In many older style homes the bathrooms are often very outdated.  When we moved home we must have looked at no less than 20 properties in person, as well as hundreds online, and almost every single one needed a bathroom upgrade.  They were just so dated. 

Of course this was probably because Ben ignored my dream of a new build and insisted we had to buy an old property that needed care.  Needless to say when we moved into our 1960s home the bathroom was the first room we began to rip out and replace! 

We kept money back for home improvements but it didn’t go far and we also took out a home improvements loan which will take us a total of ten years to pay back. 

How can I modernise my bathroom cheaply?

Obviously not everyone has money to totally redo a bathroom suite, décor and fixtures and nor do they want to take on more debt, so in this blog post I will explore the ways you can make some improvements to your bathroom to make it more stylish without having to spend thousands.

Upgrade the radiator

If you’ve an old eyesore of a radiator in your bathroom then why not choose something that looks more slick? You could opt for a new modern vertical radiator or even scrap the radiator altogether and choose under floor heating. 

If you want something a lot more practical in the bathroom then why not upgrade to a heated towel rail?  Not only does it act as a radiator, but it looks more attractive, provides storage space for towels and even dries them.  Prices vary between retailers and there’s something to suit all budgets.

Of course if you hire a professional to install for you, which is probably advised if you’re not great at DIY and plumbing, then they may be able to source trade radiators at a much cheaper price than you’ll get in the stores.

Ditch the shower curtain

If you have a shower over the bath, then ditch the shower curtain and instead invest in a glass bath screen. 

Not only will they look more visually appealing, but they will make the bathroom feel more spacious as they’ll not divide the room as a shower curtain will.  They are also easy to clean each day and won’t stick to your legs when you start showering!

Change the taps

We recently installed a waterfall mixer tap when we replaced our bathroom sink and it looks so much nicer than our two old separate taps.  It feels like a spa bathroom! 

Almost every new visitor to our home comments how much they like the tap.  It only cost around £50 and was definitely worth the cost. 

Of course if you are only changing the taps and not the sink you won’t be able to go from two taps to one as you’ll leave two holes, but take a look at taps to see if there’s something more stylish that could totally change the appearance of your sink area.

Add more mirrors

To create the illusion of a lighter and more spacious bathroom then add mirrors.  These will reflect the light and make the bathroom appear bigger than it is.  It will also give something to hang on the walls that serves a purpose and doesn’t need to be too costly at all.

Reduce the tiling

If you want to retile but you’re put off by the vast costs of retiling the entire bathroom, then reduce the area you wish to retile.  Simply tile the areas that really need it and then use a bathroom paint which is resistant to mould to paint the rest of the space. 

Opt for a plain light colour to give a clean and spacious feel, especially in a smaller bathroom.  Of course this will only work if there aren’t already tiles all over the bathroom.  If there are then give them a good clean, clean the grout and look into updating the fixtures for now to improve the look of your bathroom until you can afford retiling or newly plastered walls.

Final word

There are lots of ways to start improving your bathroom to create the bathroom of your dreams.  If you can’t afford to do the whole lot in one go, then do what you can afford and break it up into stages.  Simply making a few minor changes could make all the difference.

 

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