DIY Home How-To: Small Bathroom Design

bathroom redesign

Ok, so this post was a LONG time coming. I have talked a lot about when Travis and I bought our house. That was over 2 years ago at this point. And when we were in escrow, all I could think about was how I was going to decorate each room and the color scheme I was going to use.

I spent hours on Pinterest looking up just the right paint colors for each room, and settled on a Martha Stewart “Sharky Grey” for most of the rooms I wanted to paint. But one room – the guest bathroom- I had a different idea in mind for that space.

Mind you – every inch of our new home was remodeled. Everything was perfect. We had the latest quartz counter tops, the finest wood cabinets, and even the cleanest tile you’d ever seen on the shower walls.

So WHY on earth was I spending hours looking at paint swatches and wainscoting for our home that was already beautiful. Why? BECAUSE I WANTED TO!! That’s why.

If you’re a woman who loves to decorate, you’ll feel my pain. I see these ivory walls, and plain counters, and think they’re just calling to me. They WANT me to decorate them. They WANT to look beautiful, and not in a cookie cutter way. So who am I to stop the most definite WANTS of my own home?

Ok, in all seriousness – not everyone wants to redecorate. But if you’re reading this post, you’re looking for new ideas. And I’ve got new ideas for you. You don’t have to take all of them. But take bits and pieces, take it all, I don’t care. But hopefully some beautiful mess will come out of this tutorial for you.

Because for every person, their home is a reflection of themselves. They want the walls to scream THEM – not the people that lived in the space before them. Every inch should be a reflection of you, and your tastes and likes. So that’s exactly what I was set on.

I was determined to make a nautical bathroom. Don’t get me wrong – not themed in ANY way! I do love a theme, but NOT for my home. That’s too permanent. But what I did love, was the look of dark navy walls- with white wainscoting- and some nautical accents.

bathroom redo before

The bathroom I had my eyes on was already small, and I didn’t want the dark navy color to close the room in. So I needed to figure out a way to get the look I wanted- while still keeping the room looking as large as possible – and giving it that nautical feel I so desired.

So throw it back to 2 years ago, I bought myself some Martha Stewart “Wrought Iron” paint. And, that paint sat in my garage for 2 years before I could come up with the perfect small bathroom design to use it in.

Now, I’ve found it! And I’ve created it, and it’s absolutely perfect! So this post is for all of you who desire an adorable small bathroom design (nautical or not) and want to make it feel as large as possible. Below, I give you all my tips, tricks, and full tutorial how I turned my tiny bathroom from a boring space into a beautiful chic navy bathroom for under $300. This includes painted, wainscoting, mirrors, and decor. Enjoy!

Small Bathroom Design – Painting

The Necessary Supplies:

Step 1:

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  • Take out any unwanted hardware (I took out the large towel rack and mirror) and fill in any holes with any quick hole fill paste.
  • Smooth the spackle out against the wall with the straight edge of a spackle knife.

Step 2:

bathroom redo

bathroom redesign

  • Once the spackle dries, paint the walls the color of paint you have chosen. Paint all the way up to about 2″ close to the ends of any other surface – and leave that space blank. You will fill in the edges later with your edge brush.
    • I did NOT paint down the entire wall – both to save time and paint- because I knew I would be applying wainscoting. If you’re doing the same – measure to see how high your wainscoting goes, and paint about 3-4″ past that (just to be safe).
  • Let the first coat dry, then paint a second coat.
    • I used a large paint brush instead of a roller because my bathroom was small and the brush was easier to maneuver. Use what’s easier for your needs.

Step 3:

bathroom redesign

  • Now, fill in the edges of your walls using an angled edge brush. Just make sure you get the brush as closely as you can to the edge, and move it along in a smooth motion until you need more paint. Dip the brush in the paint, and continue on.
    • This eliminates the need for any blue painters tape, and saves you a TON of time.

Voi la! You’re space is making it’s way! When I first applied the navy paint, I questioned my dark choice. The bathroom was already small, and it seemed even smaller than before. HOWEVER, even if this is your fear, trust me in saying once you apply the wainscoting those fears go away. The bright white evens out the dark navy, and makes the entire space look chic (and the same size it did before).

So, without further ado, onto the wainscoting….

Small Bathroom Design – Installing Wainscoting

The Necessary Supplies:

Step 1:

  • If you already have baseboards in your bathroom, you’ll need to remove them prior to installing your wainscoting (if you’re using the kit I’ve suggested. If you’re doing another type, you may be able to salvage your existing baseboards, but this is a fool proof option).

removing base boards removing baseboards removing base boards

  • Take a razor’s edge or a box cutting knife and cut the seal of the caulking between the baseboard and the wall.
  • Then take a wedge (the only wedge I had was a flat head screw driver and it worked PERFECTLY), and put it in between the baseboard and the wall – starting that the end of the wall).
  • Take your hammer and hammer on the top of the screwdriver (or wedge) with a couple firm taps.
    • This should separate the baseboard from the wall where you’re working.
  • Move a further down the wall and repeat the wedge/tapping until you have successfully separated the entire baseboard from the wall. Then, gently pull it outward to remove the entire board and nails together.
    • This will keep your wall intact, as well as your baseboard (in case you have any other need for the baseboard).

