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Design Dilemma: Cultivating a Stylish Older Bathroom

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If you’ve got an older bathroom, it’s tempting at times to give up on style if you can’t afford a major overhaul.  After all, what can you really do to improve pink tile, gold lame wall paper, a cheap vanity, stained linoleum?

The truth, though, is just because a bathroom is old and you don’t have the bucks for a top-to-bottom renovation doesn’t mean you should  have to close your eyes every time you take a shower! There ARE ways to make changes on the cheap, and to exploit what little style your older bathroom DOES have.

Here’s how:

1) First evaluate. Your bathroom may have last been renovated in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s or  80’s. Are there elements worth keeping? Maybe you’d like to hang onto the pink tile of the 1950’s but maybe you’re really not into the a mirrored look of the 80s. Keep what you like, change what you don’t. Below, the owners of a 60’s style bathroom opted to keep the space-age tub (which is rather cool) but changed the vanity, floor and paint color. They might also have opted to stick completely to the 1960s look by choosing a floor, vanity, lighting and sink stylistically in sync with the 1960s tub. In cases where homeowners are grappling with vintage tile in odd colors, try working to keep the color scheme by choosing wall colors and bathroom accessories that embrace your bathroom’s current style. Vintage bathrooms can be extremely chic.

2) Where you can, use paint. Paint is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to transform a bathroom. Take a look at the before and after below. Using black paint to paint an old vanity and walls, the owner of this late 70s style bath completely transformed her space. The floor was changed thanks to inexpensive stick tiles.

In the miraculously transformed bathroom below, the big change, again, was made by using paint to repaint the vanity. Silver wallpaper was stripped from the walls, a window curtain was replaced, vanity lights and mirror were replaced — all for less than $500.

3. Update hardware. Small changes, like changing out cabinet pulls, toilet tissue holders, towel bars and mirrors, can make a surprisingly big difference, as in the bathroom makeover above.

4. Update lighting. Below, a bathroom makeover that cost less than $1,000 features an Old World crystal chandelier in lieu of the 70’s style vanity lighting. Other changes that transformed this bathroom include paint, a new sink and a new medicine cabinet.

4. Change your shower curtain. Sometimes, something as simple as changing a shower curtain can have a big impact, and especially in a small bathroom. It can open up the space, close off the space, suggest elegance or funkiness. If you don’t have a lot of money to spend on changing fixtures, concentrate on outfitting your bathroom with a graphic shower curtain and stylish towels s and rugs.

Images:www.apartmenttherapy.com, desiretoinspire.net, countryhome, CB2, West Elm.