How to Decorate a Powder Room for Less than $50

Complete a beautiful powder room makeover on a $50 budget! Learn how to make inexpensive changes that create a big impact.

Powder Room Makeover for Less than $50

Sometimes I get crazy ideas in my head. Donnie knows this. I always remind him that it’s one of the things he loves most about me. 😉

He can always tell when I have an idea brewing. I start dropping subtle (or not-so subtle) hints. Usually he gently tries to talk me out of it, listing many [incredibly valid] reasons why my crazy idea is… well, crazy. But usually I do it anyway. Oops.

But, I promise– Making over the powder room when we were up to our eyeballs in a kitchen renovation made complete sense!

You know how when you get something new and it’s sitting there looking all beautiful, and then all of a sudden the thing next to it looks totally out of place, so you need to do something about that too? That is totally what happened here.

Kitchen, Entry, and Powder Room Updates

You see, things were finally starting to come together in the kitchen and look something like this:

kitchen sink and back splash

It’s all nice and bright and pretty (and not yet finished, but we’re getting there) and looking lovely. I even turned our old coat closet into a nice, organized pantry to go with it…

organized pantry with the doors open

I know that it can be hard to picture where everything is, so I made you a little diagram 🙂 :

mockup of the kitchen and entryway

So do you see what is right next to that kitchen that is coming right along and that pantry that is oh-so-nice-and-organized?

A not-so-pretty powder room.

I would grab something from our beautiful new pantry, peek in the door of the powder room right beside it, and be met with this:

before the powder room was updated

Do you know what that photo is from? It’s from one of my first “room reveals” ever on the blog. This was the “after” shot– hysterical! We all have to start somewhere! Apparently I thought that the powder room had to be powder blue, and clearly that was during my “paint all of the furniture black” phase.

Since the kitchen is currently eating up most of my home improvement budget, I was determined to do a little “refresh” for this room as inexpensively as possible, setting myself a $50 limit. It is a tiny room, but accessories and decor pieces can add up quickly, so I knew I might be pushing it! So how did I decorate a powder room on a super tight budget? I’m so glad you asked!

Budget-Friendly DIY Powder Room Makeover Ideas

A huge thanks to Behr for sponsoring this post! My favorable opinion of beautiful, high-quality paint is 100% my own. 🙂 For more information, see my disclosures here.

1. Apply a fresh coat of paint.

I started with one of the most inexpensive ways to transform a room– paint. I actually had some paint left over from when we painted our primary bedroom, and I LOVED it, so I decided to use that for the walls. (The color is Behr Marquee’s Silver City MQ2-59.)

The vanity was in desperate need of a change as well, so I picked up a little $4 sample of Behr Premium Plus Ultra Clear Pond PPU13-15, and I was in business. Because do I ever do a room that doesn’t include a little aqua? Answer: no. (If you’ve never done it before, this post has great tips for painting a bathroom cabinet!)

closeup of the Behr paint we used in the powder room

I am always amazed at how much a little bit of paint and a few accessories can change a room. Bye bye powder blue, hello…

after we painted and updated the small powder room

…light, bright, and beautiful! I’m always nervous when I try to pick an aqua color that it’s going to be too blue or too green or too neon. But Clear Pond was perfection– the exact color I was looking for.

close up of newly painted vanity

Not bad for $4 worth of paint + a sparkly little knob I already had! 🙂 Oh and speaking of that…

2. Decorate using items from around the house.

I recently talked about the oh-so-simple shelf we made for this room:

updated shelf and accessories in the powder room

It is painted in my most favorite shade of white (yes, there are totally shades of white!), Behr Marquee Cameo White MQ3-32. The shelf and everything sitting on it cost me a grand total of $0– all items I already had.

I told Donnie that my home decor & craft supply hoarding tendencies would come in handy one day! I grabbed a bunch of accessories from my stash as well as some weeds beautiful clippings from my front yard, and I had instant shelf decor!

close up of shelf decorations in the renovated powder room

3. Use DIY wall prints.

One of my favorite ways to save money on art is to think outside of the box and frame things you wouldn’t necessarily think of. The floral “print” on my shelf is actually wrapping paper.

I’ve also framed gift bags before, as well as fabric, paper napkins, pretty cards, old book pages, paint chips, washi tape designs– there are so many options!

side shot of the bathroom shelf decorated

I also love to incorporate family items that have special meaning (and are, again, free!). The old books were my grandmother’s, who I never got to meet. And actually, I included an old black and white photo of her on the wall opposite the shelf as well.

Another way to fill frames for free is to make something yourself! I created the “It is well with my soul” print in about 5 minutes, just using some text and a free graphic from PicMonkey.

close up of a DIY sign we made to hang in the townhouse bathroom

look for sales

Almost everyone has a box of picture frames they are not using. If not, these are inexpensive at thrift shops or garage sales. Use this tutorial for transforming frames into a brand new piece.

I love the look of watercolor, but I’m not so good at it myself, so for the smaller piece on this wall, I used the Waterlogue app on my phone to make one of the photos from our beach vacation look watercolor-esque. Then I had it printed for just 30 cents– doesn’t get much cheaper than that! 🙂

two art prints hanging on the bathroom wall

4. Swap out the hardware and accessories.

Moving over to the wall next to the vanity, I added a towel ring, which I tend to like better than the old towel bar we had before, and more art.

The updated wall prints and towel hanger in the powder room

5. Refresh the light fixtures rather than replacing them.

Light fixtures are expensive and can totally blow a budget! When I initially worked on this bathroom a few years ago, I painted the base of the light fixture and swapped the globes for something a little more modern. Swapping the light bulbs for something brighter is another easy fix to brighten the room.

