7 Budget Friendly Ways to Update Your Bathroom

I hope you guys are having a super week!  I’m talking a bit more about my bathroom today!  Actually, I’m talking about:

7 Budget Friendly Ways to Update Your Bathroom

We love our house but only have one full bath, I’m hoping at some point we can afford to do an addition with a master suite but for now this is what we’ve got. We share our bathroom with two little boys who are growing pretty fast, and any of you who have boys know they can be messy….

Here’s the before:

Not bad, but just in need of a little something…

Anyway, we’re on tight budget and I thought it would be fun to refresh this space by bringing in some new elements to make it feel  more like a spa, a little coastal oasis.

Here are my 7 budget friendly ways to update your bathroom:

Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which allows me to make a small commission from your purchase, but your purchase price stays the same. Thank you for helping support our blog!

1. Paint your vanity.

I shared this one with you the other day, click here if you missed it. Our vanity was GOLD, yup, GOLD.  To add some calm to this space and make the room feel bigger, I opted to paint the vanity a warm white. The transformation is pretty amazing, if I do say so myself. We’re all loving the new look!

2. Change out the hardware.

Hardware is like jewelry for your furniture; it pulls the whole look together! I found these amazing knobs from Anthropologie and they make the vanity look classic and timeless. They also give the appearance that it is an old piece of furniture which is the look I wanted.

I also updated the other knobs in the bathroom:

These are by D.Lawless Hardware and are nice and heavy. The also give an elegant look against the white built in cabinets.

3. Pretty Patterned Towels

I fell head over heals in the love with these towels at Target.  You know me and blue! They are the antique tile hand towel by Threshold & they’re 10% off right now. On Target’s website they look almost yellow but they’re really an off white. I love them so much.

See? So pretty up close 😉

4. Soft Cushy Bath Mats

I found these at HomeGoods.  

Stepping from the shower onto this plush mat is heaven.  I got the two piece set for $19.99.

5. Adding Stripes

Blue and white stripes add the perfect coastal touch to a neutral bathroom. I got this shower curtain up at HomeGoods but this one on Overstock is very similar.

Our’s has a waffle weave which adds a lovely texture to the white curtain, you can also see the white bath mat above.

6. Updating Faucets and Shower heads.

Chrome instantly gives a spa look to a bathroom! It’s clean, classic and easy to care for. Over the summer we updated our shower head with a rain shower from Waterpik. I love a nice shower so this is essential in our bathroom.

I also love our faucets which were installed by the previous owner:

I love that they look old. They are by Kohler.

7. Adding Smaller Decorative Items

Smaller decorative items can also add so much to a bathroom. A shell from a trip. Some driftwood found on the beach.  These are all free! I also love using real and faux plants.  You’ll notice I have three different ones in our bathroom. Two are faux (one from Ikea and one from HomeGoods), while this succulent is from Trader Joe’s.

A marble soap dispenser from HomeGoods looks way more expensive than it actually was.  I think I paid $8 and it looks a lot nicer than just having my method soap bottle out (although I do like the pattern on them!).

Simple cotton buds are placed in a glass and metal container from Ikea:

I’m also a big fan of lovely smelling bubble bath and handmade soaps.

How cute is this bubble bath from HomeGoods? I couldn’t resist the bottle –

It reads “Soap is to the body, what laughter is to the soul.” Conor’s been enjoying bubble baths with this Gardenia Bubble Bath.  I’m also a huge fan of Pacha Soaps which are handmade and for each bar of soap they sell they donate a bar in their “Raise the Bar Campaign”.

This is my favorite one by them, but I also love their carrot facial soap too.

Here’s a few more images of the refreshed bathroom:

We’re loving this refreshed space!  I’m still on the look out for the perfect bath sheet.  I love them very big and soft and absorbent. Do you guys have any recommendations?

I’ve also included a full source list below.

Source List

• Wall Color – Benjamin Moore Manchester Tan
• Trim Color – Benjamin Moore White Dove
• Vanity – Champlain by Fusion Mineral Paint, can see painting tutorial here.
• Vanity Hardware – Anthropologie
• Built In Hardware – D. Lawless
• Shower Curtain (similar)- Overstock
• Soap Dispenser – HomeGoods
• Bath Mats – HomeGoods
• Hand Towels – Target
• Shower Head – Waterpik
• Faucets – Kohler
• Door knob – Antique
• Plants (real and faux): Trader Joes, Ikea and HomeGoods
• Container – Ikea
• Driftwood / Airplant – I made

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