My idea was simply this: What can I do in just 2 days with $200 dollars? I wanted a transformation that wouldn’t consume my life or break the bank. There are lots of budget friendly ideas out there, but some of them are quite labor intensive. I wanted to give our outdated 90’s basic builder grade bathroom a QUICK and AFFORDABLE makeover without investing lots of time or money. One day we plan to do a complete overhaul of this room, but after 5 years of living with it like this, I decided it was time to at least give it a quick budget-friendly makeover. The goal was improvement, not perfection. So I decided to challenge myself to make over this space in just 2 days with $200 dollars.
Here’s what it looked like BEFORE:
Yikes. This space is the epitome of yellowed outdated 90’s basic builder grade bathroom. It functions, but has absolutely no style whatsoever.
So here’s what I created in just 2 days with $200 dollars:
And here’s how I did it:
Step 1: Improve the appearance of the glossy orange vanity.
Our vanity takes up a good deal of space in the bathroom, so I knew that in order to improve this space, I needed to improve the look of the vanity. I have always loved the look of bathrooms with a rustic wood vanity, so I decided to sand this vanity to see if I could achieve a similar vibe. I used an orbital sander (because that is what we owned) and 80 grit sand paper and got to work sanding off that glossy orange exterior. After doing this, I loved the color variation that remained and the way the vanity appeared lighter and almost “aged”, so I just put on Minwax Polycrylic clear matte sealer to seal it. It’s important to get a WATER BASED MATTE sealer, because the water based ones will not yellow (don’t want that, thank you very much) and the matte ones will not make it shiny. I purposely sanded the glossiness off, so it was important to have a matte sealer so that I didn’t add it right back. Another important step to making this piece better was to add hardware. Our basic builder grade cabinet never had hardware in its 20+ years of life. And it was time to change that. A few matte black handles later, and I’ve now got a vanity that looks much better and more reflective of my personal style.
Step 2: Paint is my friend.
I knew that the key to improving this space on a budget would involve paint! The transforming power of paint is incredible, and I was counting on it to work its magic on this space. I gave the walls and trim a fresh coat of Snowbank by Olympic (which was leftover from a previous project so it cost us nothing). And I used Rustoleum black satin spray paint to paint the towel rack, toilet paper holder, light fixture, and wall-cabinet hinges black. That $6 can of spray paint was soooo much cheaper than replacing all those items.
Step 3: Elevate the entire space by creating one beautiful focal wall.
In order to transform this room on a budget, I decided to focus most of my efforts on the wall behind the vanity. If I could make that look wall look updated, I knew it would elevate the rest of the room. This is where this subway tile wallpaper was key! Creating that focal point elevates this entire room. I used Benjamin Moore’s Kendall Charcoal paint (leftover from a previous project) to paint the upper half of this wall to give a nice contrast to the subway tile wall paper.
Step 4: Replace the basic blah mirror.
Our previous mirror was one of those ridiculously large rectangular sheets of mirrored glass that came in just about every builder grade home built in the 90’s. I’ve never liked it, but honestly the thought of taking it off the wall always intimidated me. I thought for sure it would be difficult to remove or weigh a million pounds, and so I just left it there. For 5 years. When I started this challenge, I wasn’t even sure if I’d take it down. But then on a whim, I went for it. And can I just tell you that is was the best decision I made! It took me less than 2 minutes to remove, and about another 2 minutes to spackle the holes. Why in the world did I wait so long to do this?! Replacing that mirror with a modern round mirror made a world of difference in making this room feel like a new place!
Step 5: Give The Light Fixture a Custom Makeover:
Originally I planned to buy a new light fixture. But I couldn’t find one I loved that would keep me on budget, so I decided to work with what I already had. First I had my husband remove the light fixture from the wall (If you do this, please make sure you have turned off the power to your fixture first so you don’t electrocute yourself!) Then I removed the yellow marbled glass globes and threw them out. I used a fine grit sandpaper to gently sand the light fixture so that the spray paint would adhere better, and then I sprayed it with 3 light coats of spray paint, and let it sit to dry outside to dry for several hours. Then I added copper washi tape to exposed part of the light fixture where the glass globes used to be (the credit for this idea goes to one of my followers who shared it with me, Libby@_ourlittlewhitehouse – thank you, Libby!). Then I put clear Edison bulbs in the fixture and voila…a brand “new” fixture with a modern industrial deconstructed vibe. Is it my perfect dream light fixture?…Not really. But is it a million times better than what was there, considering it cost me less than $30?! Heck, yassssss.
