Cottage Inspired Small Bathroom DIY Renovation

Our small bathroom DIY renovation is one that I am so excited to share with you! We went from dark, old and dingy to a bright, airy and cottage inspired look.

Cottage inspired bathroom text with vanity, toilet shelves

This small bathroom renovation was a project we knew we needed to do. We had some mold on the ceiling around the shower, termite damage on a few walls, cracking floor and wall tiles and honestly, just a very outdated bathroom.

Open shelves with vintage decor and toilet paper on toilet.

Bathroom vanity mirror with top half of vanity and towel rack

Let me start by sharing that this is the only bathroom in our home, other than a toilet in our unfinished basement. We knew this project needed to get done in a decent amount of time. But as any home renovation DIY usually goes, it takes longer than anticipated. I was very grateful to have the bathroom in our gueset cottage to use while this project was taking place.

The timeline for this bathroom diy was planned to take about 3-4 weeks, but it extended to about 8 weeks. My husband did much of the work himself with help from family every so often. Weekends and some evenings were what we had to focus on this project as he works full time and there are other life commitments. With that said, if you are feeling like you would never have time to do a home project, remember it can be done when you make time for it. Home renovations come together little by little, so give yourself grace and keep working towards the end goal.

bathroom before full view of tub, toilet, vanity and shelves

Old built in mirror and shelf above toilet

Alright, let me share the full details of this small bathroom diy! The first task in any gut job is to start with demolition. This is the easy part and only took several hours. The bathroom was stripped to the studs. Our bathtub, vanity and toilet were taken out, creating a blank slate to work with.

There was some new electrical and a small bit of plumbing that my brother helped with after demolition. Once that was finished, a few more 2×4’s and backer boards were added for extra support. We also insulated as we found little to no insulation in the walls.

We knew this bathroom was small when we had to order a special 54 inch bathtub compared to the standard 60 inch. A steel tub was installed in place of our previous cast tub. One con of the steel tub is that they do not retain heat as well and make a loud tinny sound when anything hits it. We found out that stuffing insulation around the bottom of the tub, before setting it in place, made a huge difference.

The next steps for the bathroom diy included sheetrock and concrete board around the tub area. Once my husband got those nailed up it was time to work on waterproofing the tub surround. He mortored the concrete board on the seams and nail holes. Added several coats of red guard and began the tiling.

sheetrock and concrete board on bathroom walls

red guard on bathroom walls around tub and half of tile up

Tiling around the bathtub area was the next part in the bathroom diy reno process. My husband and father-in-law took a couple days to get this part of the project done. They used a tile saw to cut all the tiles, however a wet saw would have made the tiles a bit smoother on the cuts. We learn as we go when it comes to DIY home projects. My husband did such a great job with the tiling and grout. I now enjoy leaving my shower curtain open to show off the beautiful tile.

After taping and mudding the sheetrock the fun part for me began…paint! We chose BM White Dove for the ceiling and walls. This is the same color that was used for our guest cottage. We added some MDF beadboard paneling on the open wall and painted that in Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter. Again another color used for our cottage.

The flooring is a vinyl plank that is meant to look like tile. The vintage design of the tile drew me in and I am liking the pattern on the floor.

Probably my favorite part of the entire renovation is the vanity. We went with a dark green, marble top vanity. I could have done a DIY vanity, however I really fell in love with this piece when I came across it on Home Depot’s website. There is so much storage in this vanity, which was huge for us in having a small bathroom.

Vanity and top with dresser mirror and hand towel.

The mirror was a fun Facebook Marketplace find from a vintage dresser. Mixing some older pieces in with new is a decor tactic that I enjoy in my home.

Our open shelves above the toilet are vintage style shelves, that again have an older feel but are still new. I added a few minimal touches to the shelves, which will probably stay that way. Less is more for me when it comes to decor. A couple other simple touches that I added for beauty in this space are the vintage soap dish and the faux plant on the vanity. For trash cans around my home I like to use thrifted wicker baskets. This handled basket was just the fit for the space beside the toilet paper holder.

Shelves over toilet with vintage pitcher and wash clothes Toilet paper on top of toilet

toilet paper holder and wicker basket for trash can

A bathroom does not have to just be functional, it can also be beautiful! I love walking into this small space multiple times a day. This small bathroom renovation is a project that could not have been done without my handy husband.

I think that pretty much does it for this small bathroom diy reno. There’s always challenges in home reno projects, but there are also many great rewards. Let me know what you think of the transformation in the comments below!