Our $1800 Kids DIY Bathroom Reveal!

DIY bathroom decor on a budget…

It’s our DIY bathroom reveal day! Es el día de la revelación!

*This post contains some affiliate links. Please read my full disclosure policy HERE.*

Happily our reveal day coincides with Cinco de Mayo, and what a fitting coincidence that seems to be. For we feel we’ve won our own little battle here. The end of this six week challenge has come, and I think, we’ve done about all we could do. I’m gonna call it a victory.

And before we down a few cervezas…grab some chips and salsa, and let’s show you how our DIY bathroom turned out. *This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Please see my full disclosure policy here.*

I’ve been hearing the Chariots of Fire theme song in my head the past 24 hours…

It’s been like a marathon. And like Forrest Gump, it feels like we’ve been running for 3 years, 2 months, 14 days and 16 hours. Since we’re 100% DIY in this household (since we’re too cheap to pay anyone for help) things like a bathroom renovation are a big undertaking.

And doing a renovation as a couple can really test a relationship. Luckily, my beloved and I never argue during these projects, since we’re so in love and “happy, happy, joy, joy” ALL the time (insert snarky, eye rolling emoticon HERE).

In the spirit of this travel themed bathroom, let’s take a little trip down memory lane and see where exactly we started this DIY bathroom journey, six weeks back.

Yup, now I remember. We started in 1989. That was fun (smirk, smirk).

Back to 2015. We wanted to spend no more than $2000 on this remodel.

Final tally and source list for our DIY bathroom:

Faux Wood Tile + supplies: $120 **This tile is only available online**
Paint (walls & trim): $75
Antique fluted glass pendant lights over sinks: $80
Gooseneck barn light: $38
Recessed lights: $122
Ikea sinks/vanities/faucets: $740
Mirrors: $94
Moulding: $400
Tub/tile refinishing kits: $50
Vintage license plates: $40
Shower curtain: $60
Pocket door kit + Vintage door $60
Privacy film: $20

TOTAL: $1839

*when possible I link to the exact item used. If an item is no longer available or was a thrift/antique store score, I’ve tried direct you to the most similar items I can find!

Oh yeah, 80’s bathroom! Take that! Victory lap time! We stayed under budget by doing a lot of small things. One being inexpensive decor. I bought a lot of vintage license plates. Didn’t cost a lot, but add a lot of color and some personality.

See that “magazine rack”? It’s a paint can bucket grid. Costs under $4.

I bought those little “towel hooks” on the clearance rack at Michaels. They cost $1 each. A towel bar in the bath section of a home goods store can set you back more than $25. Stop the insanity! Bathroom accessories are insanely priced these days! We actually wrote a couple of posts about great, lower-cost options for bathroom towel bars and toilet paper holders, so be sure to check those out.

The floating sink vanities from IKEA were where a majority of our budget was spent.

This room is very long and narrow, and the original vanity just accentuated that shape. The floating vanities, and keeping two that are separate, rather than one, long double vanity helps break up the space and keep it from looking quite so long and skinny.

Plus, there’s room underneath for little footstools…which are pretty clutch in a kids bathroom.

One of the biggest improvements to this space was the addition of a pocket door between the sinks and toilet areas.

LESS THAN $2000 Fully Renovated Kids Vintage Transportation-Inspired DIY Bathroom! Check it out!!!

Before there was a traditional swinging door here, which was awkward, intrusive, and a waste of the little precious space we had in here.

The flooring we used is a faux wood porcelain tile. Easy on the eyes AND the budget. We get a lot of comments on it. They make lots of different styles of this type of tile. It’s very durable. This particular variety is only sold online.

We laid our wood look tile in a chevron pattern. If tile patterns is something you struggle with and want some ideas about, here’s a tile pattern glossary that can help you!

We bought this salvaged door from a local yard sale site and gave it a makeover, including privacy window film and paint.

Like our shower curtain? I designed it online using vintage car advertisement images.

And our salvaged suitcase. Now a medicine cabinet, sitting under that gooseneck barn light. Lighting was a BIG part of this renovation since this room has ZERO natural light. In addition to that barn light, we added a bunch of recessed lights, and then our old school sconces with Edison bulbs over the vanities.

We ran the race, folks. And now, we’ve crossed the finish line….budget intact and all.

Movie screen shot taken from christianfilmdatabase.com

Good look for us? You’re right. Maybe this is better…

http://www.film-travel.com/2013/07/film-friday-chippewa-square-forrest-gump/

Screen Capture from Forrest Gump Travel-Film.com

Wow. That’s what you call MAD photoshop skills, folks. Perhaps I’m renovating bathrooms and missing my true calling? Soul-searching will be later. For now, it’s time to raise a margarita while we celebrate Cinco de Mayo, and having reached the finish line of this bathroom renovation marathon.