Step 6: Paint those yellowed linoleum floors.
This idea seemed a little crazy, but a simple google search revealed that others had successfully done this before. And this bathroom seemed like the perfect place to give it a whirl. After all, even a botched paint job couldn’t be worse than that awful yellowed linoleum that was there before, right!?
So I went for it. I’ll be doing an in depth tutorial on how I painted linoleum floors, but basically the steps were: sand it, clean it with THP heavy duty cleaner, prime it with drywall primer, roll on multiple coats of porch paint, let it dry…and dry…and dry. This drying step was definitely one that tested my patience, but here we are!
I’ll share more details on this process in a separate blog post, but I can tell you that I am so glad we did this in this bathroom because it made a world of difference! But I’m not sure I would do this in a large area or a high traffic area like a kitchen. Just being honest.
So here’s the breakdown of all the costs:
3 Pairs of Drawer Pulls/Handles: $12.94 + 9.56 + 5.94
Quart of Valspar Porch Paint $12.98
Minwax Polycrylic Clear Matte Sealer 17.97
Rustoleum Black Spray Paint $6.18
Subway Tile Wall paper: $34.99
Hobby Lobby Mirror $65.00
4 Edison Bulbs: $23.92
Charcoal Paint & White Paint: free (used leftover from previous projects)
Copper Washi Tape: free (already had some from my shop packaging supplies)
Frames, art, baskets – free (shopped my home and used what I already owned)
Toilet – free (this was removed from our powder room that we just renovated and it was in better shape than the one here so we moved it up here)
TOTAL: $189.48
I’ll admit, this room turned out better than I expected! I’m thrilled with the transformation that took place in just 2 days with 200 dollars. And my husband’s comment that “the bathroom looks 2000 times better than before!” was great validation that this was #2Days200Dollars well spent!
Now it’s YOUR turn! I invite you to join the 2 Days 200 Dollars challenge. What can you do in your home to drastically improve a space without investing a ton of time or money? It can be any space, big or small. A whole room or just a closet or a mantle.
And remember the goal is to improve the space, not to create your dream room.
Keep that healthy perspective in mind, and then roll up your sleeves, and go have fun getting to work on your own #2Days200Dollars challenge. And if you join in, please use #2Days200Dollars and tag me @cynthia_harper_ on instagram so I can see what you’re up to. And I’ll be featuring my favorite transformations in a future blog post, so that we can all keep inspiring one another!
95 Comments
Oh my!! It turned out so great!!!👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
I love the mirror, wallpaper, sanded look, light fixture with copper washi tape!! I love it all!!
Thanks so much, Trish! I appreciate that! I’m so happy with the changes, and even happier that my husband was so impressed, lol. I’m glad I took on this challenge and pushed the bounds of my own creativity on a budget! XO, Cynthia
I am so so so impressed with how this turned out!!! Looks amazing Cynthia 😍 I have several bathrooms in my home that are builder-grade with no personality that I’ve been living with for too long. I see a tiny reno coming my way! 😜
Cynthia! I love this so much! What a difference two days and UNDER $200 made. You did such an amazing job at being creative and deliberate. I love it!
Thank you so much! I truly appreciate your kind words here! This definitely pushed the bounds of my creativity, but it was such a fun challenge and I enjoyed it. XO, Cynthia
Thank so much, Kelsey! And I LOVE hearing that this may have inspired a tiny reno in your future! That’s awesome! XO, Cynthia
Looks amazing! Great idea to paint the floor! Will be curious about how well the painted linoleum holds up.
Thanks so much, Cindy! I’ll be putting together a blog post on how I painted the linoleum, and will be sure to keep everyone posted with how it holds up. Time will tell. Fingers crossed for good results! XO, Cynthia
Cynthia this turned out so amazing!! Love it!!
