White Bathroom

We have a ranch-style home that was built in the 1980’s. We suspect the upstairs bathroom is original to the home. It needed some TLC. Here’s how we transformed this space to an updated white bathroom.

I wanted a simple, timeless look. It’s a small, long space with one natural light source. Making the space brighter and appear larger were priorities.

Here’s what we did:
- New tile floors
- Replaced the vanity counter
- Installed a new sink and toilet
- Painted the shower, vanity, and trim
- Added hardware to the vanity
- Updated the wall sconces
- Incorporated new decor

The Shower

The painted shower….many people have questions! We used a paint kit from Sherwin Williams. It turned out decent for what we needed. It took Mike a few hours to finish and then we waited 36 hours before using it to make sure everything was fully dry. It looks good however it doesn’t look like a brand-new shower installed. We decided to paint it because it was budget friendly and cut down time.

The Vanity

I really wanted a new vanity but the budget wasn’t impressed with that idea. Most 72″ vanities that I liked were $1,200+. We were trying to stay under $2,000 for the entire project. One issue with the majority of 72″ vanities is they have two sinks. Don’t get me wrong…we’d LOVE two sinks. The problem is that we have sconces over each side where a sink would be. That means we’d need to rewire and put lights in another area. Again, we’d love to do that too. But that would have added to overall cost and rewiring seemed like a pain in the ass. We were stuck with a 72″ vanity because of the room size and the awkward space a smaller vanity would give us. So…we decided to roll with what we had!

Savings Tip: slabs of counter tops at Lowe’s

We got a slab of counter top at Lowe’s and replaced what was already on the vanity. It was under $200 and saved us time instead of trying to paint or epoxy the current one which would have been almost the same price. Nothing wrong with painting or epoxying counter tops, we did epoxy in our kitchen 2 years ago. I highly recommend checking out Lowe’s for extra counter slabs…budget and time friendly! The only thing I’ll add is the counter was too wide and hung way over the edge of the vanity. My handy husband had to cut it to fit properly. We painted the rest of the vanity white and added hardware.

Next up…the sink. A 72″ vanity with one sink can be a little awkward depending on the sink size. That’s why we went with a raised sink. Our sink and faucet were from Lowe’s. I think white raised sinks look timeless.

The Floor

The bathroom had yellow/almond vinyl flooring before. I love a marble look so the tile decision was a no brainer. We got materials from Lowe’s and Mike made the floor magic happen. Mike did the backsplash tile in our kitchen but this was the first time he did floor tiling. He did a great job! We had a wet saw from the kitchen project so we only needed to buy the tile and supplies like grout, etc.

The brighter tile instantly made the bathroom appear larger and lighter. It’s crazy what new colors and materials can do to a space!

Lighting

Desperately needed updated sconces. Mike moved the hand towel holder that was originally on the right side of the mirror and installed a new one on the left wall. All the sconces I liked were long and the hand towel rack was placed too high for what I wanted for light fixtures. Sconces were from Amazon. Link included at bottom of page.

Decor

We decided on brushed nickel for hardware which I think is a safe look. I’ve really been drawn to gold accents lately so it was tough to decide whether to mix metals or stick with one. I decided to stick to brushed nickel and to incorporate some subtle decor gold accents. Besides what I note below, all other decor items were things I already had.

I got a gold tray to hold our soap dispenser and containers for cotton balls/q-tips. All were from Amazon and great quality. Links at the bottom of the page. I also added an orange vase that I got from my Grandma years ago…the woman has some serious style!

I had a hard time choosing a rug. Tile is much colder on feet than vinyl! I wanted us to have something warm when standing in the three main spaces you utilize the most in a bathroom…the sink, toilet, and shower. I decided on a runner which most people say I shouldn’t have because it covers a lot of the new beautiful tile. It actually doesn’t completely dominate the space in person but appears that way in pictures. I love the runner. I wanted one rug instead of three separate ones that broke up the space. I even tested it out. The runner made the space appear longer and warmer. Got this beauty from Amazon. Link at the bottom of the page.

The rug has a dominate pattern so I wanted a neutral curtain for the bathroom window. I like the balloon curtain because the ties add an extra element when it’s pulled up. The curtain needed to be light filtering because the window is the main natural light source. Then, I went the white shower curtain route with a waffle-like pattern. I love the waffle-like material. It offered an opportunity to add another texture into the space. I bought a great one from Home Goods for roughly $25 before we started the bathroom project. Then I lost the bugger so I bought one on Amazon that looked the same for $16. I recently found the Home Goods one so I swapped them out. The Home Goods curtain is a thicker material but there’s truly nothing wrong with the Amazon one. You just can tell the difference of quality when you put them side by side. Links for the window curtain, curtain rod, and shower curtain from Amazon are below.