Our DIY Bathroom Remodel: What We Did
Our DIY bathroom remodel is finished. I almost wrote finally finished and then erased it because “finally” makes it seem like it took two months when in fact it took about two weekends. Two weekends of blood and sweat (there were no tears, thankfully, and the blood was minimal), and about $1000. It looks a million times better than it did before, but as is the case with all DIY projects, we also learned a few things we’d do for next time. I thought I’d break down what we did, what we bought, and how much it cost first, and then I’ll tackle the process and the lessons we learned in the next post.

DIY Bathroom Remodel
What we did
- Tore out and replaced the old tile, toilet, mirror and light fixture.
- Painted the walls and ceiling.
- Spray painted sink and toilet supply lines.
- Added a toilet paper holder and shelf.
- Bought new shower curtain, bathmats, and hand towels.
- Added a baseboard.
What we didn’t do:
Although I hate the style of the tub surround tile, for now we didn’t touch it since it’s largely hidden by the shower curtain and still in good condition. We also left the shower hardware as it was. I’m hoping we can pay someone to replace the tub surround tile early next year, since I think I’m done DIY-ing in this room for a while.
The inspiration & design
I talked about the inspiration behind the bathroom remodel here. We made the decision to rip it out pretty hastily, so I went back and forth with a few options before settling on a brass, white, and black look. The overall direction really sprouted from a few things: I wanted a black ceiling and white walls, and I wanted white penny tile with black grout. After that, I found a beautiful brass faucet online for SO CHEAP. Then the rest of it kind of fell into place from there.
What we bought & What it cost
- Durock cement board x 2, $20
- 30 sq. ft. Penny tile, Floor & Decor, $2.99/sq. ft., $90
- Vintage Tub brass faucet, $62
- Kohler Cavata White toilet, $200
- Porcelain tile mortar x 2, $42
- Charcoal gray un-sanded grout, $30
- 1 gallon Benjamin Moore Simply White Paint, $70
- CB2 small Crescent mirror, $150
- CB2 Vega bath light in brass, $150
- CB2 Marble shelf, $59
- Evertrue baseboard trim, 1 length, $18
- Target striped shower curtain, $25 (currently on sale for $18!)
- Target stiched stripe hand towels x 2, $20
We already had the black interior paint and gold spray paint I used on the ceiling and plumbing.
Total Cost: $936 (before tax, and probably forgetting a few tools and things we bought along the way)
Anyone would love the pattern of your bathroom! Good work for everyone who had been part of this project. You are sure to be proud of it.