DIY $400 Bathroom Paint Makeover!
Don’t have the budget for a full bathroom remodel? Why not DIY a bathroom paint makeover? Here’s how I made over my vanity and shower all with paint!
Not only did I paint the beige bathroom walls, but the cabinets, wall plates, shower tile and even the granite counter!
The only thing I didn’t paint? The tile floor and I’ll tell you why later. The great thing is that tackling this myself as a DIY bathroom makeover, I save a fortune!
Yes, the ENTIRE bathroom makeover was $400 including supplies and accessories. It now looks like I spent $1,000s on a remodel not $100’s.
If you are new here, I’m Tracey the QUEEN of PAINTING Everything. I’m OBSESSED with creating high-end looks for LESS.
Not only did I work in the paint industry training on proper application, launching new paint technologies, but also received a ACT (architectural coating technologist) certification.
So I didn’t just watch a free YouTube video or find something on Pinterest telling me how someone else painted their tile or granite.
My approach was developed based on science and expertise plus 30 years of personal painting experience.
Am I worried the paint is going to peel off? Nope because I know what I am doing 🙂
Beige DIY Bathroom Makeover: The Before
This is my guest bathroom, so it’s not the primary bathroom. It is MY bathroom because it is adjacent to my office.
Personally I use it EVERYDAY, but the shower is used for weeks at a time when I have visitors and my mom stays for extended times.
I wanted to mention this and why a paint makeover made the most sense versus spending $8K to $10K for a remodel.
Pin It for Later!
When I kicked off this makeover on Instagram, SO MANY people commented “That looks just like MY BATHROOM!”
The large format beige tile was a BIG TREND 13 years ago when I built my house. The model home had it everywhere, so I chose it for my primary bathroom and the guest bathroom.
My son was 10 and I let him choose his bathroom colors and he picked something more timeless. A charcoal slate-look tile with espresso cabinets. I should have let him choose the rest of the house LOL!
Here is my primary bathroom that had floor to ceiling beige tile like the guest bathroom. That remodel was $25K!
You can read all about this bathroom remodel in this series of blog posts.
After going through a previous remodel, I had a baseline for what a remodel would cost in the guest bathroom. It wasn’t in my budget right now.
I knew a bathroom paint makeover would give me the high-end look I envisioned, but for whole lot less!
The craziest part was I wanted a marble slab look in the shower. I had to put on my thinking cap on how to achieve this and make it long lasting!
Ready for the full reveal? Yes, paint is magic!
AS A DISCLAIMER, ALL PAINT IS TEMPORARY AND NOT EQUIVALENT TO THE DURABILITY OF CERAMIC TILE AND NATURAL STONE.
Just wanted to set expectations, if you are considering this at your house.
Paint requires care and maintenance and is not permanent, so never have that expectation when painting anything.
Contains hand selected products, with affiliate marketing links where I may earn a small commission if a purchase is made. {full disclosure here}
$400 DIY Bathroom Paint Makeover: The Reveal
First up what I DIDN’T paint, which is the tile floor. You may be wondering why, right?
Well I am a paint expert and will paint just about everything…except a tile floor.
It is SO easy to damage a painted tile floor with little rocks in the sole of a shoe or by dropping something heavy.
The odds are HIGH a scrape or weak spot will form and damage the painted tile floor.
Peel and Stick Tile Floors
Instead of painting the tile, I opted for peel and stick tile in a classic black and white pattern.
To say this was the WORST part of the makeover is an understatement. I plan to record a YouTube video of the reality of installing peel and stick tile to help others.
The tutorials I watched made it sound like in a couple of hours I’d be done. WHAT A LIE!
- You cut TINY pieces and work around odd shapes like the toilet. This takes forever and multiple tries to get it right.
- Physically it is hard on your body kneeling and bending over cutting for hours.
- Nothing is square in a room, so you will have to caulk the edges for a finished look.
