Retro bathroom renovation tips wanted

[Beebop123]

Hi there, my husband and I have just bought our first flat (woo!) and we are looking to do some work in the bathroom. It's a proper retro old bathroom complete with pink tiles and blue toilet. We want to maybe try keep some nod to the retro style but not completely pink in it's current state. In an ideal world, we'd probably look to change the layout, but from what I've heard that can be quite an expensive endeavor. Do you have any tips or clever ideas on how we could refresh the bathroom in an affordable and fresh way while still holding onto some retro style? Thanks so much! P.s if we did completely overhaul it, I'd probably go for a fresh white look with black taps, and white tiles with black grout. 

[MitchellMc]

Hi @Beebop123,

If you are happy with the bathroom's functionality, I'd suggest a cosmetic makeover that would significantly improve the look. Many of our members have had fantastic success using the Dulux Renovation range of tile paints. You can even coat the bath with bathtub paint. You should find this step-by-step guide useful: How to paint bathroom tiles. As long as you pre-prep, you could have the whole bathroom painted over a weekend. Have a look at this amazing transformation @arielsturdy achieved: Budget bathroom makeover using paint.

Simply painting the tiles, toilet, and bath white will give the area a whole new feel. You'll then have the option of upgrading to black tapware and adding finishing touches. I've put together a really rough image below to give you an idea of what it might look like.

Be sure to check out our Top 10 most popular bathroom renovations for inspiration and have a read through this guide on How to plan a bathroom renovation.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[EricL]

Hello @Beebop123 

It's great that you've received advice and a fantastic recolouring of your bathroom from my colleague @MitchellMc. Just to add to the suggestions made, if you have the budget for two appliances to be upgraded, I suggest upgrading the toilet to a Mondella Rococo Rimless Back To Wall Toilet Suite and adding a Mondella Cadenza 600mm White Mirrored 2 Door Shaving Cabinet. This should be enough to upgrade your bathroom without compromising that retro look you're going for.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[Beebop123]

Hi Eric and Mitchell, 

Thank you so much!! This is amazing assistance and I'm so happy for your help. 

The bathroom looks great in white! If we did decide we wanted to change the layout of the bathroom to make it more functional/modern, do you have any suggestions on what could work with the small space we have? I appreciate that once you start moving things around it can become a more costly activity but we do have some budget to work with. I've attached a copy of the floorplan so you can visualise the bathroom layout.

Thank you!

[EricL]

Hello @Beebop123 

If you were to explore the options for a new bathroom layout, I would suggest the following:

• Move the bath to the window so that it will be the first thing they see and not the toilet or basin. 
  
  
• Transfer the toilet to the very corner of the other side of the room to hide it. Even if you left the door open it would not be seen and only the bath and basin would be in full view.
  
  
• Place the vanity right in the middle of the room between the bath and toilet. Due to the limited space, this is the only viable spot for the vanity.

I've placed a few sketches below to give you an idea of what it may look like. If you wish to see it in another configuration, please let me know.

Let me tag our experienced members @prettyliving, @craftyhopper, and @redbournreno for their revamp recommendations.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[redbournreno]

Hey Beebop123,

Your existing bathroom is fabulous in a retro way but may benefit from the addition of some sleek modern fixtures and fittings to help with maintenance and bring it up to modern standards.  That's a great way to add equity and value to your new apartment.

EricL's layout is spot on and definitely the approach that I would choose.  Just be aware of the impacts of doing any work on your bathroom in a strata complex.  A revamp like MitchellMc suggested is the easiest way to modernise it without too much fuss.  I would be inclined to swap out the freestanding basin for a stylish vanity for more storage space, which is worth gold in an apartment, and to hide the plumbing.

If you do anything more than painting and swapping out fixtures and fittings then you will need permission from your strata committee. Changing the layout will require entirely new tiling and waterproofing, done by a builder, and the strata committee may request certifiers check each step.  Finding a little bit of asbestos along the way should be factored in too.  It will be a great improvement to your space if the floorplan were changed, but clever resurfacing will save you a lot of hassle and cost if a 5 figure budget isn't on the cards.

Those floor tiles are lovely if the pink were toned down by painting the wall tiles and bath.  Then you could use grey or powder blue details in your final finishes and styling, which would look great next to fresh glossy white.

Good luck with it! Belinda

[Beebop123]

Wow this is fantastic! Thanks so so much Eric, what an amazing service. 

If we did choose to go with this layout change, would you suggest going into a local Bunnings and discussing plans in more detail to figure out purchasing required materials? How much would you suggest would be a minimum we could spend on this renovation (including labour)? Thank you so so much

[Beebop123]

Wow thanks Belinda! It means so much that you've taken the time to respond to my discussion and provide your insight, you're clearly a seasoned pro!! I love the layout shift that Eric has suggested so if budget will allow we will certainly look to do that. Do you tend to purchase your materials through Bunnings? It's great to have a one stop shop where there's varying price points so we can in some ways customise how much we spend on the overhaul- also got a kitchen to get around to! Thanks again

[EricL · Accepted solution]

Hello @Beebop123 

I'm glad you found the bathroom renders helpful, I know that it's an exciting time to go and do a whole bunch of renovations, but I recommend taking it one step at a time. Having so many things going in will overwhelm you and things might get missed in the frenzy of the renovation. I've seen your kitchen post as well and I suggest doing one project at a time.

Before going to your nearest store, I suggest measuring your bathroom dimensions. Having done the actual measurements yourselves you'll be confident in the amount of space you can use, write them down on the sketch I made for you. Book a session with the In-store kitchen consultant and ask for a bathroom renovation quote. It's best to find out first if the store offers an installation service. Make sure to bring your measurements and the sketches I made for you and present them to the In-store kitchen specialist. 

As Belinda has mentioned it might come around to a five-figure quote. However, if you are smart with your choices and choose parts of the renovation you can do yourselves it will be on the low end of five figures.

Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing the start of your bathroom revamp.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[Beebop123]

Thanks so much Eric! We don't actually get the keys until 1 July so have a bit of time to do some planning and figure out our budget and in what way that'll restrict our plans!

I look forward to sharing our progress and thanks again for all your help