Before and After: Guest Bathroom Makeover

Adding timeless charm and function to our outdated, 20+ year old bathroom in just two weeks!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Lowe’s Home Improvement. As always, all words and opinions are my own.

Our builder grade guest bathroom hadn’t been updated or painted in over 20 years and it was very outdated. It was way overdue for an update and makeover!

Here is a BEFORE and AFTER of our makeover!

I’m sharing more dramatic before and after photos below! Here is the story of this two week bathroom makeover on a budget!

The Plan

After spending over 7 months on our kitchen makeover, we really wanted to tackle this makeover in just a few weeks with easy yet impactful updates!

The best architectural detail inherent to the space is the window. It had instant charm potential, therefore inspiring a timeless charm feel for this room!

We were able to find everything we needed for this makeover at Lowe’s. They have such great value products, you get the quality and the look for an affordable price! And their online product selection is huge.

Note, this post contains some affiliate links. I may earn a commission if you shop those links (at no cost to you). Thank you for supporting my small business. For more info see my disclosures here.

Note, all products used can be found in my Lowe’s Storefront here and at the bottom of this post!

We started the makeover off with “demo” which was really just clearing out the old fixtures in the room. And we removed the existing trim and window trim too.

Installing tile over the existing flooring

I fell in love with this gorgeous, mosaic marble tile!

Since our bathroom flooring area is very small, we were able to use real marble and spend a little more on this feature. It really helped to add classic charm to the room.

We love to avoid demo and were able to lay the tile right over our existing sheet vinyl!

After researching mortars, I found this uncoupling membrane mortar at Lowe’s which can be mixed with a Polymer additive instead of water and be applied directly to sheet vinyl and multiple other substrates. It worked great!

You can get all of the supplies I used for this flooring project here!

Elevated window trim

As I said earlier, the window is really what inspired the entire design direction for this room. It’s such a focal point and it lets in the most beautiful natural light, so I wanted to elevate it.

We removed the basic trim and replaced it with this detailed casing and a new window stool and apron.

For all of the trim work, we used this cordless, Kobalt finish nailer and it worked great!

To create the window apron we used a 1×3 with cove molding on top of it, under the window stool.

Adding character with beadboard and molding

A great way to add character to a room on a budget is wall paneling and molding. After adding crown molding, I installed a wider beadboard with a lovely, unique style chair rail and baseboard which are only available online at Lowe’s.

I really wanted to use a beautiful trim that is a step above what is available at the store. And Lowe’s carries an amazing selection of molding online! It was my first time ever doing this and the quality was great! It really helped to make the final look more special.

Fresh paint, two times!

For the paint, I knew that I wanted to color drench the space to highlight all of the trim work. Plus, it saves time painting the walls, trim, and ceiling all the same color!

When it comes to paint colors for a room, I usually have a clear direction on what color I want to use. But for this makeover, I was really all over the place!

After getting multiple paint color samples, including bolder greens and blues and a few neutrals, I decided to be bold and use a deep blue color.

Once the painting was complete, I knew I made the wrong decision and I couldn’t stand it! It just wasn’t me and it made the room feel smaller!

I knew we had to repaint it a neutral color. We ended up going with Natural Tan by Sherwin Williams in the HGTV Home by Sherwin Williams. I really like this color, especially in natural light.

Wood and marble bathroom vanity

For this makeover, I wanted a wood bathroom vanity to add warmth to the room. When I came across this real wood vanity with a real marble top, for just $599, I knew it was the one!

It has the most gorgeous, curved, details along the bottom and soft-close doors/drawers. I also love that it has both cabinet doors and multiple drawers, so it really is much more functional than our previous vanity.

It’s also available in white and grey too! I really loved the white vanity and it was a close second choice!

We finished the sink off with this classic looking faucet in antique brass!

Adding the bathroom fixtures

The final step was to install all of the bathroom fixtures to bring the room together and help compliment the vanity and trim work! As I shared in my mood boards, I found several mirror options that I loved.

Ultimately, I went with this frameless beveled mirror because the shape is just gorgeous and it helps to break up all of the brass elements.

For the light, I used this fluted vanity light with a vintage look in antique brass.

These custom, cordless, bamboo shades (Tiki color) with a blackout liner were perfect for the window treatments. They help to add character and warmth to the space.

The final piece was the toilet! We went with the most beautiful toilet since it’s the second largest fixture in the room!

Here are a few more before and afters!

This bathroom turned out lovely and we love using it! I love all of the details that helped to give it a classic, timeless charm feel!

DIY Bathroom Makeover Sources

• Marble tile
• All flooring supplies
• Bathroom vanity with marble sink top
• Faucet in antique brass
• Frameless beveled mirror
• Vanity light
• Toilet
• Bamboo shades in Tiki
• All other products used can be found in my Lowe’s Storefront here!

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