I cannot believe I finally finished this DIY bathroom makeover! And you guys, my husband didn’t even fight me on this one! 🤣 I think he FINALLY trusts my renovation gut and basically said,” okay, when do I need to take out the floor?” WHAT A MAN. Let me tell you, we have come a long way. lol. Check out the before in this video!
The plan and inspiration for the DIY bathroom makeover
This whole project sprung from some tiles I had initially purchased for our fireplace, and did not end up using. By purchasing a few more, I had enough to do the floor of this bathroom and figured it was the right, fun place for them! And if I am doing the floors, why not re-do it all, right? The pedestal sink was crooked and drove me absolutely bonkers every time I sat down to pee. lol. It had to go. So this is what I worked up in Canva after hm-ing and ha-ing about the design for a while.
The encaustic tile floors
These were the beauties I had on hand that I thought would be SO FUN in a half bath. I have seen them around in gray and in black and white, but I found them in my sage/seafoam color at Floor and Decor when I was in TX! (They have gone up an entire dollar per tile in price since I bought them, yikes!). The thing about encaustic tiles is that you have to seal them before you grout them. So an extra step, but kinda worth it bc they are gorgeous and are much more modern than our old .50 cent builder tile lol.
To install these, we removed the sink and toilet, and tore out the old tile floors. I mixed this mortar, laid down cement board, screwed it in, and let it dry. Then I used this pre-mixed mortar and laid out my tiles with 1/8″ grout spacers that I used in the kitchen. Followed that up with a good cleaning and two layers of seal before grouting. I used this white grout since the tiles were white.
Board and batten + paint
I used PVC board and batten because this bathroom is used so heavily and our area is humid in the summer. MDF will warp permanently if it gets wet. I initially planned to paint it using the same paint I used in the DIY Laundry makeover cabinets. When i painted a sample on the wall, it looked purple in there! So I reluctantly started mixing different paints I had on hand (I hate spending money on paint samples) and ended up with this color! The closest paint chip I can find to it is Taiga Spruce!
Love how it is topped with our Sherwins Williams Pure White paint that the rest of the house is painted. There 8,000,000 board and batten tutorials out there so I’ll spare you that. But I do recommend if you want to keep your existing baseboards trim, DO NOT just go out and by 1″ wood like everyone does. It will hang over and look awful, and those “hacks” for that with the angled cuts or extra pieces of trim are no bueno. Just buy thinner pieces of wood, please. If you want thicker board and batten, replace the baseboards. Here are exactly what I bought from Homedepot. I ordered online and they shipped to me for free.
- 5/8×3.5×96 in Primed PVC (2)
- 1/4×1.5×96 in Primed PVC (2)
Installing the sink
Since the vessel sink we bought was a wall-mount vessel, I actually installed that first. that way I knew the sink wasn’t relying on the cabinet I was going to build. Unfortunately, the sink had its measurements wrong online, so it was just over 20″ and I needed to be just under. There was a tiny gap along the back then that I had to account for when doing the board and batten, which worked out fine in the end. I sealed it up with a piece of scrap wood and caulk. I used this inexpensive faucet from Amazon that is like a baby version of our kitchen sink. Then this towel rack and matching toilet paper holder are saving us from the “who never changes the toilet paper roll” debate. I cannot even describe how much more “finished” they look than the builder grade pieces we had before.
Building the cabinet
This part of the DIY bathroom makeover was a doozy ya’ll. I wanted a new vanity but we have a super weird nook there, so I knew it either had to be tiny or custom. That bathroom REALLY needed storage so I decided to try and figure out building one into the space. After assembling ALL of our new kitchen cabinets, I had a good sense for how cabinets were generally constructed and thought I could do it. I did not record the steps for this very well because I figured the odds were very low that anyone coming across this blog would also have such a funky shaped bathroom. Plus, I was completely winging it.
Loose directions
Basically, I made a “countertop” which was 1″ wood kregged together to the right depth, then cut to fit my strange shape. With an additional “U” cut out to work around plumbing. Then I started framing out a cabinet by screwing scrap wood into the wall at studs all along the underside of my counter, to keep it up. I cut a piece for the front of the countertop just like I do in my floating shelf tutorial to make it look like one piece of thicker wood.
With the countertop supported I actually started working from the ground up. I ripped down some old 2×8 scraps I had and built a super sturdy base that was screwed into the studs on the back wall. Then I cut a bottom to the cabinet and attached side/front supports using the kreg. All that was left then was building doors. As seen in my original plan, I wanted cane webbing for this but then I decided it would be better to use all the scraps from this project/my garage so I broke out the table saw again and started ripping wood down to between .25″ and .5″ thick. Then I basically just played a game of tetris with my chop saw and 45 degree angles.
Toilet problems
Soooo we had planned to save our toilet. I adding some extension flanges to the toilet flange to fix the height difference from old tile to new, and we managed to get the old toilet back on just fine. Days later, I noticed a leak from one of the toilet bolts. I knew you had to tighten each bolt slowly so they all stayed level. Well apparently I hulked it, because one turn too far and CRACK. Porcelain toilet bowl shattered.
Needless to say I then had to take the toilet apart and remove it, which was especially a nuisance because my muscle had left out fo town on work trip. I did a toilet pick up order at HomeDepot and then somehow managed to get the giant heavy box out my car myself, and installed it. When I went to attach the toilet tank, I noticed a hairline crack at one of the bolt holes. Ensue panic because I already installed the base. I bought epoxy, filled the hole, let it cure for a day, then installed the tank and have not had any problems yet.
DIY bathroom makeover decorating
I used a print from my own digital print shop, printed at Nations Photo Lab and placed in a 16.5×20″ IKEA Hovsta frame! Which BTW IKEA delivered for $5.99, way cheaper than driving an hour and a half to Philly. I ordered a smaller frame as well, and selected an Emme (my almost-three year old) original for my floating shelf!
The floating shelf was made using the same method I created for my kitchen. I also got a metal basket and used a candle and faux plant I had on hand for that. The mirror was found at a Homegoods but it is identical to this pill mirror found at Target. The light is an Amazon score I got for about $50 (affiliate link). I was pumped to find a toilet tank tray that fit the new toilet! Add a dollar spot candle, pou-pourri, faux plant, and a canister for female toiletries and voila! the bathroom feels homey without being cluttered!
I hope this inspires you to do your own DIY bathroom makeover or answers any question you have! Don’t forget to check out more DIY posts and pin this for later!