Step 2:

installing wainscotting installing wainscotting

 

  • With your wainscoting kit, you’ll need to measure the walls you plan on adding wainscoting and then cut the base boards, chair rails, and panels to fit.
    • With the baseboards and chair rails, measure the length of each wall. Then, measure that exact length on those pieces of wood. Make a mark where you want to cut vertically across the boards.
    • For the Panels, line them up against the wall to see how many will fit perfectly (you’ll only need to cut the last panel on each wall so that it will fit perfectly in the space you need). When you have all the panels lined up against your wall (except for the last one that doesn’t fit perfectly), measure the last bit of space you have between the last panel and the edge of the wall. Make that mark on your last panel you want to add (this is where you will cut it) vertically across the panel.

Step 3:

installing wainscotting   installing wainscotting

  • This is where you take all the boards you just marked, and you cut them to fit your space.
    • If you have a table saw, use that. It’s much quicker than what I used. However, if you’re like me and don’t have a bunch of power tools lying around your garage – and you don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars to buy or rent them – this technique works perfectly well.
  • Secure your first board onto a flat table with 2 table clamps (one at the end of the board and one at the edge of the board that’s nearest to your cut).
    • Make sure you put a piece of cardboard between the clamp and your board, so the clamp does not make any indentations onto your board.
  • Now, take your hack saw and cut along the line you’ve made. Start slow, and once you’ve made an indentation in the wood, you can saw faster (the indent keeps you in a straight line).
  • Repeat this process for every piece of wood and wood paneling you need to cut.
    • DISCLAIMER: This is a LENGTHY process, so beware. You may beed to take breaks in between as it takes a toll on your arm strength. But have no fear, if I can do it- so can you. The cutting, in whole, probably took me a good 5 hours (the panels are the hard part, the boards are very easy).
  • Once everything is cut, you’re ready to put the boards and paneling on the walls.

Step 4:

installing wainscotting installing wainscotting installing wainscotting installing wainscotting   installing wainscotting

  • Install your base boards first. Line them up against the wall and about every 2 feet, hammer in a finishing nail.
    • To use finishing nails without a nail gun (as I did), hammer in the nail as far as you can into your board and wall, without the hammer touching the wood.
    • Once the head of the nail is as close as you can get it, use your nail setter and place it on top of your finishing nail.
    • Hammer on the end of the nail setter until your finishing nail is completely nailed into the wood and wall (and is indented into the wood just a smidge).

Step 5:

installing wainscotting installing wainscotting installing wainscotting installing wainscotting

  • Once all your wainscoting is up (baseboards, paneling, and chair rails), take your caulk and seal around EVERYTHING! And I do mean everything. Make sure to seal around the following areas:
    • Top of chair rail
    • Bottom of Chair rail
    • End sides of paneling (not between panels, but at the ends of the walls)
    • Top of baseboard
    • Bottom of baseboard
    • On each nail head (to fill in indentations)
  • Smooth the caulking down with either the tip of the caulking tube, or a flat ended spackle knife.

Step 6:

installing wainscotting

  • PAINT! Take your fine bristled paint brush and paint over both the wainscoting and the caulking to make it all look uniform. Let it dry, and put on at least another coat or 2 before finishing (I used 2 coats of Satin white paint for my bathroom).
  • Make sure you paint so that paint fills in any little areas that may look like you can differentiate one panel from another. If you put a little extra paint where the panels meet, you’ll never be able to tell you used a kit for this project! Just make sure the paint doesn’t run or clump!

wainscoting kit

Ta da! My husband is always skeptical if I can pull off the projects I talk about (I don’t know why, I think I have proven myself by now). But alas, he always is. So when he saw my finished wainscoting, he couldn’t believe it. He said it looked like we hired a professional! Woo hoo! And it was from a kit. Score.

Small Bathroom Design – Accessories

The Necessary Supplies:

Step 1:

bathroom redesign bathroom redesign bathroom redesign

bathroom redesign

  • Measure the wall you want to add decor to, and make sure you screw in nails so that your decor is placed perfectly where you want it to go.
    • And easy measuring tutorial can be found in my gallery wall post. It shows you how to measure each item along with the wall to ensure everything is centered perfectly.
  • Add hooks, towel racks, a shower curtain, and mirrors to complete the space.

bathroom redo And there you have it! An easy way to take your small bathroom and revamp it without a total hassle and a huge price tag! All in, I think I spent a little under $300 and a weekend of my time to get this small bathroom redesigned. Not bad, eh? Just see for yourself the drastic difference a little paint and cosmetic pick me up can do…

bathroom redo before

So if you have a free weekend, and a sorry excuse for a bathroom, I’d HIGHLY recommend following at least a few of the steps in this tutorial. It’s a small investment in the happiness (and value) of your home, and not to mention a fun way to spend your time!

And I know I went over a lot of stuff in this post, so if you need a quick recap of supplies you’ll need to DIY, here you go:

Painting:

Wainscoting:

Bathroom Accessories:

 

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