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A powder room isn’t one you spend a lot of time in, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a throwaway space. A stylish half bath can express your serious style. Also, the small area means you don’t have to spend a lot of time or effort to get there.
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For homeowners Stacey Hartman, designing a more inviting powder room was one of the first items on a long list of planned home projects. , there were some structural issues that needed to be fixed,” she says. “There was a little damage to the drywall base and the wall texture was very uneven and lacking. Also, the original sink had an off-center pedestal sink with tile around the base. , there was a hole in the tile that could not be filled.”
Stacey wanted a small room that she could renovate herself. The size of her bathroom and existing issues made this room her top choice. “My husband is very dexterous, so he usually handles the big projects while I do the small heavy lifting,” says Stacey.
She started demoing the month-long project. Stacey removed old fixtures, ripped skirting boards from walls, and repaired damage to the room’s drywall. Next, she began prepping the space for the wall-mounted sink. That’s when she ran into a problem. “Unfortunately, we realized that the walls were quite curved and that the sink needed extra support, so we had to cut the drywall and put some extra reinforcement in the walls,” she said. says Stacey.
Once fixed, Stacey was able to get the plan off the ground. She stripped the beige tile floor, skim-coated the walls to even out the texture, and painted the ceiling a fresh white. Once that dried, Stacey installed the new bathroom floors, choosing classic hexagonal tiles in white with contrasting gray grout. was installed from above.
Finally, the room was ready for its star: its gorgeous tropical bird wallpaper“I’ve never done wallpaper before, so it took me two days. I was really nervous,” Stacey says of the installation process. She said, “The wallpaper was the most expensive part of the renovation, so I cried when I messed it up.”
To complete the project, Stacey’s husband installed a sink, new outlets and switches, and a new brass vanity. (The new toilet roll holder and towel bar also reflect the glam gold tone.) The total cost of the redo was $800.
“I love the look of my bathroom right now,” says Stacey. “It went from being dingy to being like a fancy hotel toilet.”
But looks aren’t the only thing Stacey loves about this project. “I’m proud to have repaired most of her on my own,” she says. “It gave me the confidence to take on bigger projects.” And really, what more could you ask for in DIY?
