The Charming Vintage Bathroom Makeover I Can’t Stop Thinking About
I love scrolling through homes of all types in our house tours and before and afters, but I have a soft spot for older homes. Many of them are packed with gorgeous original features like fancy millwork, chic tile, and more — all of which add tons of character and charm. But sometimes, they’re also filled with the products of later additions and renovations, so all that character and charm can feel a little lost.
That was the case with this bathroom, which we previously published last year. While some of the features were max charm — hello mint green tub, toilet, and sink! — others were less appealing. The beige wall tiles and tan vinyl floor didn’t just look “meh” on their own — they managed to drag the rest of the bathroom down with them.
What makes this bathroom redo an all-time favorite of mine is how smart the DIYers behind it were with their changes. Instead of doing an entire revamp, they focused on a few small swaps that made a huge difference — and helped the vintage fixtures look their best, too.
Instead of replacing the beige tile, the DIYers painted it with a crisp white tile paint instead (the walls above are painted a matching white, too). The new color not only looks automatically cleaner, but it also helps the green fixtures pop. Replacing the clunky medicine cabinet with its built-in light was another clever move to make this bathroom look timeless, not dated.
Finally, the DIYers replaced the old tan flooring with black-and-white hex tile that feels so perfectly vintage, you’d swear it was installed at the same time as the fixtures. The entire redo took the DIYers a few weekends to complete, but they pulled it off for just $500 — pretty impressive considering just how big of an impact they were able to make.
This bathroom is a master class not only in strategic renovating, but also renovating around pieces of your home you want to keep intact. I’m so thrilled that these gorgeous green fixtures didn’t get scrapped for something new and instead remained to be the stars of the show!
Check out the entire bathroom makeover here. And for more vintage inspiration, here are five other bathroom makeovers that kept the original tile or fixtures in place.
Further Reading
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