A $100 Makeover Transforms a “Boring, New-Build, White Box” Bathroom
ABOUT THIS BEFORE & AFTER
HOME TYPE: Apartment
PROJECT TYPE: Bathroom
STYLE: Colorful, Modern
SKILL LEVEL: DIY
RENTAL FRIENDLY: Yes
There are a lot of vintage bathrooms from the 1950s or ’60s that feature pastel pink, but DIYer Sophie (@hausof_sophie) found a contemporary way to incorporate the color in her more modern bathroom with a peel-and-stick printed wallpaper.
Before, her bathroom was “was easy to maintain, but it was a boring, new-build white box,” she describes. She wanted to give the room a little more personality.
The tiles made the rental bathroom slightly difficult to change.
“I struggled for a long time about how to make an impactful but reversible change,” she adds. “The room is mostly tiles, so I didn’t want to use paint on them.”
She also considered stick-on tiles, but worried that in a bathroom with poor ventilation they might not stay sticky. “I eventually chose peel-and-stick wallpaper to create a feature wall,” Sophie explains. And her project cost about $100, and now she has a soft pink theme throughout her entire home.
Follow these steps for a smooth peel-and-stick job.
Sophie says the steps to the bathroom makeover were as follows: Measure the wall, order the wallpaper (hers is from Hovia), “peel, stick, cut, and line up the next piece.” She did accidentally hang one panel upside-down, but thankfully it was only about half-stuck on the wall and easy to adjust.
She also used a squeegee and a utility knife to get a smooth finish with crisp lines. “I have zero DIY skills, but genuinely enjoyed this project,” Sophie says. “It was so much easier than I anticipated.”
And her simple project paid off. “The room feels warmer,” she says. “It’s bright, joyful, and it feels like MY space now!
Inspired? Submit your own project here.
Further Reading
We Tested (and Rated!) Every Sofa at West Elm — Here Are the Best for Every Type of Need
I Just Discovered the Smartest Way to Store Paper Towels in Your Kitchen (It’s a Game-Changer!)
See How a Stager Used Paint to Transform a 1950s Living Room
