Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Bathroom Budget Breakdown

It's time to wrap up our visit to the guest bathroom with one final look.



And now comes the scariest part ever....the budget. Yupperdoodles. And everyone knows that a blown budget is the worst part of any home renovation. It can make you cry in your sleep...and no girl likes to wake up with puffy eyes.

SO here she blows:



Our grand total was under $500. Our paint & grout was free (which definitely helped since it was leftovers from a prior project) and if the floor had been a little more level, we could have saved on the cost of thinset. But overall, I didn't think our bill was too bad.

In fact, the weekend before our bathroom renovation began, we had a yardsale which brought in $210 for old curtains, archaic electronics and some junky clothing I had from highschool. We also put the old toilet on Craigslist for $40 and have already have some bites...so if we offset all the costs with the moolah rollin in the door....this bathroom makeover was around $225...not too shabby for a renovation that could increase the value of our home, increase the comfortability factor for our guests, and definitely increase the "selling this house in a bumb market" probability.



So how bout it? You guys think that we shelled out too much dough in a bad economy? Or do you think that every penny was well-spent? How much would you spend on a bathroom reno? You guys have any affordable makeovers that you would love to share? Email me and let me browse your photos....you know I love that more than Jacko loves collecting creepy statues.

20 comments:

kelly g said...

No, no. The money was definitly well spent. Kudos! Now, can you please show us a picture of the little piece of white furniture that's behind the bathroom door? Please!!! :)

Ros said...

Totally worth every single penny spent. Well done!!

sue said...

Are you trying to sell your house now?

Julienne said...

Well spent money! We have a dated, but okay bathroom right now and I'm trying to decide whether it's worth it to do a mini-makeover to make it a bit more us, or just wait until we can do it full blown.

Katie said...

Hey Sue - Nope...we love our little white cottage and can see ourselves in this place for the next few years. But I must admit that this economy is scary. You'll never know when you need to downsize...so renovations that are affordable and mass-appealing is a good safety net for those "just in case" situations...right?

XO - Katie

P.S. Kelly - here is a photo of the white cabinet in our pre-tiled bathroom
http://allbowerpower.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-loo.html

Mrs. Limestone said...

Wasn't the toilet a few hundred bucks in of itself? Or do you have a secret discount toilet supplier :)

Im sort of grossed out that there are people who buy used toilets but Im glad you're getting some bites. That $40 can go far in the right hands :)

The bathroom looks great. I just love the gray!

sue said...

Good! I got nervous because I love your blog and I don't want you to stop !!

Mrs. Foot said...

Well worth every penny! Makes me want to re-tile our kitchen and bathroom even more!

Not sure it's an "affordable" one, but we have pretty much finished redoing our kitchen. Here's the process: http://theproudfeet.blogspot.com/2009/04/kitchen-from-then-to-now.html

Tammylee said...

was just looking at your photo appreciation on photobucket...your goodwill sounds as great as mine was in louisville, ky. i lived in that store LOL

Tammylee said...

i think your makeover was well spent. i think when you do things yourself you can almost always stay in budget. "just buy the how to book! it's twenty bucks well spent" GREAT bathroom!!!

Kelli said...

Moeny very well spent. I think by doing it yourself you save tons...and using some materials that you already had. It's beautiful.

Katie said...

Mrs. Limestone - Actually the toilet was $189 which we thought was a great price...I am sure that there were more affordable potties out there but we definitely wanted a Kohler so this was the least expensive one we could find...and I am with you about buying a used loo....although if I were doing a rental house, Craigslist is probably the first place I'd go. Then I would be off to rent a pressure washer immediately!

Tammy - you are so right - buy the how to book peeps (or google!)...you can learn how to do just about anything.

Mrs. Foot - wowza - looking awesome! I can't believe the paint came off your cabinets like that!

XO - Katie

LyndsAU said...

wow girl that's great :) and i love the tile diagonal. so chic!

Anonymous said...

Definitely worth every penny! you guys rocked it out! Our guest bathroom is ok, but not the greatest - we've spent some money redoing drywall and replacing a mirror, but have yet to tackle the tub and crummy floor because of the recession (yay recession!).
Doing the whole bathroom over was definitely a good choice on ya'lls part!

Anonymous said...

Heavens No! I thought you did really well for under $500. Good job on even putting your garage sale $$ towards it!

Anonymous said...

I think it was money well spent. It looks fabulous, and buyers always notice if the bathroom and kitchen look great!

If you want to check out my (smaller)bathroom makeover, you can find it here

Gillian said...

WORTH IT!

Susan said...

Can you tell me the color of the paint you used? It is a fabulous and I'm pretty sure my bedroom would like a good coating of it!

Your finished product is divine.

Besos!

Emily said...

What is the name of the paint color you used?

Katie said...

Hi Susan & Emily -

The paint color is Benjamin Moore's Mt. Rainier...but I took the swatch to Lowe's and had them color match it so that I could save a few bucks. So technically it is Valspar brand paint. And for a warmer - little less blue option - Valspar has a color called Winter Flannel that I love.

XO - Katie