Light fixture with swapped globes for an inexpensive bathroom DIY project

Doing a little refresh rather than completely replacing the light fixture can save tons of money and still have beautiful results!

Powder Room Makeover for Less than $50

Powder Room Budget Breakdown

Do you think I stayed within my $50 budget? Here’s the breakdown:

  • Paint sample- $4
  • New rug- $15
  • Towel ring- $14
  • Towel- $6
  • Basket on commode- $6
  • Feather art- $1.25
  • Beach photo- $0.30

Grand total: $46.55 — Woot!

Not a bad little transformation for less than $50! And wait until you see the before and after. Ridiculous!

the before and after photos of the budget powder room project

I would say it looks just a tiny bit better. 😉 I love how a little paint and a few simple swaps can totally transform a space!

DIY Powder Room Makeover: Frequently Asked Questions

The best advice is to lighten up the space with paint, which is exactly what we did! This includes the walls and the vanity. We had also already painted the mirror and the base of the light fixture a bright white, which helped to lighten things up as well

When it comes to updating small powder rooms, less is often more.

Any color that is light and bright! This includes shades of white, pastels, yellows, blush, and taupe.

Thanks so much for following along! Have a wonderful week!

Abby Lawson, Just a Girl and Her Blog

A huge thanks to Behr for sponsoring this post! My favorable opinion of beautiful, high-quality paint is 100% my own. 🙂 For more information, see my disclosures here.

23 Comments

  1. Leah Sannar says:

    Amazing! That makes SUCH a difference! I would venture to say your photography has certainly stepped up its game as well! :o) I love the colors that you chose, and Behr is my FAVORITE paint as well. I used Toasty Grey in my guest room and completely fell in love. Love Behr.

  2. Jacquelyn says:

    Very nice make over! The powder room is gorgeous! I love how you were able to re-use items and stayed within a small budget.

  3. This looks great. I like how you use Aqua throughout your house tying it all together. Can’t wait to see the finished kitchen.

  4. Emily @ Small Stuff Counts says:

    Oh Abby, I know the feeling all too well when you are always bubbling with ideas and your husband looks at you like you’re insane. My hubby is constantly reminding me to focus on one of the million projects I’m currently in the middle of, but I’m always wanting to start something else. So many ideas! Your makeover looks fantastic! You are motivating me to do set a budget and get to work on a couple rooms that need a little refresh. It’s reassuring to see what you can make happen with just $50. Nice work!

  5. Selene Galindo says:

    Oh how I love quick and inexpensive transformations!! You did it again, Abby…the room looks great! It’s so much more lighter and brighter 🙂

  6. Karen @ The Decorated Nest says:

    Love the color of the cabinet, really nice. with all the new accessories it looks totally different–very pretty!

  7. Katrin@KreativK.net says:

    Wow! Love it! Especially when you can find stuff you can re-use around the house and garden! Great art as well!!!

  8. Abby,
    I love your powder room makeover! It made such a difference it made! Thank you for taking a break on kitchen lol

  9. On Hayden Lane says:

    The powder room makeover is fantastic! And you did for under $50 Wow! I’m impressed.

  10. Amanda @ Dwelling in Happiness says:

    I love how this turned out, Abby! The aqua vanity is perfect and adds a nice pop to the room. I love updating bathrooms, I just finished our guest bath update, too! AND, I love Behr paint!! 🙂

  11. Amazing girl! I need to do this to my bathroom now! Thanks for the inspiration!

  12. LOVE this! Amazing what swapping out that towel rod for a shelf did! I hate towel rods. They draw the eye down and they are just downright hard to keep looking nice (and no matter how hard you try they look terrible)! Hooks and rings are SO MUCH easier! 🙂 And that aqua! Gorgeous!

    We just finished our powder room last weekend 🙂
    https://www.createprettyblog.com/2015/09/powder-room-update.html

  13. Kristine Manley says:

    Oh wow! Your powder room came out sooooooo pretty! All for just $50 bucks?

  14. Brittney Guise says:

    What a gorgeous little room! I love how the vanity turned out! Sidenote: I had never heard of a ‘powder room’ and was all like ‘?!!’
    Then I realised you were talking about a bathroom!

  15. Lauren Baxter says:

    Wow! Great transformation and I love how you set a budget and was even under. Shopping your house is such a great way to spruce things up & stay on budget.

    Love it!

    Lauren Baxter | Lovely Decor
    xx

  16. I love the room makeover! How inspiring!

    I’m checking out PicMonkey because I’d love to create a print like you made. Can you help me with where you found it? Thank you!

    1. justagirlabby says:

      Thank you, Kim!! In PicMonkey, I went to “themes” (the little apple icon on the left side of the screen), then “Winterland,” then “Wreathery” to find the wreath. The font was just one I had on my computer called “Handsome Hand.” I hope this helps! Have a great day!

      ~Abby =)

  17. Love this!

    Where do you get your frames? And what size are they? They’re perfect for this space!

    1. justagirlabby says:

      Hi, Bailey! The large flatter frames are from Michael’s– they’re 11 x 14 with a mat to make the opening 8 x 10. The small frames are from IKEA. One is 4 x 6 and the other is 5 x 7. The two fancier frames were hand me downs and they both hold 8 x 10s. I hope this helps!

      ~Abby =)

  18. rosannebowman1 says:

    Did you paint your toilet too? It looks like it used to be bisque or something and now looks really white!

    1. justagirlabby says:

      Nope! I was just really terrible with taking photos and using lighting before, lol! It has always been white! Have a great day Rosanne!

      ~Abby =)

  19. This is simply great. My BF always tries to talk me out of doing a new project, but I can’t help it! Painting it always my go to. Cannot wait to get started on my next project!

    1. justagirlabby says:

      Men can be that way, can’t they?!? haha! Enjoy! <3

      ~Abby =)

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