Renovate a Guest Bathroom - 5 Practical Tips

We recently celebrated our third anniversary being in our ranch, and one of my favorite things to do is look at the progress we’ve made in making this space our own. Right before we went into quarantine, I got the itch to update our guest bathroom, but neither of us wanted to spend a lot of money on the space. So, when we went into quarantine, I viewed it as a perfect time to start work on the space and update the look. Here is how to update a guest bathroom on budget with the five practical steps we used.

Find out how we updated our master bathroom in our first home here. You can follow along with the updates I did in real time here.

How to Update a Guest Bathroom on a Budget: 5 Practical Tips

Know your Budget (and Leave Some Wiggle Room)

Whenever we have done a home improvement projects, we have established a set budget at the beginning of the project. As we’ve learned from our experiences, even our best made plans still have some bumps, so in our experience it has always better to over budget. Even for this project, we ended up needing a few more of the tile covers we used, which we hadn’t budgeted for so it was nice to have the extra wiggle room.

Have an Inspiration Board

I have a tendency to have a lot of ideas and inspiration boards help me really narrow down my vision into attainable visions. I use both Pinterest and Instagram to save ideas for projects like this so that I can refer back to styles, products, or general ideas. Once I have set the vision, I stop looking so I don’t end up changing my mind or second guessing myself.

Be Creative!

A few years ago, our realtor helped us prioritize project plans in our first home for how to get good returns on investments. We kept that in mind with this project recognizing that it wouldn’t get us a huge return for the money we put in if we completely overhauled the bathroom. So, our renovation of this space is cosmetic while still keeping the integrity of the space. We used tile stickers to update the look of the tile and spray painted our fixtures and handles. We were able to be creative without breaking the bank!

A Can of Good Paint Goes a Long Way!

I am a firm believer in how much a good can of paint can impact a space. In my opinion, it’s always worth a splurge to get paint that is able to wipe off finger prints, dirt, and that gives full, even coverage. We typically use the Cashmere collection from Sherwin Williams, this time, in the color Topsail. We painted the vanity as well, so I used a Benjamin Moore paint to keep the same sheen as the vanity itself.

Look for Sales for the Pieces you Identify

While I wanted to get this project completed rather quickly, I also took my time finding the pieces I wanted to add on sale. This included the rug I opted for, the tassel hand towels and stool, and the bath towels for guests. I typically gravitate towards white towels for the guest bath because they can be bleached. I also shopped my decor items to freshen up the space instead of having to buy anything new for the shelves. If you have the time, just be patient, wait for the sales and free shipping. Another great option is to check your local Facebook Marketplace for similar items.

A couple of additional tips

We update the grout lines with a grout pen. Get the larger, thicker one. I cannot tell you how much that step alone changed the look of the room.
We used gold Rustoleum spray paint for the fixtures and white Rustoleum spray paint for the air vent cover. Spray far away in sweeping motions for full coverage.