Thrifty Bathroom Remodel

We moved into a very old house a few years ago. Everything needed to be fixed. We were fortunate enough to just have cosmetic problems, so over the years I have come up with creative and inexpensive ideas, to fix up the house.

My son's bathroom is my latest project. Not having a lot of money, but really needing to fix this bathroom, due to stains, moldy smells, and just a plain old eyesore, I started collecting, and planning abut a year ago. I was fortunate enough to pick up paint for next to nothing. I got a couple gallons from my local Freecycle program that someone had wanted to get rid of. I also picked up some paint at the local stores, from the 'mistake' pile, for less then half the regular price, and also got left over paint from friends, and family. I am going to paint the bathroom wall with a sponging technique, using three of the colors I received for free. A brown, green, and cream color is what I have chosen. Before you paint any room in your house, you have to do a few preparations first. I first remove everything that can be removed from the room I am painting. Then I cover whatever is left with old towels, sheets, whatever I don't mind possibly getting paint on. Next I tape off the windows. If you don't have a steady hand, you may want to just tape off the ceiling, or anything else around an edge, that doesn't need to be painted. You also want to be sure you protect the floor, but for this bathroom remodel, the floor is getting replaced, so I did not concern myself with that! You also need to make sure the walls are clean, free of nails, and holes are filled with Spackle. After these steps are taken, you are ready to paint. For a ragging, or sponging technique, you will have to choose at least two colors. For the bathroom, I choose three. You will take the color that you want to be the base color for the wall, which in this case I choose the cream color, and paint one, or two coats, depending on how the first coat looks, and let that dry according to the manufactures' directions. Next you will need to pour each of your remaining colors into separate buckets, and thin them down with just en ought water to make them workable. For this technique, I just tore up some old white undershirts. I tore them small enough so that I could ball it up, and hold it nicely in one hand. Now you will put your rag into one of the paint and water mixtures, and ring it out, and just start dabbing on the wall. Do this in small sections at a time, and continue making an even pattern, until you are finished with that color. Repeat this process with the next color, and then you are done. You have a professional looking paint job, that you did yourself!

After the painting is done, you can start to tackle the other projects in your remodel. I decided to do the floor last, in case anything drips, or falls,or anything else that could hurt the floor. So my next project is to fix up the shower. Buying a new shower stall, or bathtub can be very expensive. There is a wonderful product on the market that is made for the porcelain, and the plastic bathtubs, and sinks. You can get this product at the hardware store, and it runs about thirty dollars. It is just a coating that comes in white, or cream, and can be applied right over your old bathtub or sink. You must first thoroughly clean the sink, or bathtub, and then you can apply this product. Let dry, and you have a brand new looking bathtub, and/or sink, for thirty dollars.

The bathroom I am remodeling has a window in it, so I of course needed to get some curtains to match the new color. I made my curtains form a duvet cover that I got on sale for just a few dollars. You can also use tablecloths, or sheets as well. Anything you can find in the appropriate color can be made into curtains, if you know how to sew even just a little bit. As long as there is enough of the fabric, you will be in good shape. You can purchase these things at yard sales, thrift shops, and flea markets as well!

The most expensive thing I had to get for this remodel was a toilet. I actually got one pretty cheap at a local Habitat for Humanity home store. You may want to see if you can get one from a place like that, or put out an ad on your local Freecycle, seeing if anyone has one that is no longer needed. If you cannot find one, then you will have to splurge, and purchase one. We really need a new toilet for this bathroom. The old one is in bad shape. It works fine, but is an eyesore. It's a peach color, and is very old and stained. The lid has dried glue all over the top, and is a very unusual shape. I thought about just buying a lid cover to cover it up, but it is such an odd shape, I couldn't find one. I decided to get a new toilet, since everything else in this bathroom was going to look so nice and new!

Last but not least, it is time to do the floor. Now this bathroom just has a piece of linoleum down, and under it is concrete. I removed the linoleum, (which is the hardest part of the remodel), by cutting it with a razor blade, and pulling it up in small sections. I will then clean the concrete with as concrete cleaner.What I am using for the floor is old broken pieces of tile that I had been saving up for a couple years. I had some left over from various projects, I collected pieces from family and fiends, and I was fortunate enough to get a few buckets of broken tiles from Freecycle as well. It took me well over a year to get enough pieces of tile to be able to do the entire bathroom floor, but it was well worth the wait when I think about how much money I am saving on the floor alone! Now it doesn't matter if the tile is broken, or together, because the floor project is a mosaic floor. Anyone can do mosaic. It's like a big puzzle. You just lay the pieces together in any pattern whatsoever, and then adhere them down. After the adhesive has dried, add your grout, and you are finished with your floor. The great thing about doing a mosaic project is that you don't need all the expensive tools, to do this project. Tile saws are not needed. You may need a little tile snipper, but that's about it. Most of the time you will be able to find a piece to fit wherever it is needed!

You can use these ideas to remodel any room in your House. The project might not get done as quickly as you want, due to searching or bargains, and thinking, and waiting but it will be worth it when you end up saving a bunch of money. It's a great way to give your home a face lift, without hurting you pocketbook.