Simplistic Elements

Hey I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I felt pretty productive over the weekend. I managed to organize the house, but also realized I’m starting to accumulate an excess of home decor items. I try to keep the excess down to a minimum in my house as its a smaller apartment so the more things the smaller the space feels. I will be doing some purging soon.

A part of having a small apartment is that bathroom space is limited too. However with a small space comes easy and inexpensive ways to update. I believe that one of the best ways to make a space appear larger is to have white walls, so I encourage that if your bathroom space is limited.

Now if you want a bathroom refresh without breaking the bank, you have to prioritize your design elements. Going full scale remodel contains the following:

• Shower/tub
• Flooring
• Wall color
• Back splash
• Hardware
• Lighting
• Vanity
• Mirror

If you are doing a full design its crucial to decide on the budget and to prioritize your must have’s versus what you can wait to do later. Also construct a time frame and be realistic on whether you are doing the work yourself or hiring a contractor.

If you’re on a budget or just don’t desire for a full scale remodel at the moment I believe the most affordable and significant ways to update a bathroom is the flooring, vanity, and lighting. If the vanity is even too much for you consider re-staining or painting it and changing out the hardware for something new.

See example below.

Another thing that can add to your bathroom vanity is a new faucet.

Hudson Reed has a beautiful variety of bathroom hardware to include faucets, shower heads, sinks, tubs, and vanities. There prices are mid to high range, however great pieces for a full bathroom redesign with a more expanded budget. Their pieces are not traditional in store pieces so if you are looking for some more elegant or modern I encourage you to visit their site.

Also sometimes simple and affordable does it. All pictures below are hyperlinked and finshes come in a variety of colors such as: silver, nickel, bronze, brass, and gold. Think about your finishes and make sure your shower head, sink faucet towel racks, lighting, and cabinet finishes match or compliment one another.

Faucets are something that come in a varity of styles, the only important thing to rember is how many holes your vanity/sink contain. You will find either one or three holes for faucet placement. If you’re on a strict budget you can’t go wrong with Home Depot or Lowes, however you can find some variety online that still won’t break the bank.

Since we are talking hardware lets talk drawer knobs pulls and towel racks. If you are looking for traditional looks and a reasonable cost your local hardware store have you covered.

You can add a round or square pull for a clean modern look.

Knobs are also available in the same variations of square and round. Below are options provided by Home Depot.

I do want to say that Lowes has their selections very organized and shoppable as you can see below. So stop by your local Lowe’s and see what they have or browse their online selecetion.

If you are looking for a special or unique look in the bathroom you can get some knobs that pop.

Wayfair also has a great selection of knob and pull hardware so check them out too.

Another way to update your bathroom is the vanity mirror and overhead lighting.

How about some vanity lighting options. One thing to keep in mind about bathroom lighting is how bright you want it to be, so think of the number of bulbs and the shade of the glass globe. The clear the glass the brighter out pouring of the light or be strategic about wattage. Also consider whether you want uplighting or downlighting.

Flooring is also a major thing that can change the look and feel of a bathroom. Because bathrooms are not often a large size redoing the flooring is something that can be affordable. That depends on material and the types of cut you decide on. To stay on a conservative budget you can go with vinyl and lay it over what is there currently or take out what flooring exist and replace it with tile. The flooring samples below are all simple and standard floor tiles and vinyl available at Home Depot. Keeping it the traditional cut is cheaper then doing a pattern or herringbone.

However if you have room to splurge the options are limitless!

These tiles are from Builder Depot, but I encourage you to check your local tile and flooring vendors because they have some absolutely gorgeous tile. I also believe purchasing flooring is a in person thing sometimes you want to feel and see it and check the durability. Flooring can make such a statement in your home.

You can accessorize your bathroom with towel racks. Wall art work that is calm and cute, storage, decor trinkets, shower curtain, rug, etc.

I will leave you with some inspiration for other DIYers, bloggers and home decorators.

And before I go one more bathroom makeover video on a budget for inspiration. I hope some of these ideas sparked a summer project for you. Even small fixes can make a home feel new and fresh and that may translate into you and your life. Until next time!