Our $16 Bathroom Spruce Up

I’ve hinted on Instagram that we’ve been doing TONS of DIYing around here. It’s not to impress the in-laws, but their visit certainly has lit a fire under us to complete a few projects. The first project we tackled was the first floor bathroom. Every bathroom needs a little love, and I’m happy with these affordable bathroom shelves.

Our first floor bathroom also doubles as the laundry room. The size of the room is ample, yet it feels crowded at times. I wanted to brighten it up and do something fun. We decided to do something with the wall space above the toilet. We had a photo hanging there, but it wasn’t working for me.

We headed to our local home improvement store to pick up a board and brackets. I chose a simple 1X8X6 board and four simple wooden brackets. The board was $8 and the brackets were each $2. Once we got home, we cut the board in two sections and painted it white. I love the Behr Ultra Pure White. It is white, white, white. Sort of like Benjamin Moore’s Super White, but at a much better price. And, I’m all about saving money!

We don’t have any saw horses, so we used two buckets. Not the best idea if you need to cut things, but works great for painting!

Once the paint dried on the shelf and the brackets, The Texan got to work hanging the shelves. We measured the first shelf from the ceiling down, and used a level to ensure the brackets were level. {What else would we use the level for?!}

Tip: Because the shelves are 8 inches wide, they’re not designed for holding towels or bulky items. If you need shelves to hold towels, you could choose a larger board size or use two smaller boards together. If you decide to use your shelves for items you’ll be accessing daily, please use liquid nails to attach them to the bracket. It would be awful if they crashed to the floor.

Now that our pretty shelves were installed, it was time for me to run around the house and shop for items we already had to decorate them. Woo-hoo! I love shopping, especially when it doesn’t cost a thing.

I wanted the space to have a fun beach-y feel, and love how it turned out.

The photograph was taken on Nantucket. The beach glass collection is something we’ve been working on for the last few years. We add to it each trip to the beach, if we’re lucky. The little wooden bird is a replica of the birds that caused our beach to close earlier this summer. A reminder that summer is too short.

It’s easy and affordable to add shelves to your bathroom. The addition of the shelves transformed the space, and inspired me (to want) to remove the towel rack. Now, if only I could find the motivation to do it!

Have you transformed a room in your home for under $20? Have you tackled a budget DIY home improvement project?