Budget & Time Friendly Builder-Grade Bathroom Updates

Nothing screams bathroom grade more than this.....Yikes. It keeps better if you keep scrolling, promise!

This is what it looks like now, and while it's not completely finished,

it's drastically better.

Here are the quick, easy, and affordable tricks I used to give it a refresh...

1. Shower curtain - This is by far the easiest thing you can do to upgrade your look. It's amazing how much your shower curtain can change the look of the room. If you have an acrylic surround, builder-grade tile, or even a setup with a builder-grade or older looking shower door, the right shower curtain placement can do a world of difference. Here's the trick... buy an extra-long shower curtain that will allow you to cover up the surround. Place your shower rod up high enough so the curtain barely brushes the ground. This does two things: (1) it hides your ugly surround, tile or shower door, and (2) it brings height to your room. Note, in my picture above, when my shower curtain is closed (like it often is), nobody even knows what the shower behind it looks like. Since this bathroom is off of a dark hallway, I chose this white curtain to brighten the room.

2. Cabinets - If your cabinets are showing their age, slapping on some paint and new door pulls will be an affordable, instant change. I plan to breakdown this further when I paint the cabinets in my kitchen, but I used this kit. You don't have to even remove your cabinet doors or drawers for this to work, and mine has lasted for well over a year.

A couple of tips: - Make sure you clean your cabinets well with a TSP cleaner to remove any hidden dirt and grease. - If you are going to install new pulls, make sure you drill the holes before you paint. The last thing you want to do is damage all the work you just did. - Buy a high-grade paint roller and brush. The ones included in this kit are not the best. - If you are painting a light color on dark wood, like I did, I strongly recommend you learn from my mistakes and use a good primer. I've heard great things about this one. Without it, you will end up needing many, many coats.

3. Mirror - Remove your builder-grade mirror and swap it out for something that looks more custom. Read all about how to safely do that here.

4. Swap out the builder-grade towel rod, towel ring or toilet paper holder - Opt for something more your style. There are tons of options out there!

Just a key tip - there is usually a teeny, tiny screw underneath, and hidden from view, that holds your towel rack and toilet paper holder in place (see the picture to the right). You unscrew that, remove the holder or rack, and then unscrew the brace from your wall or cabinet.

5. Shelving - For an extra touch, add my easy DIY shelves in the mix!

6. Paint your ugly tile floor -

"What, Melissa? Have you lost your mind?"

Nope - I promise. This is a thing! Check out this super, easy tutorial. I have not done this yet, because I am planning on redoing our flooring in the next year or so, but if I wasn't, I would be doing this in a hot minute!

7. Paint your builder-grade countertop -

"Ok, Melissa.... now you've REALLY lost your mind!"

This is next up in my upgrade, and I have a super easy hack for this coming in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned!

Enjoy your bathroom upgrades, friends, and tell me all about it!

-Melissa