Thanks so much Alycia! I truly appreciate your kind words. I have to admit, I’m really pleasantly surprised how much of a difference these changes made! XO, Cynthia
This turned out AMAZING Cynthia!!! Such simple changes yet they made a HUGE impact! It’s gorgeous! 🖤
Thank you so much, Lisa! I’m really pleased with how it turned out, and a little shocked that I actually stayed on budget, lol. I’m glad I pushed myself to do this challenge – it was fun and forced some creativity! XO, Cynthia
Hi! This looks great! Love it!
Does the challenge have to be completed in September?
Thanks so much! I’m running it ‘officially’ in September because I’ll be selecting other people’s projects to feature in an early October blog post, but you can really do this challenge any time you’d like! XO, Cynthia
I’m in love! 😍
Thank you SO much for those kind words! I’m glad you like it! XO, Cynthia
It looks incredible! Great job
Thanks so much for your kinds words! XO, Cynthia
This is all so creative, I love it so much!! I definitely want to try this challenge
Thank you so much! If you decide to try it, please share it with me. I’d love to see! XO, Cynthia
It’s so good!!!! I need to get on my guest bath ASAP!
Thank you so much, friend! XO, Cynthia
Love it all. What an amazing budget transformation! Where is that rug from? I love all your rugs but can never find exact ones. Please do a blog post on those pretty rugs! 🙂
Thank you so much! Most of my rugs are from home goods, so unfortunately I can’t link them. Sorry. XO, Cynthia
Wow! This is incredible! And has totally inspired me to tackle my space! I can’t get over how the light fixture changed so much with just paint and Edison bulbs! Great job!
Thank you so much! I’m so happy with its transformation! XO, Cynthia
What a marvelous transformation!! You are a genius!
Thank you so much! XO, Cynthia
I agree with your husband completely. Oh my! I wasn’t even sure if this transformation is possible on a budget. You made me shut up and believe that a little creativity and some elbow grease can render such results. Bow down to you Cynthia. Great effort and inspiration. ❤️
Thanks so much! I’m glad I make a believer out of you 🙂 XO, Cynthia
The cabinetry in our bathrooms looked the exact same as your “before” and we painted them white several years ago. I now wish we had sanded them like this! I am shocked at how awesome they look now! Who knew?!
Thanks! I’m sure your white ones look pretty though! XO, Cynthia
So so great!!! Can you link or tell where you got the subway tile wallpaper from? It’s perfect! Also, we have the SAME cabinets throughout our home, so I’ll be tackeling the sanding project soon! Thanks!
Thanks! It’s from Target and I linked it in the blog post 🙂 XO, Cynthia
The transforms is AMAZING! Love it!
Thank you so much! XO, Cynthia
Love the space! Can you share the source for that rug?
Thanks! It’s from home goods. XO, Cynthia
Absolutely love it!!
Thank you so much! XO, Cynthia
Any tips or tutorials on sanding the vanity? I have the same ugly orange cabinets in my kitchen and have been itching to do something similar with them, but feel like it’s a risky project!
I literally just used an orbital sander to sand it down. It was so easy! And than I used Polycrylic clear matte water based sealer to seal it. Hope that helps! XO, Cynthia
I am so inspired by this. Makes me want to renovate my guest bathroom. Where did you get the subway tile wallpaper?
It’s from Target and I linked it in this blog post! XO, Cynthia
Absolutely love this!!!! I have some projects that feel so daunting, but this is super encouraging. Thank you!
I’m glad this encouraged you! XO, Cynthia
What subway tile wallpaper did you use?
Its from Target and I linked it in this blog post! XO, Cynthia
I love your updated bathroom but the best is you were creative and spent less than $200!!
I’m definitely using some of your ideas with my bathroom!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad this inspires you! XO, Cynthia
Cynthia, it looks amazing! It is hard to believe that’s the same room! Well done! I’m totally inspired to do something like this in our home. Let the brainstorming begin!
Thank you so much! If you do something similar in your home, be sure to share! XO, Cynthia