Sometimes small changes can have a big impact. You may find that not every room in the house needs a full-on makeover. It’s astonishing what a difference a lick of paint or a few new tiles can make, even to the smallest room in the house.
All the bathrooms in our house have been renovated in the past 10 years or so (tastefully, thank goodness). It would make no sense to redecorate, unless they were falling apart. So, instead, I am doing a few simple things to transform the rooms, with minimal effort and budget. We will eventually fully renovate all of them but I am hoping it’ll be quite a few years before we have to tackle that project.
BEFORE
I don’t mind the beige walls here but I felt that the space was massively lacking any depth and interest. It just looks so ‘blah’. The old tiles were too bland, so changing the tiling around the sink seemed like the right thing to do. I love patterned tiles as a feature but wasn’t ready for a fully tiled look. Instead, I decided to add a few feature wall tiles that would create a nice focal point and add interest to this small space.
AFTER
It’s almost too good to be true how I stumbled across our new tiles. I was on the hunt for some rustic-looking tiles when I popped into our local Fired Earth showroom. They didn’t have what I was looking for on display but they offered me to have a look around the warehouse. Of course, I spotted the most beautiful geometric pattern tiles that were about to be discontinued. The pattern was perfect for the space and the colours were a great match with the neutral walls. I also loved the rustic finish which helped to incorporate antiques and vintage pieces within the space resulting in an elegant, lived-in look. The tiles cost me £30 altogether, so it was a no-brainer really. And we had a tiler working on another room already which meant the tiling job didn’t cost us anything. Cheapest makeover ever!
GALLERY WALL
It did feel like the room needed a bit more oomph, so I decided to add a gallery wall to it. Sticking to a theme and colour scheme helped me pull the entire look together. The tiles already set the vintage tone for the space, so it was just a matter of finding the right pieces to complement it. Since the tiles have a hint of green, I wanted to incorporate that in the gallery wall too. I’ve wanted to add a floral gallery wall somewhere and this seemed like the ideal spot. I picked up vintage frames from charity shops and used cutout images from wallpaper samples, catalogues etc. I created the pressed flower art using flowers from our garden. Another super cheap and quick way to transform a room!
UPCYCLING
I found the antique mirror in our local charity shop and it cost me only £9. Almost everything in this room is upcycled; from frames to the flower vase (an old gin bottle). I enjoyed coming up with savvy budget decorating ideas for this room and I guess the pictures speak for themselves. It goes to show that decorating your room on a budget can be a lot of fun, especially if you get a bit creative in the process.
So, do you think this room makeover was worth it? I know I could have done more and maybe I will at some point. I always see gallery walls as evolving things and I will definitely add to it. But, I think considering how little we spent on this makeover (less than £60) I think it was well worth it.
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