I’m a perfectionist (shocker) and after some trial and error I figured out some tricks to help me go faster.
That was after 8 hours! Yes, it took me 10+ hours to install the tile. Just a warning. My bathroom required 3 boxes of tile.
Installing peel and stick tile was like having a baby, once I finished I loved it so much I forgot how painful it was!
Porch Daydreamer
ONE | TWO | THREE | FOUR | FIVE | SIX | SEVEN | EIGHT | NINE | TEN | ELEVEN | TWELVE
Painted Bathroom Cabinets
This was the EASIEST part of the makeover for sure! I used an HVLP paint sprayer (Wagner Spraytech Sprayer).
I’ve written a couple of blog post about paint sprayers and painting cabinets you may find helpful:
- Painting Bathroom Cabinets: PRO Finish on a Budget
- Hand Painting or Spraying Cabinets: What is Better?
- When It’s Time to Buy a Paint Sprayer
Using a paint spray with Valspar Cabinet & Furniture Enamel (product review here) gave the look of a factory finish!
Trade up the look of a bathroom vanity by updating the hardware:
I filled the cup pull drill holes and installed a knob plus drilled a new hole for a pull on the third cabinet door.
The architectural detail is now a great backdrop for a beautiful new blue paint color Sherwin Williams, Niebla Azul. The wall color is Sherwin Williams, Pure White which is the perfect white – not too stark.
Did you know you can save money by tinting another brand into Lowe’s paints? That’s what I did! How-to Match Another Paint Brand into Lowe’s Paint
Then above the vanity is a simple frameless bevel edge round mirror. I didn’t want the mirror to overpower the room like the previous one.
Sample the Paint Colors Used in This Project:
Samplize.com peel-and-stick samples, are the EASIEST way to test a paint color!
- Vanity – Sherwin Williams, Niebla Azul SW 9137 [Get a peel-and-stick sample overnight of this color]
- Walls – Sherwin Williams, Pure White SW 7005 [Get a peel-and-stick sample overnight of this color]
- Shower Tile – Sherwin Williams, Pure White SW 7005 [Get a peel-and-stick sample overnight of this color]
The samples are reusable and repositionable, 100% accurate using 2 coats of REAL paint!
Plus you can order them right from the comfort of your own home with fast overnight shipping. Nothing is quicker, when you need to sample a paint color.
Granite Counter Painted to Look Like Marble
Now this is where the paint makeover gets really interesting. Yes, I painted the granite counter!
This project required a “do-over” because I had an issue with the paint. It never fully cured, so I removed it and started over with a different paint type (I am serious when I tell you I test, before I teach).
Plus I had a LOT of silicone caulk to contend with, which isn’t paintable.
Fortunately with my paint background I know how to identify issues quickly and deal with them.
With all of the white in the room, I decided to create a black honed marble finish.
I’ve created quite a few faux paint finishes (All About Antiquing Glaze for Cabinets and Furniture) and knew what was possible by layering paint.
It literally fools me that it’s not a real piece of marble on the vanity!
To create the faux marble effect, I painted a solid color and then applied a couple of glazes over the top and sealed it with many layers of a clear coat.
This faux marble effect can be reversed in color to create a white marble with a gray vein.
The new accessories give the room a high-end look and are all affordable:
- Wall Art: Rose and Princess
- Mirrored Vanity Tray
- Soap Dish, Cup and Jar
- Towel Holder
- Vanity Light (provided by Progress Lighting)
I used the same Polished Chrome finish on all of the accessories unified the look with bathroom faucet.
It’s always ok to mix finishes! This time I kept it all the same.
Then to save a few bucks, I spray painted the switch plate and outlet cover so they blend into the wall. White Spray Paint
Beige Shower Tile Painted to Look Like Marble Slab
Now for the star of the bathroom makeover the shower! It is the focal point of the room and I am so happy with the look.
