For those who like a no demo reno, this one’s for you! My goal in our primary bathroom makeover was to keep the base in place. Vanities, counters, floor all stay the same. Replacing them opens up an entirely different makeover with an entirely different budget. We don’t plan on being in this home five years from now so it just doesn’t make sense to me to spend several tens of thousands of dollars on a remodel. However, I want to love my bathroom while I’m here and the before just wasn’t doing it. Little changes were made that made a big impact on the overall feel of this room. I hope this gives you some inspiration if you are planning a bathroom makeover of your own. I’ll write a separate post on how I did the wall trim and bathtub skirt so keep an eye out for that.

Catch up on the makeover plans here, and the progress shots here. While I’m sharing this as the “reveal”, I’m not completely done. I still have to repaint the vanities. They’ll be staying black, but desperately need a fresh coat of paint. My plan is to take the doors and drawers off and use my paint sprayer. That will need to wait until it’s cooler and way less humid out. While we’re waiting, enjoy the main part of the makeover! All sources will be linked at the end for you.

Before

After

Wall Trim & Crown

I’ll never get over what picture frame moulding and crown does for a room. It brings so much interest to the walls without the visual clutter. This was a DIY and you are totally capable of doing it yourself as well, I promise! There were a couple of reasons I wanted to add this to our bathroom. First being that I added the same style of moulding to our primary bedroom and I wanted to two rooms to feel more visually connected. Second was that the ceilings are fairly tall in here and the mirrors and lighting get lost on the plain walls. The trim helps connect everything. And you can’t beat the beautiful shadows it creates!

My first hurdle was figuring out how to address the archway going to our shower, toilet, and closet area. I knew it had to be curved. If I had squared out the bottom part over the archway it would have been such an eyesore for me. Doing the extra work to curve with the arch makes the entire room feel more high-end. I based the trim profile in here off of first finding the correct flexible moulding, then checking to see if matching traditional straight moulding was available. TIP: Don’t try to cut flexible moulding on an electric saw! You’ll need to use a hand saw. Trust me. That was scary.

Lighting & Mirrors

Removing the long mirror on my vanity side made such a big difference in ditching that builder grade feel. Same can be said for going from one long sconce to two. In a perfect world I would have loved to do sconces on each side of the mirrors, but I couldn’t make that happen. I had to work with the current sink placement which is quite close to the edge of the wall. There was not enough space to place a sconce to the right of the mirror over the sink. Doing so would have pushed the mirror so far to the left that it would have only sat halfway over the sink. So over the mirror lights it was. I’m not mad about it though because these brass sconces also help fill in some of the wall space due to the height of the ceiling.

I love DIY, but I hired out the electrical in here. Anything involving wiring inside the walls is not my idea of a good time. You can save money by doing the wall patching repairs yourself though.

Faucets

No more crumbly faucets!! I’m so happy with the finish on the new ones. They instantly made the countertops feel brand new. Choosing sink faucets was another struggle due to me keeping the existing vanities and marble countertops. The counters were cut with three holes close together for a centerset faucet and I just really, really didn’t want another centerset. My solution was a single hole faucet with matching escutcheon plate. I know escutcheon plates are an absolute no-no for some. But, for me in this situation, it felt better than a centerset faucet. I have no regrets.

The tub faucet is from the same faucet line and again is just such a huge improvement.

Tub

My least favorite part of the bathroom finally feels right. I’m not a fan of a corner tub. It’s just an awkward use of space. I think by trying to decorate around it years ago I made it worse and drew too much attention to it. I built a simple, classic panel tub skirt (which by the way was what it was supposed to have when we first built) and it feels more intentional. The area was kept intentionally clean, minimal, and decor free. That drives my thirteen year old son mad by the way because he insists I need a large piece of art over the tub. What do you think?

Window Shades

In keeping with a much cleaner and simple feel in here I chose sleek window shades from Neutral Curtains that blend in and compliment the wall color. They’re actually the exact same fabric and color as the drapes in our bedroom. They feel like a breath of fresh air. These are top down bottom up which are perfect for letting in maximum light while also allowing for the most privacy. The window over our tub has a film over it since it opens directly up to our neighbor’s dining room. Can you imagine eating dinner and seeing your neighbor in their bathroom at the same time?!!

Shade Details:

• Top Down Bottom Up
• Fabric – Jenna
• Color – Greyish Beige
• Liner – Privacy 90gsm in White
• Plain Fold
• Cordless
• Inside mount

Shade Discount Code:

SHELLEY25 for 25% off your purchase

Accessories

I didn’t want to purchase a lot of decor, and instead used some vintage pieces I already had. The rug, towels, and brass wall plates were the only new pieces. The silver tray helps break up all of the brass fixtures. Glass vase brings in some sparkle. The brass wall plates instantly make the room feel more special and thought out. The vintage rug and brown worn stool bring in some warmth to a more cool toned room. And the towels with the black stripes tie in nicely with the black vanities.

I love how these towels have a loop for hanging. It makes them perfect for hanging on the brass hooks I installed in lieu of towel rings. Psst… They’re currently 25% off until the end of August with code HB25!

Takeaways

Social media has made us feel like only the the gutted, dramatic before and after makeovers are worthwhile. Yes, I think those are beautiful too. But, not everything has to be completely ripped out in order for it to be beautiful. There are things you can do to make you fall in love with your home again without having to take out a loan. I hope this bathroom makeover reminds you of that if you find yourself in a similar situation. Small changes can have a big impact.

Sources

• Paint – PPG Paints Gray Palomino (color matched at Lowes)
• Crown
• Wall trim
• Flexible trim
• Sconces
• MIrrors
• Sink faucets
• Tub faucet
• Hooks
• Brass wall plates
• Shades – 25% off with code SHELLEY25
• Towels – 25% off with code HB25 now through 8/31/26
• Hand soap
• White canisters
• Silver tray – vintage (similar here)
• Glass vase – vintage (similar here)
• Rug – vintage (similar here)
• Stool – vintage (similar here)

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