10 Clever Ways to Renovate Your Bathroom on the Cheap

We all love boutique bathroom shops, but if your wallet is hurting then you should give big-box stores a try. You’ll find an abundance of competitively priced on-trend faucets, sinks and vanities. Really.

Thanks to advances in digital printing, you can find jaw-dropping porcelain tile that looks exactly like marble. This gorgeous room, for example, is cloaked in heavily veined Solar White Matt Carrara Tile; get the natural look of marble with less upkeep. For more info, surf over to UK-based Tile Mountain.

Hunt for second-hand bathroom fixtures to give your home a one-of-a-kind look and save you money, too. Good spots to visit include Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore, Addison’s Plumbing in Toronto (an incredible place for unique bathroom finds), vintage shops and even Craigslist.

We dig this cast-iron tub and vanity that was fashioned out of an antique desk. The look is rounded out with thick plank floors, a matching mirror and a wooden chair for holding towels.

Tile can get expensive, so try restricting it to the floor and shower area (or enclose it with plastic instead) and go all out with paint. It’s incredibly transformative. We like this Cape Cod loo that showcases light blue to beautiful effect.

Strip off that gunky shower-curtain liner, curtain and bathmat and replace it with new accessories. You would be amazed at how different your bathroom feels. Think of it as a new haircut and clothes for the washroom. We love this fabric curtain from Imanda paired with a basket for corralling towels. Chic on the cheap!

If your bathroom has a light fixture over the vanity mirror, it’s not that difficult to tap into the electricity to add nearby sconces. Doing so makes a huge difference to the overall feel of the room. Imagine these lovely industrial beauties flanking your mirror? Your guests will hardly notice nothing else has changed.

Imagine this graphic vinyl tile in your bland white bathroom. Install it and it will pop like nobody’s business, making it look like you’ve spent more than you did. Easy-to-apply vinyl is great that way. This stylish pattern, called Parquet Charcoal, is from the UK flooring company Harvey Maria.

It’s hard to believe that this is the same bathroom. This weekend project, completed by blogger and calligrapher extraordinaire Megan Bowker Hopkins of Two Delighted, came together with fresh grey paint and jewel-like crystal knobs – instant update on the cheap! And so much better than the builder-basic honey oak.

Notice how the newly painted vanity makes the white countertop look new (it’s not).

For the complete tutorial, visit this page.

If your bathroom is in decent shape, but is suffering from a case of the blahs we highly suggest wallpaper. There are removable versions all over the internet. We love this watery-blue one from Etsy seller Jennifer Latimer of Mercer Lago. Jennifer hand-paints the design, then prints it on formaldehyde-, phthalate- and PVC-free paper using water-based, eco-friendly inks. Simply peel and stick your way to a new loo!

Is your old unit past its prime? Then haul it out and install a snazzy new number, like this seamless one-piece toilet that has no bulky plumbing bits. (You can even do it yourself.) Remember to go with a low-flush, energy-saving model, so that you get both an aesthetic and money-saving update.