Updating the bathroom was the first task we undertook in our house. It was in an awful state when we moved in, and even now it really needs a complete overhaul – but it will have to do for now. This is what it looked like when we first moved in:
There was a red carpet that had yellow stains all over, the shelves on the wall had rusted and left a trail of rust down the tiles, the bath panel was broken and just resting against the side of the bath but the worst of all was the amount of dirt. This, for example, is what the bath looked like:
The very first thing we did was to remove the carpet, and replace the toilet seat.
I had to scrub the floorboards at least 5 times to get rid of the smell of urine and the side bath panel was beyond repair.
*You can check out our easy & cheap way of removing smells from floorboards here.*
The walls were really dirty and stained yellow. We wiped down everything with sugar soap and then painted the whole room with white emulsion.
The difference to the yellow paint is unbelievable. It already appears so much cleaner and brighter than before. We replaced the weird lamp with something more energy efficient. Unbelievably, each bulb in the previous lamp had 500W! Then we had a piece of MDF cut to size to replace the broken side panel of the bath and, for a quick and cheap fix, tiled the bathroom with laminate floor tiles. This is what it looked like half way through. The laminate was really easy to lay and is so much more hygienic than the carpet.
This is what it looks like now.
All in all it is a much cleaner and brighter room. The whole bathroom makeover probably only cost us about £30. We think that was money well spent. What do you think?
Samantha says
Love how you’ve made the bathroom so much better on such a small budget. Where did you buy the laminate tiles, looking to do something similar, but cannot find it online anywhere. We can only find larger tile styles. Thanks!
Christine says
Thanks Samantha! It was only meant to be a quick fix – 3 years later we’re still living with it!
I think we picked up the laminate tiles at B&Q. We basically picked the cheapest we could find! I’ve even seen similar ones at Pound Shops!
Good luck finding some that you like!
Cx
avlea2 says
I like how you are trying to save money by doing the work yourself to make it liveable. It’s something you can be proud of. Thanks for the pee-removal info.
Christine says
Thanks. Most people think we’re mad, but comments like yours make it worth it! So glad to live in a house that doesn’t smell of pee – such a luxury ;)
Cx