Home Decorating: The Do It Yourself Bathroom Project

When it comes to home renovations there are few rooms that have quite the impact of a bathroom or kitchen. There is something wonderful about taking a tired old bathroom and making it bright and shiny once again. However, most people cringe at the thought of a bathroom remodel because of the cost. The good news is that small changes can have a drastic impact on rooms as small as bathrooms. These changes do not have to have a large price tag in order to be highly effective.

With a bathroom assess where the worst blemishes and eyesores are. Painting the walls can be a good place to start but you should first decide whether you are planning to remove any cabinets. This is one room where it is best to save the painting for later in the project rather than the beginning. The vanity in many bathrooms takes up a good deal of space. Gone are the days when chunky cabinets were the popular choice for bathrooms. Now people want the bathrooms to have the appearance of a wide-open space. This means that cabinets and vanities are becoming smaller rather than larger.

Most homeowners find that the removal of bulky cabinets often leads to some degree of patching in the drywall and noticeable gaps in flooring. These will need to be addressed fairly quickly, which means that now is a good time to select color options for the walls and flooring. Smaller bathrooms do well with lighter colors on the walls in order to give them a larger appearance. Use towels and decorations to bring in darker accents but keep the walls light and bright. Also choose paint that can withstand the high humidity of bathrooms.

Flooring in a bathroom also needs to be able to withstand high heat and humidity. Because of humidity, hardwood is not the floor of choice for most bathrooms. Ceramic tile is an excellent choice and not terribly expensive. There are also some laminates that are designed to be in a high humidity environment. Choose flooring that will accent the walls and the overall sense of decor you are hoping to achieve, as this is not something you are going to want to change often.

The toilet in a bathroom is fairly simple to purchase and install. But I recommend leaving it be unless it absolutely needs to be changed. In this case "if it ain't broke don't fix it" is an excellent motto to live by. The same holds true with the bathtub. If, however, you simply cannot live with your bathtub or shower as is with some simple guidelines and procedures you can replace it. If you are not comfortable with tools you may want to hire professionals to come in and install your tub. Resurfacing is much less expensive than purchasing a brand-new tub and will have yours looking as good as new, but if you are going to resurface do your research. In the long run you are better to pay for a new replacement.

Tub surrounds have a drastic effect on your bathroom. The best choice is to use ceramic tile, it lasts longer and you have a better variety to choose from. But the work required for ceramic is a lot more than plastic tub surrounds. When replacing a tub surround keep a close eye out for mold and mildew. On most old surrounds there will be mold, so you need to replace the wallboard and clean any mold with bleach. Always replace the wallboard with mildew resistant board. Your best choice is cement board.

The most reasonably priced decorating you can do is accessories.You will be amazed at the difference that new knobs, fixtures, and hardware can make in a bathroom. Add a couple of lamps for subtle lighting and some decorative touches of your own and you have a brand new bathroom without spending a king's ransom in order to do so. The shower curtain and 'guest' towels should be your largest splurges in your bathroom, as they will tie the room all together. The shower curtains and towels will blend the colors and designs in order to create the overall atmosphere you were hoping to achieve in your bathroom. And all of this can be accomplished one step at a time no matter how sparse your budget may be.