new ones. Think about a new showerhead or toothbrush organizer or soap dispenser.

Adding textures and patterns with rugs and new towels is a stylish but cheap way too.

I hope you got inspired, and you’ll make little inexpensive changes in your bathroom soon.

Do you think about other home improvement projects?

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