ᐅ Bathroom Renovation on a Tight Budget & Washing Machine Connection

Hello everyone!

We are preparing to move this summer.
As a temporary solution until our new home is ready, we will be staying for one year in a very old house.
The house has been in the family for a long time but will likely be sold rather than renovated by us, so none of us want to invest much money into it.
However, the current situation in the small bathrooms is something I cannot live with – not even for one year.
So, for me, this is the moment to start doing some DIY work. It’s a good project to experiment with since it can hardly get any worse than it is now. 😉

My question to you: Who has experience or tips on improving the look of very old bathrooms with a limited budget?
Our goal is to repaint the bathtub and at least paint or cover the wall tiles.
For the floor, I would like something with a wood appearance – maybe vinyl could be installed over it?
These are just rough ideas. I’m thankful for any input or inspiration.

This is just one of two bathrooms. This will probably be our “toilet room,” as the shower/tub is unlikely to be used. There is another bathroom of the same size, for which I don’t have pictures yet, with sanitary fixtures in an unpleasant curry brown. I would like to change the color of the sinks there, but I have no idea if that’s possible.
We will probably replace the toilets in both bathrooms before moving in.

Last but not least:
This old kitchen will become our laundry room. Now we need to figure out how to connect a washing machine where the sink is currently located. Is that doable? It’s not absolutely necessary to keep the sink functional, but it would be nice. If so, what would we need to do and acquire?

I would keep the wall tiles and go for a retro look. Just a new floor and white walls.
Or paint everything with chalk paint, if you’re only going to use the bathroom briefly, then the durability is acceptable. After two years, our bathroom didn’t look great anymore, but you could still do some touch-ups. However, it’s not a small amount of work.
Congratulations on your decision!

Myrna_Loy schrieb:

I would keep the wall tiles and go for a retro look. Just new flooring and white walls.
Or paint everything with chalk paint, if you only use the bathroom briefly anyway, then the durability is okay. After two years, our bathroom didn’t look great anymore, but you could do touch-ups. It’s not exactly a small amount of work.
Congratulations on your decision!

Yes, I was also thinking about retro, but it’s not really my style. I know there are people who would love it, but I just can’t deal with those colors at all. 😀
On the other hand, I do like chalk paint. Which brand would you recommend? Do you have to seal it with something else to make it last?

kati1337 schrieb:

We would like to repaint the bathtub and at least paint or apply a film to the tiles on the wall.
For the floor, I would prefer something with a wood look – maybe vinyl could be installed over it?

a) Painting and applying film will change the appearance, but in my opinion, not for the better.
b) Vinyl is no problem. Just avoid splashing too much water so it doesn’t get underneath the vinyl.

As long as the bathroom is functional, I would just leave it as it is. Maybe a new showerhead or a new toilet seat—that’s about it.

You can usually connect a washing machine or dishwasher to the sink’s water supply and drainage connections. Remove the tall cabinet and place the washing machine there. You will need to check the drainage to see what’s available.
These are the fittings to which the hoses are attached.

The faucet can probably be unscrewed and replaced with another one—something like this.

The sink has to be removed; otherwise, the washing machine won’t fit underneath. Take out the cabinet door, possibly the shelf or anything else blocking the way, and slide the washing machine in. You might need to shorten or remove the kickboard. Connecting it isn’t complicated; it has already been shown. If necessary, take a photo and just show it at the hardware store.

I would paint the tiles on the wall and bathtub. Using a film is a huge effort since the surface isn’t smooth. The bathroom will need renovating anyway, so there’s no need to worry about making mistakes. Replace the toilet with a new one from the hardware store.

I’d leave the floor as it is and just put a floor mat on top. Once the wall and bathtub are, for example, white, it won’t be as noticeable. If you put vinyl or something like that on it now, it will look unfinished—the wall joints won’t look neat and so on, just rough. (Vinyl is also the last thing I want to feel on bare feet, but that’s a matter of taste.)

If you paint the wall tiles, for example, light gray, the floor could even look okay. Clean it well once with a steam cleaner, and then you won’t have to feel disgusted.