Bathroom decorating on a budget can achieve professional results if the person doing the decorating is willing to put the effort into it. It's a tradeoff, what budget decorating saves in materials can be put into the time it takes to do the job correctly for that professional finish. At the end of the day it's worth a little more time and effort to create your perfect bathroom.



Decorating a bathroom on a budget often means improving what is already there. The easiest way to start making changes is by using stain. Staining old cupboards can make them look current and spruce them up. Staining can also be used on furniture and other wooden items. Matching all the staining in a room can make a small bathroom seem larger, especially if using a light stain. Be aware that darker colors and stains can make the room look smaller.

Using tiles for decorating a bathroom on a budget is a smart idea. Tiles can be purchased for very little money, especially if they are bought in bulk. By taking your time to install the tiles you should be able to get a very professional look at a fraction of the price. Purchasing a book specifically geared towards installing tile yourself will help ensure a high-quality final product and many DIY stores have advice sheets for laying tiles.

The technique you choose for laying the tile is also important. Mosaic designs that are done perfectly look designer in quality, but they can be quite labor intensive. With a more traditional layout, it is important to set tile evenly in straight lines and with equal amounts of calking or grout. Be sure to take your time and give it your best effort. You will be richly rewarded with a good looking and long lasting finish.

To make the room look even more professionally finished use textured tiles, painted tiles, or large tiles to lend a more polished effect. Use these unique and more expensive tiles as a border or accent. Textured, painted, or large sized tiles may be found at whole sale or discount stores, or you can get a great deal on discontinued styles.

Paint is relatively inexpensive and can be used to entirely redecorate a bathroom. Most paint costs around $15 a gallon, and you will only need two to three gallons of paint for most bathrooms. Make sure you buy a high quality paint. Although you may be tempted to buy budget paint this is a false economy as the finish may take more coats, not look as good and not be as long lasting.

You can get expert painting results in less time that you think. For example, use textured rollers to create a pattern in the paint, layering colors to create designer effects. Or create designs such as lattice work, or a two toned look with a border. Using any amount of colors when implementing these designs can create depth which also looks more expensive than it actually is. In this way you can spruce up a bathroom but it won't cost a lot of money.

Decorating a bathroom on a budget can be easy and give very high-end results. Taking the time to learn about a method and following through with time and effort will make the bathroom look like it was decorated by a professional designer. But it will cost little enough to suit almost every budget.