Who doesn’t have some home renovation projects on their list for 2020? In the past, my husband and I tackled a guest bathroom renovation on a tight budget, so we know exactly what can be done without a ton of money invested.
With the new year underway and a bigger budget in hand, we head into our second bathroom redesign and I wanted to share the philosophy behind why we’re redoing the new bathroom to fit our lifestyle instead of designing the bathroom of our dreams.
The Old Powder Room Project
We went into our first ever bathroom renovation with one goal in mind: RESALE. We purposely worked within a $2500 budget because we knew that our condo was simply a stepping-stone to our next home, and we didn't want to invest too much money into it. When we moved into the condo, it was just my husband and me, and the guest bathroom wasn't that bothersome for us mainly because it wasn't the one we used daily.
It wasn't until we had our daughter that the condition began to bother me. Shortly after, our minds shifted towards selling for something that better suited our new parenting-lifestyle. But to get the condo ready, we needed to make a few adjustments. Updating the guest bath was at the top of that list.
We did most of the work ourselves to keep costs down. We kept all the plumbing in the same spots, removed the dated medicine cabinet, kept the existing mirror (but painted the frame), and had a company come in and re-glaze the existing tub and shower surround—all of which saved us time. The rest was just paint and cosmetic upgrades.
Regardless of our smaller budget (the grand total came out to $2335.30!), the end result was still just as beautiful as any high-end bathroom design and definitely a huge improvement over the pink linoleum and yellowed tub that was there before. Plus the couple of months that we lived there while our home was in escrow, I was able to bathe the baby in a sparkling white bathtub—a total bonus!
A Bathroom for Our Family of Three
As we gear up to take on a similar project in our new home this coming year, we've got our eyes set on our guest bathroom once again!
Our plan now is to invest about double of what we spent previously. We hope to live here for the next five to seven years and not only are our needs much different now, we need the bathroom to withstand the daily beatings of a rambunctious toddler. While it isn't going to be a total gut job, this update will address a few key things that our family of three requires: saying buh-bye brown and updating the tub/shower area.
As much as I'd love to remove the jacuzzi tub in favor of a freestanding one, it's just not practical or worth the expense for us right now. As bulky and ugly as it is, it’s life-changing bathing a toddler in there—it's like her own mini swimming pool! Not to mention we're deep in the talks of adding a pup to our family, so my guess is that the tub will work well for bathing our furry friend too. And even though we're keeping it, we can still update it! The brown slate will be swapped out for a neutral subway tile.
We're in the thick of toddlerhood so every choice for the bathroom has to be thoughtful and appropriate for where we're at in life, hence the tile backsplash. It's a major splash zone in here and a bigger tub just means bigger waves, so we’ll be wrapping the room in the same subway tile to really make things waterproof!
Another family-friendly hack? A trio of towel hooks opposite the toilet are better for little hands. Because, let’s face it, if they can't hang it, ALL TOWELS END UP ON THE FLOOR! Not anymore they won't!
I really am aiming for a family-friendly space. Despite how much I'd love to have a freestanding tub and fancy finishes, I'll just save those for our master bath one day. We plan to be here twice as long as we were in our condo, so our spaces have to work twice as hard! Especially with baby (and possible dog) in tow …
If you're interested in following us as we tackle our guest bathroom makeover in 2020, be sure to check out our blog, The Homebody House or check us out on Instagram too!
