Easy DIY Bathroom Remodel Project Ideas On A Budget

Do you know that a full bathroom renovation can cost thousands of dollars? This budget bathroom remodel was done for under $300 and with limited demo. Get our tips to see how you can easily makeover your bathroom.

collage of easy bathroom remodel projects.

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Tips For Saving Money

Work with what you already have: the only thing that was taken out of this bathroom was the carpet flooring. I am sure we can all agree that was a good move!
Paint, paint and paint: Painting projects are literally one of the best ways to makeover your entire bathroom and they don’t require a ton of DIY skills. Besides the floor, we painted every surface in this DIY bathroom remodel.
Add A Few New Accessories: mixing new with existing materials and decor will give your bathroom a fresh look while keeping it on budget.
Replace Only Some Things: No need to replace your whole vanity if the cabinet is in good condition. Adding new hardware, paint or stain may be all you need. You can see how we painted the same bathroom cabinet but added a premade counter for a different look in this bathroom.
Take Your Time In Planning: Don’t rush the design process of your bathroom. If you are taking on a larger bathroom remodel, this step will be very important as you don’t want to have to double do the work.
Consider Hiring A Professional For Some Work: while this may seem counterintuitive, it may help you save money in the long run. Plumbing, electrical work, structural changes and tiling are jobs that might save you money by getting it done correctly the first time. We have done DIY tiling, just make sure you know what you are getting into before starting.
Search For Used Accessories You Can Makeover: You would be shocked at what you can find at thrift stores or on Facebook marketplace to help decorate your space.

The “Before” Bathroom

small half powder room with blue painted cabinets, carpet on the floor and green walls with text "Before".

This small space desperately needed a DIY bathroom renovation. However, because it was in our basement we didn’t want to spend a lot of money.

You can also see other DIY projects we did to cheaply update a different full bath in our house.

DIY Bathroom Updates

Some of these DIY bathroom ideas have buttons for full tutorials. We will be adding the other ones soon!

Bathroom Cabinet Projects

By using the existing features, we were able to makeover this bathroom cabinet for very little money.

tricorn black painted bathroom cabinets with black and white accent wall and part of gold mirror.

Repaint Bathroom Vanity Cabinets Black

Repainting the bathroom cabinets with Tricorn Black gave the bathroom a completely modern look. This classic black color worked perfectly with our plans for a clean and crisp feel.

How To Repaint Cabinets Tutorial

white marble painted bathroom counters with sink and faucet.

Paint Laminate Countertops

Did you know you can paint laminate counters? Yes, you can buy an expensive kit, but we figured out how to use supplies we already had to create a faux marble look.

How To Paint Counters Tutorial

spray painted black bathroom faucet on white sink.

Spray Paint Your Faucet

Instead of replacing your faucet or bathroom fixtures, consider spray painting it for a fresh feel. Just make sure that you use the right primer so that your new finish will last.

How To Paint A Faucet

black and white paint marker mural with gold bathroom mirror on wall.

Add A Bathroom Accent Wall

There are a lot of bathroom accent wall designs out there. At first, the plan was to use peel and stick wallpaper. However, we can up with an easy and cheaper solution. Using a paint pen was one of the easiest and mess-free ways to add this organic black-and-white design to this space.

Paint Pen Wall Tutorial

floor scraper getting carpet glue off of concrete.

Remove Carpet & Carpet Glue From Concrete

This basement bathroom has a concrete subfloor. In order to put down new flooring we had to remove the old carpet and glue. While this is not the most glamorous DIY project it had to be done.

How To Remove Carpet Glue

wood peel and stick flooring on concrete.

Add Peel and Stick Tiles

To keep this powder room bathroom project in budget, peel-and-stick flooring made the perfect sense. These faux wood planks were easy to install and were done for under $40.

Tips For Installing Peel and Stick Flooring

black toilet paper roll holder on wall with white and black pattern.

Paint The Toilet Paper Roller Holder

We used satin spray paint after using a primer to paint the old silver hardware. A quick spray paint can change old hardware to match your style.

silver toilet flush with gold arrows pointing to black toilet flush on toilet.

Paint A Toilet Flush Handle

This was such a quick and easy fix. At first, we were going to remove the handle and purchase new fixtures. But then decided to use the same materials from the other bathroom DIYs. You can use the same cabinet paint and counter topcoat so you don't have to replace the handle.

white baseboard trim molding on oak floor with gray walls.

Add Shoe Molding and Paint The Trim White

As you can see, the wood trim was old and worn in a lot of spots. The first thing we did after removing the carpet was prime and paint the molding. While it might seem like a small thing, seeing clean trim instead of dirty molding made a big difference in the space.

dirty oak trim on carpet. — This shows how gross the molding was in the bathroom.

#10 Spray Painted Outlets & Switches

You can carefully spray paint your beige or almond-colored light switches. Use an enamel spray paint and try not to spray directly into the electrical sockets.

two light switches with outlets sprayed with white paint.

#11 Paint The Walls, Ceiling & Door

A fresh coat of paint was a great way to get a new look and brighten the bathroom. By using SW Pure White on the bathroom walls, the tiny space immediately felt larger. White can really add a clean look to the space. By painting the door, walls and ceiling we were instantly able to make a huge difference.

hand holding small roller with white paint in the background.

The best part about all the painting projects is that we used supplies we already had. The only paint we had to purchase was SW Pure White wall paint and we bought that at 40% off.

Do you need help deciding what color of paint to use?

We recently just tried Samplize, which beats having to buy individual paint samples. These 9″ x 14.75″ samples will be shipped directly to you and save the hassle of clean-up (we loved that). See our full review here.

paint brush painting white door with fresh coat of white.

The Before and After Bathroom Makeover

We just love how cheaply we were able to remodel this small bathroom.

blue painted cabinets with green wall and carpet with before and arrow pointing to remodeled black and white bathroom.

How Much Did Each Project Cost?

These are approximations of the totals rounded to the nearest number. Make sure to always shop for sales in order to get the best prices on supplies and accessories.

Paint: because we had rollers, primer and brushes from previous jobs the only new paint we purchased was SW Pure White for the walls in Emerald at 40%.
Cabinet Paint: At the same time, we purchased only a quart of Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel paint in Tricorn Black for our cabinet repainting. $30
Top Coat Countertops: Again, the countertop project used all the same supplies as the other painting projects. The primer was leftover from our tile painting in our kitchen. The only new DIY item that needed to be purchased was the topcoat was under $35.
Spray Paints: the automotive primer and matte black paint for the faucet cost around $17.
Peel and Stick Bathroom Flooring: We used around $40 for this faux wooden floor. Before installing we needed to remove the carpet glue and had to purchase mastic remover for $25.
New Accessories: The only 2 new accessories we purchased for this space were the gold-framed mirror and black matte towel ring. We were able to get both on sale for around $60.
Paint Pens: The accent wall was completed with a 3-pack of paint pens. They cost under $10 and they were essential in our bathroom makeover.
Shoe Molding: Instead of pulling the baseboards off, we chose to just add shoe molding on top of the peel and stick flooring for easy use.

Total Cost: $285

Paints, Spray Paints, Top Coat: $128
Paint Pens: $10
Flooring (mastic remover, extra molding and peel and stick): $87
Accessories (mirror & towel ring): $60

What did we keep?

The light fixture is the same. While we could have switched it out, we didn’t think it was necessary and actually liked having a wood element in there. By modernizing everything else, not replacing the light fixutre totally worked for us.