Above: before, after
Even though it’s the smallest room in my 550 square foot condo, up until last weekend, my bathroom has seen no love. Mismatched towels, a cluttered vanity, and a bare shower curtain liner held up by 11 (not 12) dollar store hooks, were all plain-sight evidence of my laissez faire attitude towards this humble little room. After a particularly long bath, where I was confronted with my laziness, I decided it was time for a little shoestring makeover.
What I did:
Paint
Paint is often described as one of the cheapest fixes for a space, but at $40 a can, I thought I could do better. In the basement of Toronto’s Ontario Paint and Wallpaper – one of my favourite stores – is a great shoestring resource: "mistints." Mistints are perfectly good cans of paint that have been mixed the wrong shade by mistake, which many paint stores sell at a fraction of the price – at this store, $8-$10 a can. Though you never know what you may find, I felt lucky to find a mid-blue tone in almost the exact shade I wanted. This was a lucky break as many have gotten hip to the cause and the mistints section was more depleted than usual.
Accessories
All new, all from Kitchen Stuff Plus: Tate shower curtain ($30), Splash C-Hook Shower Curtain Rings ($10), Tate bath towel ($12), Umbra Orvino soap pump ($12) and cup ($4). With prices this good why wait for a sale?
Wall Art
My last improvement was to replace some flower photos in a chunky black frame with two framed photographs of the San Diego coastline, taken by my boyfriend. I wanted something of his in our home, and I think it works perfectly with the tranquil, shallow-end-of-the-swimming-pool blue.
The end result? A brand-new(ish) bathroom for about $75! (See Gallery below)
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Here are my top tips for shoestringing a bathroom;
- Before you buy paint for any room, always look in the mistint section. You may be able to find something close to the shade you’re looking for and save a bundle in the process.
- A grubby old shower liner can look as good as new after a quick bath in cold water in your washing machine. Wash on a gentle setting and drip dry.
- Digital prints have never been cheaper or easier to order. At a few dollars per photo, why not print a few extra and rotate them so that your bathroom is like the world’s smallest art gallery?
Got your own tips to add?
Previously on Shoestring Makeover: Video: Milk Jug turned Coffee Table
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