To say I used ALL my painting skills to paint the shower is an understatement!
I ran into the same issue as with the granite counter. See that metal frame?
The shower frame is sealed into place with silicone caulk, which isn’t paintable. I teach you how to deal with that in my class.
To be honest, I waited a month after painting the tiles to do the faux marble veining.
It was an intimidating idea to do something at this large scale, but after some practice I went to work!
TUTORIAL: Yes! You Can Paint Shower Tile (and it won’t peel) and How-to Paint Shower Tile to Look Like Marble
I’m SO proud of how it turned out and that it looks just like the inspiration piece from my mood board.
Even in the bright morning sunlight the shower looks great and not like I painted it myself.
To give the shower an even more high end look, I extended the shower head with an adjustable arm and added a rain shower attachment.
With such a large built in shower, having the water flow closer to the center of the shower makes more sense.
YES! It will last and is cleanable too. I tested on tile pieces, BEFORE I ever applied anything to the shower tile.
Am I Worried the Shower Tile Paint Will Peel?
NO! It won’t peel and my guess is will last for 5+ years without any issues. Gentle cleaning is required and NO scrubbing.
I’ve placed a soap dish on the ledge to protect it from soap scum build-up as a precaution.
Where am I concerned that the paint may peel? The floor of course!
To combat this, the floor is solid white so I can easily repair any future issues following the same process.
The area that is the most likely to fail in time is around the drain, where water sits.
Am I nervous about this? Nope. I was dumb and pushed a step stool down in the shower floor to install the shower head.
It had a rough area on the foot and scratched the paint off down to the original tile (why I don’t paint tile floors that get walked on with shoes).
The repair took minutes and a few days of dry time and is perfect now like nothing happened.
Remember paint is NOT PERMANENT, but it is EASY to repair!
This was a $400 bathroom makeover my friend and it looks like I spent $8,000 or more.
My hope is I have inspired you to consider painting something at your house.
If you didn’t believe it before I hope you see now, paint is magic!
For daily inspiration on how to inexpensively update your home, follow Porch Daydreamer on Instagram!
Until next time…
Porch Daydreamer
Tracey
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It looks gorgeous 😍 absolutely love it!!!
Thanks so much! I still can’t believe I did this with paint 🙂
I love it! Many years ago I was living in an apt with a painted concrete shower. The paint on the floor started peeling so I asked my landlady if I could repaint it and she agreed. I was young and knew nothing about paint but I went shopping at a local hardware store and came home with a quart of swimming pool paint. About a year after I had moved out she called to find out where I bought the paint. It held up so well that she wanted to use it on the walls as well. Since those early adult years I have painted, dyed, or reupholstered anything that needed a color change. And along the way I learned to check with the experts first. In all honesty I have to admit that sometimes I have a ‘they don’t mean me’ attitude but usually get over that during the re-do. Thanks for going in first and being one of my expert advisors.
Hi, Vicki! Thank you 🙂 Love this story and we all have to start somewhere. Success builds more confidence, getting over hurdles successfully grows us even further, and then we finally master it!
I have been waiting patiently to see this reveal.
Your counter top is amazing. The shower is out of my wheelhouse but I might be able to do a counter top. I have painted numerous vanities and kitchen cabinets over the years. I did one peel and stick floor and vowed never again. Those cuts around the toilet …….you know what I mean. The shower looks so luxurious. This was probably the best bathroom makeover I have seen without spending mega bucks but getting a mega bucks look. Congrats on a great job.
Hi, Deb! Yes, patience was a virtue on this one! Between procrastinating doing the shower marble effect to editing videos 7 days a week, it took a minute 🙂 Thank you so much for your compliments they are much appreciated. You can TOTALLY paint a counter. It’s really easy…just lots of coats to protect it. Not hard at all. Yeah, peel & stick tile and I will NEVER be friends LOL.
Gorgeous makeover. I salute you.
Thanks so much Cindy!