I have been wanting to post this somewhere for a long time, and I’m not sure why it never occurred to me to post it here. So, this is not at all recent, but I thought it was pretty interesting nonetheless.

This is a photo of the guest bathroom at the condo where we used to live (condition when we bought it).

Notice the yellow tile, the nasty wallpaper, the old potty, and the grimy cabinet (well, you can kind of see the cabinet).

We didn’t have a lot of money to re-do anything in the condo, and since it was our first place, we decided to start small.

We removed the wallpaper first. I wish I had taken a photo of the layers of wallpaper we found. The top layer looked early 90s, then there was another layer of green and black from the 80s, another layer that I’ve forgotten, and the best…a layer of gold mushroom paper. Yes. GOLD MUSHROOM PAPER. We only found a little of this paper, unfortunately, because I would have loved to have kept it. It was awesome.

We painted the walls a pretty shade of yellow (Sherwin Williams Chamomile). We knew we wouldn’t have enough money to re-do the tile, so we tried to find a way to make the tile less ugly. I think the paint color helped a lot. The photo doesn’t really show how cute the color was exactly, but you get the idea.

Now, while we were taking down the wallpaper and getting ready to paint, my dear hubby removed the tank from the toilet (so we could paint behind it).He sat it on the edge of the tub. The toilet tank, balancing on the edge of the tub…can you guess what happened? Yep. So we had to buy a new toilet.

We also removed this weird medicine cabinet thing that was hanging under the gorgeous mirror. I don’t think I have a photo of the one in the guest bath, but here’s a photo of the exact samd kind of medicine cabinet from the master bath (with different ugly wallpaper).

Anyway, then we painted the cabinet a bright, crisp white. It was in pretty rough shape, and it probably needed a new cabinet altogether, but again, funds determined that we would paint it. We also replaced the hardware with some nice oil rubbed bronze pulls. The pulls cost around $5 total.

We replaced the sink and faucet, partly for aesthetics and partly because they leaked. Again, no before of those, but trust me, they were old and not cool looking. They were both just basic models, and cost about $50 for both.

The light fixture had to be updated, even though we liked it. We just thought updated lighting would help for selling it. So, we took down the old light fixture, kept it to take with us when we did decide to move, and put up a new, less taste-specific fixture. The light fixture was purchased for about $50.

We also updated the switch plates, light switches, outlets, and outlet covers (from almond to white). This was the hubby’s idea, which I thought was a waste of money, but for $10 or $20, it really made the room feel less like the crappy apartment that it once was.

Towels bars were also updated, and then we added our adorable shower curtain (my awesome Momma made it), and some decorative plates on the walls. The plates were purchased at Marshall’s or T.J. Maxx, and cost like $10 for both, tops. I actually had people ask if they were antiques.

At some point, we also replaced the overflow and drain in the tub, and our downstairs neighbor’s ceiling…so I consider that an update as well, even though extenuating circumstances warranted those repairs.

And now, for the full transformation.

Nothing too crazy or drastic, but it was the first big project we did as a couple, and as home-owners, so I was super proud. And I’m pretty sure the entire remodel cost us about $500 (not counting fixing the neighbor’s ceiling).

[UPDATE]: I found some new photos of the before and during stages of the room re-do. You can see them at Before and After – Flashback – More From Our First Room Remodel.