7 budget-friendly bathroom upgrades

(NC) Looking for inexpensive ways to bring your bathroom back to life? Here are seven tips from Donna Fraser, bath merchant at The Home Depot Canada, to make your bathroom feel new without breaking the bank.

Don’t relocate
Running new pipes or moving existing ones can drive up your renovation cost. If possible, keep toilets, sinks and showers as close to their original locations as you can. If you must move something, sinks are generally the least expensive to reposition.

Choose a single splurge item
If you plan to renovate around one stunning main focal point, you’ll be able to get away with using lower-cost items elsewhere. If you want to make a statement with a mosaic floor tile, for example, use a more economical tile on the shower walls.

Swap your vanity
Your cabinet is one of the main focal points of your bathroom. Replacing an older-looking model with a modern one, like a fluted Gluckstein Elements vanity, is a great way to easily update the look of the room. You can also paint a past-its-prime vanity and add new pulls to bring new life to your bathroom.

Use contrasting tiles
A wall – or floor – of inexpensive tile looks rich in two-tone contrasting or complementary shades. A warm-tone checkerboard floor is a bold look that’s trendy right now. You could even make it counter height so it becomes a casual backsplash to accent a simple pedestal sink.

Pack a punch with paint
Paint is an inexpensive way to add drama. Popular this season is “paint drenching” which gives your entire room a cohesive and monochromatic look by painting the walls, ceiling and baseboards all the same colour. The technique has a sophisticated feel that gives low-cost, high-impact results – especially in a space like a small powder room.

Look for deals on faucets
You may love the look of nickel, but chrome offers a similarly modern accent at a much lower cost. Try not to focus on one specific brand either; provided you choose faucets in the same finish you can pick from different product lines and price points.

Accessorize
Stacking white towels is an economical way to get that boutique-hotel look, while pillar candles accented with a few fragrant soaps and fresh-cut flowers lend an air of tranquility without the spa price tag. Updating and upgrading low-cost items like towel bars, mirrors and the hardware on drawers and doors can breathe new life into an old bathroom, for a fraction of the cost of a full renovation.