Thursday 19 April 2012

Making it home..... Bathroom makeover

  Welcome to the first ever making it home linky!
So many of us are renovating /redecorating and making over our homes or  bringing old items back to life or generally searching for items to make our houses home.

 I thought it would be lovely to share ideas and inspiration get support if your stuck with something and just generally show the world our handy work on home projects.  Every week i will write a post following either the progress of our house as work in progress or finished projects or generally passing on lovely items and ideas i have seen.

 I hope you will join me by linking up and sharing your renovation projects and room makeovers items you have brought back to life or any relevant post about making your house home.  It can be a new or old post either finished projects or work in progress or maybe you have seen too many nice things and can't decide and need help choosing.

Hopefully its fairly simple there is a link at the bottom of the page to link up your post and i look forward seeing your projects and popping over to and visit your blog. While your linking up take a look at the other entries and find inspiration and share the blog love xx

Here's my bathroom update.................... 

  We moved  house at the end of January this year out of necessity to a home in need of improvement so that we could reduce our mortgage add value to a property and therefore allow me more time to spend with my little boy and care for my elderly mum.

 Every room needs attention..... downstairs the layout needs re arranging and the floor space needs extending but while we are waiting for planning permission etc we are starting on the upstairs.

 The bathroom changes needed are mainly cosmetic and re doing the previous owners half finished diy!! When we moved in as you can see the bath had not been fitted properly had been put in too low and this meant the bath panel did not fit. The layout was not ideal the bath sink and loo have been fitted to close together and the blue tiles and dark floor make the small room feel even smaller. The window glass has been painted along with the frame and generally the room looks small and dark and unfinished.

Before bathroom!!
We are working on a tight budget as we need to use most of our money on the kitchen and building work so here is how we managed a low cost bathroom transformation.

First we just needed to work out how to lose the blue go faster stripes as these are really making the room appear smaller..Re tiling would of been costly so before going down that route we decided to see if tile paint would work ..... I have to say i was a bit dubious at first but once i had mastered the best technique i was pleasantly surprised.



If you fancy having ago at this really cost effective way of updating tiles this is how i found to get the best result. Use a tiny roller from a craft shop as you will get a better finish than with a brush. Go over the whole area including covering existing grout rather than trying to go tile by tile. Leave to dry for longer than it says on tin i found 48 hours better.I would not bother buying a grout pen the finish is not realistic instead leave for 48 hours and then with a small tub of grout re grout the area all over the tiles then wipe off excess with a damp sponge. Voila new tiles for the tiny cost of tile paint and grout around £25 much cheaper than new tiles and someone to fit them.

Next we tackled the layout by moving the radiator and putting a slimline towel radiator on a smaller wall to free up the big wall for much needed storage. Then we raised the bath very slightly to fit the bath panel properly.We then Painted the walls a natural colour using kitchen and bathroom paint and tidied up the woodwork. 

The next project was the floor we went for a vinyl in a light oak colour to lighten and brighten the space, and chose one with a real wood floor affect. In a small room its good to use something like this as the planks draw your eye to the widest point and give the allusion of space as a result.

Storage is in short supply in our house so the bathroom was finished off with a slimline tall cabinet to get the best use of space without taking up much room.


I wanted to continue the nature theme in our house so that the rooms link together therefore i finished the room off with a lovely ex display Laura Ashley blind which i picked up for a bargain £40 and a few nature inspired accessories.


I have been really pleased with the overall result and what we managed to achieve without spending a fortune.

I hope you enjoyed this weeks offering ............ Now its over to you to link up and share how you are making your house home.

Please feel free to grab a badge

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14 comments:

  1. Thanks for this lovely post I've actually just started stripping some disgusting black wallpaper from my bathroom and it also has black carpet that needs to go too as its just way too dark in there. Seeing your before and after pics of the floor change just goes to show how a dark floor can really affect the room I'm going to steal your ideas here and also will be doing the flowers next to toilet as I never could think of what us slim enough to go there!! You're doing a lovely job!

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    1. Thankyou xx Poor you stripping wallpaper is a horrible job once the wall paper and carpet have gone it will feel like a new room i promise. I look forward to seeing your bathroom pics soon. Love the kitchen makes me want to join you for tea and cake xx

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  2. looks gorgeous, there is constantly tones to do in our house, unfortunately hubby and I are both useless!!! will add my post now. xxxxx
    http://honeysmummy.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. Thankyou for linking up your lovely lounge, i will definately be trying out a photo gallery xx

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  3. http://villagemamauk.blogspot.co.uk/

    The new bathroom looks lovely. We've got some horrible yellow tiles in our downstairs bathroom. I'll definitley give the tile paint a go. I would never have thought of that. I probably would have gone at it like a mad woman chipping all the tiles off. I'm off to link up. BTW-I'm so clueless at technical things! How do I go about getting the badge?

    Hi My lovely thanks for linking up your lovely kitchen. Im not sure why your comments is not working so i have added manualy for you. Will pop over to you and help with badge and comments xx

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  4. Just linked up (I think, can't see the other linkies) Sorry for the delay been away for the weekend.
    Love what you have done with your bathroom, It really is easy to make a huge difference with a small budget and a bit of imagination xx

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    1. thankyou for linking up your lovely post looks amazing xx Next week i will try a different linky tool with thumbnails to make it easier to see the posts linked up, its a learning curve being the first week but been really pleased with the responce and seeing the lovely things people have done at home xx

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  5. You did a great job with that.It looks really well.

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    1. Thanks for linking up your post its fantastic what you have done really inexpensively with a small amount of wallpaper. I am going to give the lampshade a try xx

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  6. I love the green colour! Really soft and rather expensive looking, if I may say!

    I would never have thought that tile paint would make such a difference - wow!

    I'll bear it in mind for when we manage to move.... if we ever do! x

    mammasaver

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  7. bless you if you need any advice on selling tips if your struggling to sell your house let me know as i can help with this. The tile paint surprised me too even up close you can't tell looks like new tiles.
    Good luck with the move xx

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  8. I will get a post written and link up next time... was too slow this week, sorry! I've got numerous projects ongoing just now... dining room, bathroom, office, kitchen, garden, master bedroom!

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    1. Wow sounds like your tackling the whole house too. I can't wait to see what you are upto look forward to seeing your posts xx

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  9. I am looking for bathroom accessories. i am glad that i saw your blog and i find it very interesting.
    Bathroom Faucets

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