A '90s Bathroom Gets a Bold Makeover with Paint and Paneling

ABOUT THIS BEFORE & AFTER

HOME TYPE: House

PROJECT TYPE: Bathroom

STYLE: Organic Modern, Vintage

SKILL LEVEL: DIY

RENTAL FRIENDLY: No

When you have one room in your home that doesn’t flow with the rest of your space, it can nag at you. Of course, if it’s a bathroom, you can always just close the door — but that’s not a long-term solution. “This house was so charming, and when you got to the bathroom that was all lost,” says homeowner Tarah Trammell (@tarah.tr). “It had no personality and felt completely removed from the rest of the home,” she adds.

To fix that, Tarah and her partner DIYd their way to an updated bathroom that now makes sense with the rest of their home.

Paint and paneling make a big difference.

“The bathroom felt mostly original, 1950s with some 1990s updates,” Tarah says. To give this space the same charm she felt in the rest of the home, Tarah and her partner, Cody Baker, got to work on some DIY projects. “My partner [is] very handy, which made this a quick project,” she says.

First, they put up wall paneling they bought at The Home Depot, a wall treatment that immediately adds visual interest. But it was the second DIY — painting Behr’s Cypress Vine on the paneling — that helped it really pop. Behr describes the color on its site as a “deep natural green [that] is both elegant and modern,” and the rich hue does exactly that in Tarah’s bathroom, adding opulence that doesn’t feel dated.

She says the toughest part was painting in the crevices, but it was worth it. “I can’t stress enough how big of an impact the color and wall paneling had in this room,” Tarah says.

“The paneling was a large part of [our $650] budget for this project, but you could definitely achieve a very similar look by just painting a dramatic color,” she adds.

A vanity and finishing touches complete the transformation.

Even though the paint color and the paneling do the heavy lifting, a vanity and accents like a mirror and sconces complete the makeover. “When working in a small space, every detail is important,” she says.

Tarah found a modern white porcelain vanity with matte black finishes on Amazon, adding a contemporary touch to the space. “The asymmetrical mirror added some personality, while the sconces updated the look but still felt traditional,” she says.

Finally, she added gold sconces from Urban Outfitters on either side of the bathroom. “I wanted something clean and simple and really got lucky with those,” Tarah says.

Once everything was done, Tarah was pleased with how her vision came to life. “This project was strictly for aesthetics, and it came out just as I’d hoped,” she says.

Inspired? Submit your own project here.

Further Reading

I Tried the 90/90 Rule and My Closet Is Now Fully Decluttered

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