Bathroom Remodel Under $500

Our fixer upper that A and I purchased in Indiana was slowly becoming our dream. Room by room we repaired floors, walls, fixtures, and replaced furniture. When we learned of A's relocation we knew we would have to start all over again. It's not in the cards for us to purchase our dream home finished for us, plus it's more fun to create that dream.

The house we purchased in Maryland is much older and has many more flaws. Flaws that aren't that easy to fix or that require multiple steps. While we've been repairing more items than replacing, I am happy to show you our updated bathroom (I'm still on the hunt for some shelving above the toilet - you'll see). 

The bathroom contains a lot of original features to our 1987 house. The steel tub had been repaired many times and the floors have small cracks throughout. The vanity showed signs of water damage and was severely faded. And let's not talk about all of the medicine cabinets that were in this small space. One of those cabinets did stay because of the razor blade slot on the inside. So cool!

Click to tweet: See how @atravelingwife updated her bathroom in under $500

I was beyond eager to work on this bathroom since I found out family was coming out to visit. I wanted to be sure that our guests could enjoy a comfortable, clean, and inviting bathroom experience. Because of my excitement, I didn't get many before pictures. In fact, I only have three and they are all of the vanity. So please use your imagination and I will walk you through the remodel.

Above the toilet was a large oak cabinet that was removed and I am still searching for the perfect shelves. The mirror ($29.96) replaced an oak medicine cabinet that too was removed. We updated a rectangular box light with this lovely nickel light ($64.97 similar found here) and the one piece sink/counter combo was updated with quartz and a white porcelain sink ($135.20). The wall color is Opaline by Sherwin Williams (SW 6189 $60).

The one handle faucet was upgraded to this lovely widespread faucet ($89) in nickel and the succulent, that hasn't died yet, is from Ikea.

The vanity received a bath of a vinegar-water mixture and a light sanding. I then used General Finishes Gel Stain ($23.64) in antique walnut. I used General Finishes Gel Stain in java on our vanity in Indiana. It turned out so lovely then, but is too dark of an option for this house. I think the results are perfect for the style I was going for.

Most accessories we already had and are just repurposing here. I don't know why people feel the urge to buy all new when they are remodeling or updated. I'm on a budget, people! Here is a side view of the vanity. The sides are veneer and I opted to not replace them with real oak, just stained right on top of the veneer.

All vanity hardware was replaced. The hinges ($12.98) are not my favorite but they will have to do - it's a guest bathroom after all. The pulls ($20.79 for 10) on the other hand, I am loving them. I bought enough for our kitchen when we update that. More on that later. Way later!

This medicine cabinet is the only one that stayed. It's beautiful and unexpected. And, it has a razor blade slot in the back. There is no way I was getting rid of this thing.

If you made it to here, congratulations. I'll make it easy for you and add up all of the items we updated to prove to you it was under $500.

vanity light (similar) $64.97
widespread faucet $89
quartz countertop with undermount sink $135.20
mirror $29.96
nickel shower rod $22.91
nickel toilet paper holder $18.98
General Finishes antique walnut gel stain $23.64
Opaline Sherwin Williams emerald paint in satin $60
cabinet pulls $20.79 for 10
cabinet hinges $12.98 for 10

total = $478.43

Click to tweet: A bathroom remodel under $500?!

What do you think? I think it's clean and comfortable. We might opt to upgrade the floors at a future date. Future us < any Renovation Reality watchers?

Have you ever updated or remodeled a bathroom on a budget? What's your favorite way to make your guest bathroom comfortable?

Two Steps For Organizing Your Workshop or Garage

Thanks for making my house feel like a home. This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #Feelinvigorated #FeelGlade #CollectiveBias

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Well this is embarrassing. And to be honest, I can't believe I am even considering sharing this with you all. But this, this is my house.

We moved into our new house in April and if you are familiar with moving or visiting new places, they never smell like home. All of the familiar and welcoming scents are not there.

It's a strange feeling to me when I walk into my new home and it smells like a stranger's house. We have moved a lot and it's already a struggle to figure out which light switch turns on which light and where to hang this or that, so the first thing I always do is try to make my new house feel comforting. I light my favorite candles and arrange the furniture so it functions with our needs.

Click to Tweet: It's easy to make any new space feel like home http://bit.ly/1K43S6S [ad] via @atravelingwife #FeelInvigorated @glade

Now you would think three months would be long enough to really have my new house feel like home. For the most part it does, but there is one room in the basement that I dread - the workshop. It's dingy, dirty, smelly, and all around ugly. Workshops don't have to be glamorous but I believe they should be functional and well organized.

A keeps his hockey equipment and his tools in the workshop. Because of this, it smells like a boy's locker room mixed with a car repair shop - it's just not a pleasant room for me to be in. I would have kept avoiding this room if it wasn't for the Glade® Blue Odyssey™  Large Candle. The invigorating scent lit a fire under me to really get this room under control.

I believe there are two simple steps to creating an efficient workshop - storage bins and a peg board. That's it! And can you believe that I was able to create a functional space with less than $50?! Here's how.

I started with 4 plastic storage bins. You can find a variety of sizes, prices, and colors from Walmart. I opted for a standard black and spray painted them to give them a metal look.

 

Next I purchased a standard brown peg board and gave it a more industrial look by spray painting it. Don't tell A that I am having an affair with spray paint. I also needed to purchase some 1 x 2's because I wanted to place the peg board on a finished wall. If you fail to bump the peg board off the wall, you will not be able to hang anything using hooks. This I did not know until A said it wouldn't work without the 1 x 2's. What would I do without him? The 1 x 2's were also painted so they blended in well with the preexisting wall color.

A helped me hang the peg board. He started by drilling three pilot holes on each 1 x 2 so that the drywall screws did not split the wood. We used 2 inch coarse thread drywall screws to attach the 1 x 2's to the studs. Then we used 1/8 inch fine thread drywall screws to attach the peg board to the 1 x 2's. It was beyond easy! It almost sounds like I know what I am doing.

Now the fun part - the before and after. I didn't want to dump a lot of money into this room because, let's face it, it's really just a workshop. I opted to not paint the walls or update the flooring even though they are terrible. Just by sprucing up the space and bringing in scents from the Glade® Blue Odyssey ™ Large Candle, it now feels like home!

Now I can finish our guest bathroom remodel before family comes to town in 10 days. Plus the new larger Glade® Blue Odyssey™  Large Candle burns up to 60 hours. I guess I need to get to working on some more projects.

Click to Tweet: See how @atravelingwife remodeled her workshop with 2 easy steps and the help of @glade. [ad] http://bit.ly/1K43S6S #FeelInvigorated 

How do you make your house feel like home? How do you organize your garage or workshop?

Finally, do yourself a favor and enter below - treat yourself. 

Glade Blue Odyssey Candle