​​10 Easy Bathroom Makeover Ideas to Update Your Bathroom Without Renovating

There are many inexpensive and easy ways to update your bathroom without taking on a lengthy or costly renovation. 

It doesn’t take big bucks and weeks of waiting to transform your bathroom into a sanctuary. With a few accessories and natural elements, you can create the bathroom of your dreams. A sophisticated mix of materials, textures, and lighting can help create a swoon-worthy space.

Use these easy bathroom updates to refresh your space over the weekend. You don’t need a complete overhaul, only a little creativity and budget-friendly know-how. Here are 10 bathroom makeover ideas, perfect for giving your space a fresh look without committing to a full remodel. 

Add Natural Touches

1. Use Organic Products

Have you always dreamed of having a zero-waste personal care routine? Switch to sustainable bathroom products. Conventional products contain many harmful ingredients. Start buying eco-friendly towels, bath mats, soap, and toiletry sets. These simple bathroom refresh ideas are good for your health and support the planet, all while staying within budget.

If your bathroom is feeling a bit lackluster and you can’t afford to renovate it, get beautiful, eco-friendly towels to steal the focus of your space. Try bathroom towels that come in vibrant colors and have striking patterns. Moroccan-inspired towels can infuse some much-needed vitality and character into your bathroom.

2. Get Bathroom Plants

We fill our living rooms and bedrooms with plants, so why not use some leafy accessories to complement your budget bathroom makeover? Adding plants in the bathroom will bring a little extra style to your space, purify the air, and help relieve stress and anxiety.

A little greenery and some fresh flowers can completely transform the overall bathroom design without requiring any major changes. Add beautiful pops of color and lift wilted spirits. But take time to ensure that you pick plants that love humidity and warmth.

If you don’t have a green thumb, you can try low-maintenance plants like the spider plant, aspidistra, and mother-in-law's tongue. Place a small plant on the bathroom vanity, hang a cascading plant, or put a floor plant in the corner of the room.

Get Organized

3. Declutter

Bathrooms are usually the smallest rooms in homes, and they are also the messiest. Products can easily pile up under the sink or inside cabinets. Decluttering is one of those simple bathroom makeover ideas that make a big impact. Get rid of all the extra stuff you don’t use and create a functional and calming space. Give your bathroom a spa-like feel, and make it the perfect place to pamper yourself.

Here are some things you can do to create a spa-like bathroom:

1. Clean up the medicine cabinet and dispose of old or unused products and medications.
2. Store towels, washcloths, extra toilet paper, and tissues in the bathroom closet.
3. Add a cubby or a shelf to the shower area for shampoo bottles and soaps.
4. Add tray organizers to bathroom cabinets.
5. Only keep a few items on the countertop and store the rest under the vanity or in a cabinet.

An organized bathroom is aesthetically pleasing, easier to use, and perfect for relaxation. When decluttering, think function first.

Illuminate and Color Your World

4. Upgrade the Lighting

The wall-mounted sconce isn’t your only option for bathroom lighting. If you still have sconces from the 1980s mounted on top of your bathroom mirror, get rid of them. You may have beautiful wallpaper and gorgeous fixtures, but without great lighting, your bathroom will fall flat.

Lighting is one of the most effective bathroom updates without renovation because they add instant visual depth. Use it in unexpected ways to add a little luxury and drama to your mundane bathroom. If the room has a high ceiling (at least 9 feet tall), hang a single pendant over the mirror.

If you have a large bathroom vanity, install a small chandelier off-center. A small lighting fixture adds visual interest without overtaking the space. If the ceiling is too low for a chandelier or pendant, it’s okay to go the sconce route—just keep things interesting. Add sleek sconces in matte brass or a modern material like chrome. Think light and airy instead of dark and heavy. You want your bathroom to feel relaxing, not broody.

5. Choose the Right Paint Color

A fresh coat of paint is one of the easiest ways to update a bathroom without remodeling, adding instant personality without the commitment of a full renovation. Traditional bathrooms look great in almost any color. You can use soft shades to create a calming environment or brighter ones to make a statement. But consider how the ceiling and the moldings will play into your color scheme.

