Remodeling a Small Bedroom into a Bathroom
I’m excited to be guest posting today at Remodelaholic! Thanks to Cassity for having me! I’m Kim, half of NewlyWoodwards. At our online home, I gab about all our daily adventures – renovating, decorating, gardening and just generally DIYing. We’recurrently in the midst of renovating a (soon-to-be) great home from the late 19th century – our third remodel. I guess you could call us gluttons for punishment.
Today, I’m here to share a 2007 renovation project from our current home that I hope you love as much as we do. It’s probably my favorite room in our house. (I say that about every room, in case you were wondering.)
When we bought our first home, it had four teeny bedrooms and one bath. Oh yeah, and it was ugly.
Luckily, it got better.
But back to the bath. When we bought the house, the only bathroom was on the first floor. Because I’m a bit spoiled, I decided that we must have a bathroom on the second floor with our bedroom. I mean, can you imagine getting up in the middle of the night for a glass of water and having to go down 18 steps? And then up them again? Horrific!
Luckily for me, one of the bedrooms on the upper floor was ripe for a transformation. (This would be your before photo. And the only one, too, because I only had a few moments before my husband began ripping out that scum carpet.)
It couldn’t have gotten much worse, right? It was a postage-size bedroom. A twin bed would not have fit in there. But it made a relatively large and luxurious bathroom for a home built in 1917. With two large windows for lots of light.
I brought together my dream team of my three favorite men – my husband, dad and father-in-law – and they were able to make it happen for under $1,500, start to finish.
And now for the after:
Better, right?
I pretty much based the entire bathroom on a shower curtain from Ballard Designs. I
liked the color. And I still do. In fact, the room has barely changed in three years. Still
love it today.
The two main concerns for this bathroom were budget and organization. Here are my tips for each.
Consider buying off-the-rack. Go to the home store. Immediately, you’ll find something that you love and cannot live without. And, most likely, it will be the most expensive thing in the store. (If you are anything like me.) Instead, try to actually consider less expensive items. Even if it’s not your very favorite. I’m not saying to go with something you hate. But, consider.
We went with a stock vanity and simple white countertop. The light was only $4 from Home Depot. The mirror was $35 in the home decor section of Menards. I loved other things, I really did. But I love this bathroom, too. And all the parts of it together.
Which leads me to…
Be flexible. Everything may not go exactly as you want. Initially, I wanted a different layout in this bathroom. But it was going to be A LOT more work, time and money to change out the plumbing to the way I wanted. The bedroom happened to be right above the downstairs bath, which made it simpler to run the water and tap into the sewer pipe in a certain configuration. And now, the truth is that I love this bathroom, as is.
You don’t need everything. Please don’t buy all the ‘stuff’ that they sell at big box stores. Step away from the toilet rugs. It doesn’t seem like a lot of money, but please don’t buy all the racks/towels/toilet seat covers. It adds up. Hooks are so cheap and look much neater than a towel rack.
And would you consider skipping the ‘decorative towels’ and only buying towels you can use? Please. There are towel-less children in this world. Use your towels. And then bleach them and use them again.
And my one major tip for organization…
Create a place for everything. When you are renovating, make sure to think about what you will store in the space. In this room, we have a designated place for makeup, hair stuff, medicine, extra towels, extra toiletries, lotions and cleaning supplies. Plenty of space, and everything is always out of sight. It really does make it
simple to keep the bathroom clean and organized.
So, that’s our bedroom-to-bathroom remodel in a nutshell. Hope you liked it!
If you have any questions or are interested in more remodel madness, stop over to NewlyWoodwards.
>Great bathroom. I can see why it would be a favorite!
>great job on your bathroom. I love the color and the white trim is a nice contrast. I really like the way you set up your towel hooks too. You can never go wrong with hardwood floors….beautiful:-)
>Kim, I love your tips! And WOW, $1,500 for a new bathroom? That has to be the biggest bang for your buck ever – you'll recoup on that big time when you sell, and not to mention all of the enjoyment you've gotten out of it. Great job!!!
>you are so fabulous. 🙂
>I don't think I've ever seen Kim's bathroom before. What an amazing transformation!! That family is truly gifted at reno!!!
>Excellent work! It certainly pays to have help. With the cost of the fixtures,other supplies, plumbing and labor I think you came out pretty darn good!
>$1,500?!!! Amazing! We're planning on adding a second bathroom to our house and I'm embarrassed to say how much I thought we'd need. I'm going to save this post for when we start ours for inspiration–we're going to need it!
>great job, kim!! i have always loved your bathroom remodel. in fact, i think that's what actually brought me to your blog the very first time (can't remember where it was linked from, however!). that green is such a fresh color and perfect for a sunny bathroom! as always, your remodeling superpowers astound me!
>Wow, I'm super impressed. $1500!?!?! Amazing!! I'm totally with you on the white towels too – I'm thinking of them (and hooks) for our new bathroom. You added some amazing value to your house with this project.
>Looks great. We have a small Cape with only one bathroom on the first floor too. I can't wait until the day when we can put a dormer on the back which will become a bathroom and walk-in closet. But unless I hit the lotto that won't be happening for awhile. So if I have to go to the bathroom or need water I have to trek all the way downstairs.
>Wow–$1500? When i've been researching for our bath reno, I've found that the average is $10000 for a small bath. I didn't plan on spending THAT much but I didn't think it could be done for $1500! Well done, Woodwards. Well done.
>LOL about all the extra towels, I agree! pretty green color, and I love the baskets. Great use of a space, I'd die without a bathroom near the bedroom ! I always have to "go" over night!
I absolutely LOVE this bathroom remodel! And for the price especially! I was wondering about the plumbing situation, though. Did you hire a plumber to hook it up to the downstairs bathroom? And if so what part of the cost was that?
Hi Lynise, this is a post from a guest blogger, so I’m afraid I can’t answer your questions, but if you’ll click over to their blog (linked at the top of the post) then you can ask there. Thanks!