How I updated my powder room for under $1,000 in a weekend!

In my most recent house flip, my powder room was not only ugly, lol, it was dated. It screamed make me over. I was on a time crunch and I didn’t want to spend too much money so I kept my budget to be under $1,000 and I made it!

In my humble opinion, powder rooms are special. They are the one room in the house where you can break some design rules and just let loose and have fun! They’re a hidden treasure behind the door and your guests have no idea what they’re going to walk into. Throughout my career, I have been through many powder rooms, and to be honest, most of them are boring. They follow the rules. But the ones that I like the best are the ones that grab my attention the second I walk in.

For my powder room makeover, the first thing I decided was my inspiration piece! What was going to make this powder room fun and interesting? Since I was getting my house ready to sell, I wanted it to be fun and different, but not too far out there that it would turn potential buyers off.

Here’s the ugly before pictures:

The townhouse was over 50 years old. Parts of the townhouse had been updated and I think at one point the powder room was updated but the previous owners had rented it out so it got more wear and tear than usual.

Even though the vanity had been updated at one point, it had cigarette burns on the countertop, plus it just looked cheap. So out it came.

The mirror might have been an original mirror from the original build. In any event, it was ugly and dated. Not the look I was going for.

The mirror came off with a HUGE fight lol. I had to pry it off with a long handled flat screwdriver which created gaping holes in the drywall. Nothing that spackle can’t fix!

This tile was definitely the original in the townhouse. I was debating about replacing the tile with something really cute just for the powder room, but in the end, budget and time took over. Scroll down to see what I decided upon.

I replaced the toilet as well even though it was in fairly good condition. I wanted everything to be new & fresh.

The Powder Room Makeover Reveal

Now for the fun part! The reveal. I’m a strong believer that you ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS, need to start with an inspiration piece, whether it be a living room, bedroom, kitchen or even a powder room. I’ve been through too many clients houses that have called me in after the fact, to ask me what they need to do to fix their design. It didn’t turn out the way they had hoped!

Read: Why You need to Create a Mood Board for your next room design

Here’s my two inspiration pieces that I started with for my powder room design:

I wanted my powder room to be fun & cheerful without being to way out there since I was selling my house. I tumbled across this amazing peel & stick wallpaper that was so easy to go on that I definitely started out as my first inspiration piece. Walking through Home Depot one day, I discovered this adorable mirror that I just had to buy. And found this cute lipstick picture at Ikea which fit the feel that I was going for. These three pieces determined every decision I made after this.

The peel & stick wallpaper was really easy to put on. Even matching the pattern was super easy but it wasn’t my first time wallpapering. I’m so happy with the result.

I picked a shaker style white cabinet from Home Depot with a granite white counter top. I chose black fixtures to complement the black mirror and black picture frame.

I also upgraded the toilet to a newer one. I failed to take a picture of the toilet. lol.

With my inspiration pieces, all decided upon, I could then pick the rest of the elements for the bathroom. I decided to carry out with the same flooring that I was using in the office makeover just outside this space because it was easy to do. The flooring went on top of the existing flooring. Easy peasy.

But I have seen some amazing tiles in powder rooms that make a statement so that would have been a great choice as well. I also continued the Behr Pailis White similar to Benjamin Moore’s White Dove from the office makeover.

Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. It was a trendy & definitely an upgrade from before. The money spent definitely added value to my home even if I wasn’t going to sell it right away.

Check out my amazing laundry room to office makeover room details below.

Related Posts:

6 Tips to Make Your Powder Room Stunning!

From Home Office to Laundry Room | Media Room Makeover

Feeling Overwhelmed?

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Hi! I’m Debi Collinson. Designer. Color Consultant & Real Estate Investor. 

I grew up learning how to read blue prints, going on construction sites and helping my dad, an Engineer|General Contractor|Co-Owner of a Design|Build|Engineering firm pick out paint colors for his buildings. Since 2006, I have been styling & staging hundreds of homes to make them look like they belong in a magazine page whether the client is styling to stay or staging to sell. 

In my spare time, LOL, I buy “fixer uppers” to fix up & either sell for a healthy profit or to rent. I’m currently looking for my 10th “fixer upper.” Sign up to receive my e-mails of how to make your home stunning, how to sell your house for top dollar AND how to become financially independent one fixer upper at a time! Read my full story including my design credentials here.