Cheat your way to a new bathroom look – this mum's makeover cost just £33.50!

Does the thought of how much it might cost put you off of updating your bathroom? Maybe you're longing to incorporate the bathroom trends for 2023 but  don't know where to start? If so, don't worry as there are some ways around it, and with some clever planning and research, you can keep costs to a minimum. Taking on the decorating yourself, for example, can save a fortune and you'll have the benefit of feeling proud of your efforts afterwards. 

That's exactly what this mum decided to do when she was quoted £7,500 for a new bathroom. ‘The quote included a new suite, including a shower,' says Victoria Taylor from Redcar. 'This was a complete job, including tiling and flooring, etc, but it was outside of our budget, so I decided to go down the DIY route instead.'

DIY bathroom makeover

Having set her mind to it, Victoria began planning her new bathroom scheme. ‘The offices I work in have recently been refurbished and some areas have dark grey and black ceilings,' she told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk. 

‘And we had recently painted our skirting boards black and liked how it looked. I want to make the ceiling in my living room black, which is a big risk for a big room, so I thought we could try a smaller room on one wall to see if we liked it. We knew if it didn't look great we could soon paint over it!'

Before

The room was cleared ready for its transformation, with the walls and the bath both set to get a new lick of paint.

'The first step was emptying the room completely,' says Victoria. 'Then I taped up the skirting boards and window to protect them before applying the first coat of paint. I got most of the supplies from B&Q, including paint and plastic liners for the paint tray. 

'We saved £10 on the paint as there was a 3-for-2 offer on, so we paid £31 in total instead of £41. We already had everything else we needed – rollers, brushes and leftover white emulsion from previous projects.'

The dramatic update began, with three walls painted white and the other a dark black as a contrast. 'I didn’t paint to the edges on the black wall at this stage, as I knew the white paint would still be wet,' Victoria explains. 

‘Next, I did the first coat of paint on the bath. I then alternated between applying a coat on the walls and a coat on the bath. The next day I got to work with painting the skirting boards, once that the walls were dry. I applied two coats, then went to do the cutting in on the walls and ceiling.'

After

Finally the room was complete, with Victoria adding a mirror she already had above the bath. 'It had been stood up leaning against the wall, but I decided to hang it on the wall horizontally,' she says.

‘This project was also a good excuse to use a large shelf I had bought from Ikea's bargain basement a few months prior. I hadn’t used it yet, and I also had a smaller shelf to go with it. Now that the project is finished, I love it!’