DIY Bathroom Remodel for Beginners

Bathroom remodels are a popular home improvement project for homeowners and can be seen as a good DIY opportunity. However, a DIY bathroom remodel is no simple task. For DIY beginners a full remodel may be too challenging. It’s often best to leave major portions of this home improvement project to professionals. This includes electrical, floor, and plumbing. For example, if you need plumbing work done, be sure to call a 24 hour plumbing service to help.

If you are a DIY beginner, there are still some portions of your bathroom remodel you can do yourself. These are 5 bathroom ideas for projects you don’t need the pros to help you with.

Update the Vanity

The vanity is a huge stylistic piece in any bathroom. This is great news for DIY beginners because making any change, even simple changes, can make the space feel updated. The simplest option for updating your bathroom vanity is to give it a new coat of paint. If you want your bathroom to feel bigger, neutral colors are your best options. These would include white, gray, or brown.

To paint your vanity, unscrew all the drawers and remove any additional hardware. Clean and sand the wood and then paint with your new color. Once the coat of paint dries, just assemble it back together and you have what feels like an entirely new bathroom piece.

Replace Faucets

Another simple task for DIY beginners is replacing the faucets. By now your sink and tub faucets are most likely outdated or chipped which makes it the perfect appliance to focus on updating. It may seem like a small change but it will help make your bathroom space feel brand new.

While replacing a faucet is one of the easier tasks for DIY home improvement, there are some specific steps to take. Before you do anything, turn off the water supply. This valve can usually be found underneath the sink. Once you’ve done that, you can disconnect the supply lines, remove the nuts, and take out your old faucet.

Find your new faucet and insert it into the mounting holes on the sink. Connect the supply lines to your faucet. Now all you need to do is turn on the water and see if you have any leaks.

Paint the Walls

For home improvement beginners, painting the walls is one of the easiest updates you can make to your bathroom. A fresh coat of paint can make any space feel bigger, welcoming, and completely new. One of the best colors for making your bathroom feel large and open is white. However, if you want a little more color to the space, light colors are another great option for a large-feeling bathroom.

Once you’ve chosen the right color and bought the right amount, the next step for your DIY project is cleaning the walls. Be sure to get around the bathtub and shower so you don’t have any lingering soap scum that could ruin your paint job.

The most difficult part of painting your bathroom walls is removing the toilet. It can be hard to paint around it so it’s often best to just remove it from the space until you’re done. However, this may be a job for the professionals if you don’t feel you can do it properly. Remove any other obstructions, cover the floors, and tape the trim.

Now the real fun begins. Paint the walls using a roller, let the first coat dry, and then apply the second. Once everything is dry and you’re happy with the paint, move everything back into the bathroom.

Add New Storage

Nothing says a DIY bathroom remodel like more storage. This is a great project to help organize your space or add additional surfaces for decoration. Without the clutter, your bathroom will feel open, inviting, and updated.

A recently popular option for storage is open shelving. You can place open shelves above the toilet or on the wall by the shower. Depending on the style of your bathroom, you may have many different options to create these shelves.

DIY beginners can rest assured that this task is totally do-able. All you need to do is buy brackets, mark the places you want them on the wall, and secure them. Once you’re happy with their placement, you only need to add the shelves and decorate.

Update Decorations

While updating your bathroom decorations doesn’t involve any screwdrivers, paintbrushes, or brackets, this is still a great project for a bathroom remodel. By removing your old decorations and adding new items, your bathroom space will transform.

Some popular decorations for your bathroom include shower curtains, framed pictures, potted plants, soap dispensers, candles, and baskets. If you repainted your walls, be sure to find decorations that help that color pop instead of clashing.

Just because you’re a home improvement beginner doesn’t mean you can’t take control of the space yourself. While major portions of your bathroom remodel is best left to the pros, there are still many tasks you can do on your own. Just be creative, do your research, and consult help if problems arise.

About the Author

Jennifer Bell is a freelance writer, blogger, dog-enthusiast, and avid beachgoer operating out of Southern New Jersey.