Often times, the room we spend a lot of time in seems short of a makeover when it comes to updating and aesthetics. There are plenty of quick, cost-effective solutions you can employ to refresh and renovate your bathrooms. Many will take no more than an hour, and yet the impact is timeless. So take stock of what you have and look for areas to improve!

Upgrade your hardware. This isn’t just limited to cabinets and drawers, but also sink faucets, tub, and shower controls. They should all have a coordinated finish, whether you prefer brushed nickel, bright chrome, rubbed bronze, or even antique white porcelain. Have fun with this, it can really make a wonderful personality statement.

Change your borderless wall mount mirror to framed. Now there are two ways to do this. The most effective is to literally remove the mirror and replace it with a fully framed mirror. If you use nearly the same size, you will hide any challenges with the sheetrock and such from being removed. If not, you may need to do some patching and tinkering. The alternative is to frame the one you have without edges with beveled glass stripping, mitered at the corners and applied to all four sides. It’s available with self-adhesive back strips in 2″, 3″ and 4″ widths (I recommend making it as wide as possible), and can be cut to lengths required by most home improvement sources. This is a way to update your own reflection.

Add a robe or towel hook if you find it useful. Remember that it has to work for you, not for anyone else.

Replace your countertops with granite. Often this can be accomplished at little cost by using so-called “junk” parts. If you have a small bathroom this can be done for less than $1k and it really makes a stylish difference. Some home improvement resources offer off-the-shelf granite countertops with undermount sinks for a nominal cost to accommodate off-the-shelf bathroom cabinets.

Get some favorite bathroom accents and accessories. This is a way to literally decorate your bathroom with functional pieces. It also cleans up your countertop and gives you a place to store your toothbrush and toothpaste, a soap holder, a bottle for cotton swabs or balls, and a facial tissue cover.

Live plants or silk are wonderful additions around the bathtub. Live plants are usually easy as there is moisture in the air and they will thrive with a garden window.

Design an artglass window to sit above the bathtub. Yes, it’s a small investment, but with professional installation it can be removed when moved and framed in another window, or considered a selling feature. This eliminates the need for a window treatment and something that could splash or fade over time.

Save the tile renovation and new cabinets for a complete remodel. You can always paint what you have for a quick fix.

Make that bathroom no longer a place you dread, but a calm and welcoming refuge from the daily grind, and a place where you look forward to starting your day!

© 2005 Melissa Galt