5 Ways to get rid of Your Seriously Outdated Bathroom

If you’ve got an outdated bathroom, you’re both blessed and cursed. It probably has some amazing charm and history (if you can call a green toilet “charming”…..), but it looks like it’s off the set of The Brady Bunch. It’s the bathroom you’re so mortally embarrassed about when guests come over….

I feel your pain.

I’m Serena from Thrift Diving, and I’m suffering from Outdate Bathroom Syndrome, too! {{{insert high five right here}}}.

We’ve lived in this old 1973 house for nearly 4 years, and I’m just now removing the green toilet and green curtains that previous owners left behind. Yes, the curtains. I never even removed them. Who does that?!

But I was stuck. I didn’t know how to tackle an outdated bathroom.

Until now. 

It’s easy to let money, lack of ideas, and lack of time cause you to get “decoration procrastination.” Now’s the time to change that.

No more stalling.

5 Ways to Get Rid of Your Insanely Outdated Bathroom

What I’m about to show you are some “in progress” pics of my own bathroom renovation for the past few weeks. If you’d like to follow along to see the “AFTER” when I’m done this week, I’d love for you to SUBSCRIBE to my blog! Feel free to check out my projects first 😉

1. Give Yourself 30 Days

How many times have you told yourself you’re going to make over this room or that room in your house? But 1 year…2 years later, you haven’t done jack? The truth is that you need to set a deadline. And you need a cheerleading section to applaud you when you make progress and to hold you accountable when you start goofing off.

On my blog, Thrift Diving, I’ve got a 30-Day Room Challenge series that takes place every couple months, where me and about 45 of my readers make a commitment to transform just one room in our house in 30 days. You wouldn’t believe the BEFORE and AFTERS we accomplish when we set deadlines!

Go ahead. Give yourself 30 days, and then make the commitment. Better yet, join my 30-Day Room Challengers Facebook Group so we can begin holding you accountable and giving you some decorating advice!

I chose my kids’ bathroom for my August Upgrade room challenge. This is what the bathroom looked like about the 3 weeks ago. It was a rat hole.

BEFORE

 IN PROGRESS – After wallpaper was removed

I had to repair the walls before I could paint. A pain, but necessary!

 

And here’s a sneak peak at what my kids’ bathroom looks like now!! I’m doing board and batten (first time!). I’ll also be installing SnapStone tile (directly over the existing vinyl), like I did in my pretty little laundry room makeover. But even with it not being done, the results are dramatic so far!

None of my readers have seen these pics yet! I’ve been mums the word about my progress. But I needed to drive home the point that you can accomplish a lot in 30 days, just like I am! So I’ll leak a few pics before I finish later this week…..

 

2. Decorate Around Your Eyesore

One thing that always holds up a bathroom makeover is the outdated “ugly.” The ugly parts are often expensive to replace. Who’s got $5,000 for a new shower stall?! Um…. not me. That’s why I always decorate around my eyesore. In my kids’ bathroom, there was nothing I could do about this avocado shower stall. And the faux tile boards above the shower stall were so old, I was worried about asbestos. So I decided to leave them in place and just decorate around them, too. At least the green matches the blue, huh? ;).

Another thing to keep in mind is that shower curtains can HIDE ugly showers….. YAY for that!

 

So instead of whining about how I can’t afford a new shower, I just chose paint colors that flow with the eyesore. Thankfully I have boys that, when asked, “What color do you want your bathroom?” responded “Blue!” Cool– Green and blue work go together like peanut butter and jelly.

 

3. Make Your Own Rules

How many times do we ask other people what they think, waiting for validation that our choices are okay? That’s what I did when I hung these mirrors this weekend over my kids’ vanity, finding that they pushed up together (which wasn’t my goal). I was disappointed the mirrors didn’t look the way I expected them to in my head. I wanted to return them and get just one big mirror. But wait–why not make my own rules on how mirrors can be hung? I didn’t trust I could make the right decision, so I asked a friend. She said it looked okay. But why did I need her input for decorating validation? Who says there is a rule about how mirrors have to hang? Instead, make your own rules and don’t worry about what the masses will think. If you like it, and think it’s acceptable, then it’s okay and is acceptable.

 BEFORE

 

IN PROGRESS

4. Fire the Plumber

OOoohhh….You’ve got a 1970’s pink toilet. And you want to get rid of it. But you’re not sure you can afford the cost of a new toilet and the $125 installation.  No problem. Just fire the plumber and do it yourself. Yes, do it yourself!  It’s really not that difficult. I watched a few YouTube videos before I felt comfortable removing our old 70’s toilet (this video was the best and most comprehensive!). But I did it! Doing the work yourself is cheaper!

Watch my video on how I first removed my toilet. If you’re a mom of little boys, you know the horror of cleaning up their mess! EEK

5. Paint Everything….(Maybe Not the Ceramic Tile)

I have a rule that everything is paint-worthy. Well, everything that is WOOD. (Yeah, don’t paint your old ceramic tile…. That might look jacked up). In my case, the old vanity was the perfect candidate for a painted makeover. I hated it at first, but it’s growin’ on me… What do you think??

I also removed the molding from the main doors so that it wouldn’t look soooo “Howdy Doody.”

BEFORE

 

IN PROGRESS

So clearly, as you can see, I’m not done with my kids’ bathroom. My 30-Day August Upgrade Room Challenge officially ends August 30, which leaves me exactly five more evenings to work on it. New flooring coming! Board and batten–coming right up! New toilet?? Piece of cake….I hope.

If you’d like to follow along with my progress, SUBSCRIBE to my blog, and follow along on YouTube. When you subscribe to my blog, you’ll get a free eBook called “7 Thrift Tips Your Mama Never Told You.” 😉

Have you ever had to tackle an outdated bathroom? What are your own tips for getting rid of all that “old”?? Leave a comment and let’s chat in the comments section!

 

Serena