The difference in a minor bathroom remodel

When my wife and I moved into the house were are currently at, I was happy just to be living in a house.  There were obviously some things that we wanted to do over time and luckily, I have been able to start tackling these things.  One of the biggest areas was the master bathroom.  While small in size, it was the same generic bathroom that was built in at every house in our neighborhood.  While it was fine at first, I wanted to do something different and learn at the same time.

With the help of my father in law (Who really did most of the work), here is the difference in a minor bathroom remodel.  This is just the difference made with a new counter top, a new faucet, a new light fixtures, and updated light switches.  The first picture you will see below is the original bathroom and I can’t say that it was great.  Please note that I did take the old light covers off before hand so that does make the bathroom look much more.

The picture below is of the new light fixture, faucet, and new countertop.  I will go over a price breakdown further in the article that shows that this was a very affordable remodel if you have the ability and desire to do some of the things yourself.  It does really help having someone in the know that can help walk you through the steps, but really, it was not all that hard of a project.  Here is the new bathroom (We are still considering options on the mirror but being a giant at 6-foot-8 makes me want a larger size so that I can actually see myself in the bathroom without ducking).

What is interesting about the new design of the bathroom is the fact that although we used the same exact light bulbs in both pictures, the second photo looks much brighter.  The wall color was exactly the same and these photos were taken within eight hours of each other so it was not a massive transformation in the bathroom.

Regarding the price breakdown, I think it is important to show that a small remodel like this really is something that is affordable and can be done relatively easy.  I will talk about it in the future as well but another part of our remodel was tiling the floor over the existing laminate.

Here is where the money was spent:
Lighting fixtures (Purchased at Lowes): $42.66
Faucet (Purchased at Home Depot): $84.29
Countertop and extra side splash: $228.27
Liquid Nails and Sealant: $10.66

The overall cost of that portion of the remodel came to $365.88.  There was also a few dollars spent on the outlets and light switches but that was no more than a few dollars.  In my opinion, I would spend that money any day to make my bathroom look ten times better than what it previously looked like.

To save money, I did use the same vanity that was in place.  That obviously is not always an option.  If you look at it closely, I did purchase bright white paint (Not included in total above) so that I could paint over the previous wood look.  The people that had lived at this house before us did the same on a bathroom down stairs.

Regarding the process, I really had did little on such a project.  After seeing and helping at times my father in law do it, there was not a lot to do.  The hardest part was removing the previous countertop.  It was a generic model that had been stapled down about a thousand times and that made things rather difficult.  Installing the new sink was actually rather easy and we were able to use many of the previous connections that were there beforehand.

If you are any type of handyman or know someone that can help, this would definitely be worth doing.  Again, for under $400, there is little doubt that this bathroom looks a lot better.  I know this will help sell our house faster when the time does eventually come.