How to Do a DIY Rental Bathroom Makeover on a Budget

Before the makeover

Besides a fresh coat of paint, I have a long list of things I want for this rental bathroom. First, I want to create a more unified color scheme and inject a little personality into the space.

Then I want to reduce our clutter, add some more storage, and make better use of the wasted space under the vanity.

The light fixture also bothers me, so I'll look for an update. I can't remove the giant sheet mirror, so I'm going to DIY something to make that look a little less basic.

Finally, introducing some greenery and new accessories would be nice, so we'll see what we've left in the budget. 

My budget

I'm giving myself a hard limit of $350 for this with no wiggle room, so we'll see how I do. In terms of inspiration, I just jumped on Pinterest and saved some bathroom images that I liked; then, I tried to figure out how to incorporate some of those ideas in a renter-friendly way into my own space.

It took some time, but having a clear picture of what I was working toward was worth it. 

I put my favorite inspiration images onto a mood board and started shopping for products online that I thought would look good in the bathroom.  

Beginning the project

Before I could get started with the bathroom makeover, I had to empty the bathroom. Next, I had to take down all the accessories and stuff on the walls that I would be replacing.

I had to fill in all the little holes to ensure that the surface was prepped and ready for the paint.  

When you're renting, it's easy to feel like everything is temporary because you know that you're just going to move out sooner or later. It's easy to say it's not worth spending money on this place because I know I'm leaving in a year. Sometimes that can be a valid reason not to decorate or improve a space. 

Most of the time, I would say that if you're going to be somewhere for more than six months, it's 100% worth investing a little time and money into making your place feel more you. Taking the time to research and DIY a few things can make a difference.  

Painting 

I gave the nasty fan cover three coats of Rustoleum matte white spray paint, which was a massive improvement. I'm so happy I did that. 

So today is painting day, and we'll get some painter's tape up where we need it. We're also going to remove the old light fixture. Get someone who knows about electrics to do that for you if you don't know what you're doing.  

I got a shelving unit the other day to hang above the toilet. 

It’s a little dark. I like the shape, and it was a terrific deal for only $14 in the clearance section. I'm going to paint the shelves white, and I'll leave the frame black.  

Once we've painted, we are going to let everything dry. We will give them a second coat once they're dry, and we will do the edges as well. Then we'll screw them back on, and we're done.  

DIY shower curtain

I was set on pulling the polka dot element into the room somewhere, and I found a shower curtain that I loved, but it was way too expensive. Instead, I found an easy DIY project. I went to Ikea and picked up a three-dollar shower curtain. I already had black acrylic paint, which I mixed with a tiny bit of water. 

I grabbed a cap off of a face cream I have, and I used the cap to stamp circles all over the curtain. 

That was it. It was so easy. Wherever the stamp didn't take as well, I would either go back and re-stamp on top or use a paintbrush to fill in the gaps.  

Under-vanity shelf

While the paint on the shower curtain dried, I installed a shelf in that awkward space under the vanity. I got lucky and found a shelf with the exact dimensions I needed in the as-is section at Ikea for only $3.

The shelf was a wood effect laminate, so I painted it. I hung the shelf with simple corner braces and doubled my storage space under the vanity. 

At the end of the day, we installed the new light fixture.  

Mirror frame and hanging decor

Day four was mainly about starting to hang things back up. I also got the mirror frame done from start to finish. I bought a couple of lengths of the thin molding at Home Depot and sawed the pieces to size. Then I painted the molding with the same acrylic paint I used for the shower curtain.  

After the paint dried, I used super glue to glue the frame together. 

The frame rests directly on the mirror without any nails or glue, so removing it will be easy when moving out.  

Artwork

I loved a piece from an Etsy store, but I wanted a hand-painted version instead of a printable, so I decided to sketch it out and see if I could paint it myself. 

I used the same black acrylic paint for the shower curtain and the mirror frame.  

See my previous post on DIY abstract painting ideas for more examples of how to make your own art.

Finishing touches

On the final day, I put in the finishing touches. I decorated with a few new items, but mainly I shopped around the house.  

I'm so happy with how our rental bathroom turned out. Everything I did is easily removable. Since I painted the bathroom white, I won't need to repaint it before we move out. 

DIY rental bathroom makeover

I had a blast doing this rental bathroom makeover and am thrilled with the results. I came in pretty much exactly on budget. How have you turned your rental into your own space? Let us know in the comments below.