My husband and I completed our master bathroom renovation and listed our home for sale four days later. Many of our friends and family thought we were crazy to do so much work only to sell our home. Yes, it was a lot of work, but we knew to ensure a quick sale, our bathroom needed a complete overhaul.
Before Master Bathroom Renovation
When we purchased the home, it had two separate spaces for the master bath. Having two rooms was common in 1978 when the home was built. The shower is not pictured, but it had an old jet tub with white square tiles and a baby blue border through the middle. All the fixtures were old yellow brass.
Phase 1 Updates
A year after we had moved into the home, we had painted and updated all of the spaces except the master bathroom. At the time, our budget and time did not allow for a full master renovation. To make the space more pleasing to the eye, we spent about $800 making cosmetic changes. The walls, trim and cabinets were all painted. We also painted the laminate countertops and placed an epoxy coat on top to help the paint last. In addition, we replaced the toilet, added a new backsplash and trim around the builder grade mirror. To finish off space, we removed all the brass hardware, replaced the hardware on the cabinets, and spray painted the brass light fixtures black. The $800 spent was well worth it because it made the room feel cleaner and fresher. Phase 1 lasted us about three years.
Full Renovation
About three months before we sold our home, we decided we would complete the master bathroom renovation. After speaking with our realtor, we knew that our shower tile had to be replaced to help the sale of our home. Wanting to make it a complete package, we decided it was time to do the entire bathroom.
The renovation included removing the wall that separated the vanity from the shower and toilet, new shower tile, floor tile, new vanity, lights, shiplap, and paint. The expenses for the full renovation cost us less than $8,000. We were able to save expenses by completing a lot of the labor ourselves with some of the tasks such as tile install and painting.
Using ceramic tile made to look like marble also helped us save costs while giving the shower a high-end look. We used marble tile for a decorative accent but used ceramic tile all around it.
We enjoyed the newly updated bathroom for about 40 days! Our house was listed just days after we finished the renovation. Our home went under contract less than 10 days with backup offers.
We have moved on to our third fixer-upper with another master bathroom renovation in our future. Check out here why we choose to buy ugly and outdated homes.