White never goes out of style. White hues create a crisp, clean look, while off-whites warm up dark spaces. If you want a more modern look, you can mix white with a dark accent color like black, navy blue, or hunter green. You can also let the Pantone color of the year, Mocha Mousse, be your trendy and fun new color.

When choosing a paint color, consider the style of your space. The streamlined look of a modern bathroom pairs well with pretty pastels, crisp whites, and bold hues. Light colors reflect light and are a great choice for small or windowless bathrooms.

Pedal to the Metal

6. Refresh Cabinets

If you’d like to give your outdated bathroom cabinets a fresh new look, add new hardware or repaint them. That doesn’t mean that your bathroom has to be all white. Repainting the cabinets in any color is one of those easy bathroom upgrades that can instantly rewrite the room’s color story. Choose a lively hue like slate blue to give your old cabinets new life and draw attention from less-than-trendy door styles. Bolder colors add instant personality to white bathrooms.

Swap out old knobs and pulls to quickly update your bathroom cabinets. It's amazing what new hardware can do to aging cabinets, and it can also help you add more storage with updated functionality like drawer organizers or hanging solutions. Add brass or gold drawer pulls with clean lines for a modern-yet-traditional look or be bold and mix metals for a chic look. Hardware with the same metallic finish creates a unified modern theme. Your bathroom cabinets may be old, but they can still evoke character and charm.

7. Add a Bold Metal-Rimmed Mirror

A bathroom mirror has space-expanding abilities and can add style and texture. It’s often the focal point of the space and doesn’t just enhance functionality. It adds shape and flair, visually expanding the room and giving it a hotel vibe. In a small bathroom remodel, this visual trick can make the entire layout feel more open.

A mirror lets you add something unexpected to your bathroom. Get one with a metal rim of brass or chrome to glam up your neutral bathroom. A bold mirror will make your space feel a little more luxe.

When choosing a location for the mirror, consider what it will reflect. If you want abundant light in your bathroom, install it near or across from the window. You can also use a mirror to create a more cohesive space by highlighting artwork or accentuating bathroom decor. When choosing a bathroom mirror, consider the sink’s size, the wall space, and your own height.

8. Replace Bathroom Fixtures

Your pedestal sink may still be in good shape after decades of use, but the leaky faucet may need replacing. New bathroom fixtures can transform your space in an instant. If you can afford it, replace the faucets, sink, toilet, showerhead, and bathtub. These simple upgrades can inspire new ideas for how you decorate the rest of the room.

A handheld sprayer can make taking a bath and maintaining the tub much easier. You’ll find it easy to rinse your hair and clean the tub. To update your bathroom in minutes without spending a lot of money, simply replace the showerhead with a newer model.

When choosing bathroom fixtures, stick to neutral options. Bathroom trends can fade quickly, and large fixtures can be expensive to replace if you decide you no longer like them. You can add some bold design flair with smaller accessories and fixtures that are easier to replace when it's time for an upgrade.

Wood is Good

9. Add Wainscoting to Your Walls

Wainscoting was a very popular mid-century modern style. Back then, it covered the entire wall surface, which isn’t the practice nowadays. If you’re not too fond of tiles or simply want to break up the monotony of boring bathroom walls, wainscoting is the right solution. It creates a trendy, warm, and rustic ambiance.

Wainscoting can also help protect your bathroom walls from damage by water and moisture and add a design element to the room. If you’d like to cover up the blemishes on your bathroom walls, wainscoting will do a great job. It will make your bathroom look stylish and elegant.

Try Bath Fitter—Your DIY Partner

Your bathroom is the most private area of your home. It's where you perform your self-care routine, so it should be a space you enjoy spending time in. If you want to incorporate some of these bathroom makeover ideas but don’t want to commit to a full renovation, call Bath Fitter. Get quality that’s guaranteed for life. Choose the look and we’ll do the rest. 

Want a bathroom update without a full renovation? Bath Fitter has all the solutions. Thanks to our unique tub-over-tub process, bathtub replacement is no longer necessary. Choose from hundreds of custom designs and find one that fits your style. In as little as one day, you’ll have a brand new bathroom.