Upscale Bathroom Refresh for £100

Choosing your home’s color palette is a super personal experience. One person’s oasis is another person’s stress-inducer or energy zapper. When Tara Slinger of Our Layered Home and her now-husband first moved into their UK home, their downstairs/utility bathroom was painted sky blue and featured white cupboards and “candy stripe tiles,” Tara says. “I love how different colors make people react differently!” she adds. “We love bright color schemes and bold patterns, but the previous owners’ choices for this room felt draining to us.”

Last year, the couple’s toddler started potty training, so Tara knew the family would be spending a lot more time in this bathroom: “I decided to set myself a £100 budget, and it became my own personal challenge to make it a happier and more stylish little room!” she says.

The very next day, Tara and her toddler hopped in the car to start shopping. “I love how a lick of paint and some accessories can change a space instantly, and they’re my go-to bits of advice when wanting to change a room,” Tara says. Over the course of few evenings while her son was in bed, Tara gave the walls a neutral upgrade with cream-colored paint. Then, she added some drama and depth to the room with black paint on the vanity, a black toilet seat, and marble-print vinyl for the countertop.

To replace that dated striped backsplash, Tara installed rose-colored, geometric “tiles”—which are really made of vinyl stickers. “We get so many compliments on the ’tiles,’” Tara says, “so I always feel proud of how that turned out.”

For a personal touch, Tara added a “You are so beautiful to me…” decal on the mirror from her own brand, Whoopsie Daisie.

And as for that £100 budget? Tara says all of the changes and accessories came to a grand total of £100.30. Just 30 pence over budget? Not too bad!

“In the future, we want to totally redo this room and change the layout, but this budget makeover has made it so much nicer for the coming years whilst we save up,” Tara says. “I’m so proud of what I achieved with £100 budget and a couple of nights’ work. Since then, my husband has set me free on the house—so it must have been a winner!”

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