Small Bathroom Remodel on a Budget: Vintage Bathroom Reveal

Update your bathroom with vintage style on a DIY budget

I feel like there should be fireworks going off as we unveil this small bathroom remodel!

If you have been following along you know we took on this half bathroom for the fall One Room Challenge & after eight weeks of work it is finally complete.

Catch Up Here: Week 1 (design/budget/inspo) / Week 2 (popcorn ceiling removal) / Week 3 (painted tile) / Week 4 (tall board and batten) / Week 5 (mosaic tile install part 1) / Week 6 (mosaic tile install reveal)

This was our first major bathroom remodel, we did update a master bathroom for $100 in our past house but nothing like this.

When we first walked through our farmhouse this was the first room that’s color shocked me a bit…

The previous owners painted it a vibrant lime green that wasn’t really our style.

After living with it for a year we decided it was time to tackle our first big bathroom renovation!

First Check out our design board the space here

The main boxes I wanted to check with this remodel were:

1. Adding vintage elements and character
2. Updating the bathroom fixtures and hardware
3. Getting rid of the awful fan light that creaked the entire time it was on
4. Staying within our budget (super important)

Bathroom renovations can be very expensive but you can save a lot of money doing the work yourself, however never do anything you aren’t comfortable with ie major electrical, plumbing, etc.

I broke down the budget for this bathroom here, but basically the hope was to stay within $1,200…

Find out if we stayed in budget at the end of this post!

Small Bathroom Remodel on a Budget Reveal

Can you even believe this is the same space?

I could not be happier with how our half bathroom turned out, it has all the vintage vibes and character I was hoping for.

Paint + Board and Batten

We started by painting the walls Black Licorice from Beyond Paint and adding tall board and batten.

There is a serious misconception that dark paint automatically makes a room feel small and cavelike.

This is not the case y’all, black paint can elevate a room and actually make it look larger.

Here are some of my favorite black accent walls to give you a little inspiration in case you want to head on over to the dark side.

We used Weaber Lumber for all the battens, new baseboards, & door trim.

The tall board and batten is super simple to install and really makes the ceilings look a lot taller.

Check out a budget way to add board and batten to your space here

Adding Vintage Wallpaper

I picked this vintage wallpaper out months before we even started this renovation.

It is so elegant and charming, plus it really pulls in the vintage character I was going for.

Wallpaper is a great way to update your space on a budget, we recently used some on our built-in IKEA cabinet to make it look completely custom.

Here are some of my favorite vintage wallpaper finds, plus tips and tricks for an easy install

Black and White Mosaic Tile

If you happen to follow us on Instagram you know that installing new tile was not on the list for this bathroom remodel…

I actually spent a couple days painting and stenciling the tile to save us some money, but keeping the old tile was not in the cards.

While we were removing the floor plumbing we noticed that the old tile was just coming right up, almost like it was just set there.

It wasn’t installed correctly and it was laid directly on the plywood, no cement board, which is a big no no!

When we demoed the tile we realized that one section of the subfloor also needed to be replaced, which was a blessing because underneath that we saw that the sink plumbing drain was never even connected to anything!

Yep it was just draining underneath the house…

At the end of the day I am super happy with the new black and white mosaic tile.

This was our third time installing tile and it really isn’t a super hard project!

You can find all our best tips, tricks, & what not to do during a tile install here

Bathroom Fixtures and Hardware

Replacing bathroom fixtures is where a lot of the remodel budget gets eaten up.

We replaced the old toilet with this one piece version.

The one piece toilets are so much easier to clean and we were able to find it at an auction for $72!

Our new bathroom vanity was a bit of a splurge and I have zero regrets.

I love its retro look and having a frame instead of an entire cabinet helps to make the small space less cramped.

The gold faucet is a budget friendly option that paired well with sink.

Small Bathroom Light Fixtures

In every space lighting is super important, it can help a room too and feel larger.

You can see my 10 best tips for making a small space feel large here

Our ceiling light came from my moms house, she recently remodeled her bathroom and I jumped at the chance to repurpose her chandelier!

(Here is a similar version)

I gave the chandelier a little TLC and added this ceiling medallion to make it really pop.

We also added these charming sconces around the mirror using the puck light trick.

Small Bathroom Accessories

The accessories are the pieces that really button up a space and honestly my favorite part of a makeover.

Another hammy down from my mom is the bathroom mirror, all I had to do was add a little rub n buff to the frame.

The vintage soap dish was another small splurge that I don’t regret at all.

I found it on Amazon but it looks hand crafted and is very well made.

The toilet paper holder also came from Amazon and honestly the phone shelf just made sense to me because lets face it, we all take our phone into the bathroom 😉

These prints came from Photowall and I simply framed them in these gold frames I got from Target.

To add a little extra character I hung them using chain that I spray painted gold.

Small Bathroom Remodel Budget Breakdown

Onto the one thing about this project I have been dreading… totaling up the cost.

I am sure that we went over budget but honestly the floor tile was a hit we weren’t expecting.

That’s just how it goes with renovations sometimes, it’s always good to add a little cushion to the budget.

Some of the supplies we used were sponsored products so we didn’t have to pay for them but I will include those in the total to give you an accurate idea of what the remodel would have cost.

Here we go:

• Paint (gifted) $70
• Wood Work (gifted) $250
• Wallpaper $83
• Mosaic Tile $250
• Toilet (bought at auction) $72
• Sink (bought on clearance) $311
• Faucet $71
• Soap Holder $25
• Chandelier (linked one similar) Free
• Sconces $57 x2
• Picture Frames $16 x2
• Toilet Paper Holder $17
• Plumbing necessities $100
• Prints (gifted)

Total: $1,075

Huh that is not the number I was expecting…

We came out under budget for the first time ever!

Obviously we had some things gifted to us which definitely helped and the second hand items we got from my mom saved us a ton too!

If you found zero sales and had to pay for everything at full cost you would probably be closer to $1500 which honestly is not terrible for a complete bathroom remodel.

Where you will save the most money is DIY-ing as much as you are comfortable with.

I added some of my favorite ways to save money on renovations below so check those out before you start your next big project.

Let me know what you think of our small bathroom renovation and follow us on Instagram for a behind the scenes tour!

Here are some other tips for remodeling a bathroom on a budget:

• Stalk Facebook Marketplace and thrift stores: keep a note in your phone of what you need along with dimensions so if you do find something you can act fast
• Find your local Habitat For Humanity: you can find vanities, toilets, doors etc at these places and usually they just need a good cleaning
• Paint Tile instead of replacing: this was our original plan & would have saved us a lot of money, if your tile is in good shape go for it (here’s a post on the best way to do it)
• Oops Paint: check the oops paint section at your local hardware store, you never know when someone else’s mistake is your perfect color
• Don’t underestimate the power of spray paint: If your towel holder is in good shape but not the color you want, spray paint it! Spray painting vent covers, electrical plates, light fixtures, etc can save you a ton of money and still give you the look you want
• Check in with friends and family: maybe someone close to you recently remodeled their space and is wiling to give you some of their used items.

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