Coastal Farmhouse Bathroom Update for Under $350

For as long as I can remember, we’ve always had at least two and a half bathrooms, but with the new house we have two full baths; one in the master and other in the main living space. The bath in the main living space is for the girls and any guests. It’s not a huge bathroom as it had a pedestal sink, single shower with no tub, and the toilet. The bathroom is functional and it’s enough, except there was very little storage in the bathroom. We didn’t necessarily need to gut the whole bathroom, but it did need some minor adjustments.

I highly recommend living in a space and figuring out what works and what doesn’t before doing any kind of modifications. When we initially moved into the house, my mom was visiting, so I asked her honest opinion of what she thought was needed in the bathroom. Then I used it myself one day to shower in, just to see what was missing. It was obvious that the pedestal sink needed to go as it offered no functional storage and very little counter space. The problem was that the actual space next to the shower wasn’t very big, so we were limited on what size vanity we could use in that space. I knew that I wanted to paint the bathroom, including the trim, in my favorite soft white, Benjamin Moore White Dove. I felt that a white vanity would be too much white and sort of boring.  Thankfully I didn’t have to look much further once I found a rustic gray looking vanity from Lowe’s that was the perfect size.

I was also not a fan of the towel bar or the towel ring. If you put a towel on the towel ring by the sink, it actually covered the electrical outlet. Wet hands dripping water near electricity didn’t sound like a good combination to me. My mom had mentioned that she needed a hook to hang her towel when she was showering. I looked high and low for something to hang over the top of the shower and didn’t find a thing. I decided to look for something that would serve as a functional hook as well as bring in more of a rustic feel. I thought about possibly making something myself if all else failed, but I lucked out at Hobby Lobby where I found a shelf and hook combo. Not to forget to mention the adorable sign I scored from my friend LZ at The Summery Umbrella!

The shower and the flooring in the bathroom were in really good condition and were neutral enough not to be changed out for the time being. Because the shower was already brushed silver, we decided to stick with that same metal finish when picked out the light fixture and replacing the toilet handle. Oh the toilet handle…

As we were nearing the end of the project, my mother was getting ready to come back into town for Christmas, so we were feeling the pinch to complete the bathroom project.  For whatever reason, the original owners thought that a brass toilet handle was a great idea, except it had seen better days by this point and wasn’t flushing the toilet as well as expected. My hubby sent me this picture, the night before my mom came into town and I about fell over.

Thankfully I had received Rapid Fuse from Dap Products when I was at my conference this summer, and my hubby totally saved the day, and the toilet. After the Rapid Fuse dried overnight, which isn’t necessary but I didn’t want to take any chances, the new toilet handle installed and flushes like a charm. Whew.

All and all I am thrilled with the end result. We did learn that giving yourself enough time is key just in case you run into issues and we ran into our fair share.  We now have storage for the girls, which is a big deal.  A functional and fashionable place to hang towels, a fresh coat of paint, and  updating some key features helped the space tremendously.

The total cost of the simple update was under $350.00 and the best part, most of the money came from items I sold that wouldn’t work in the new house. I got rid of clutter AND updated a space. I feel like we were able to make a huge impact for very little cost.

XOXO,

Brooke