Bathroom sink with a white oval basin set in a speckled countertop. A beige towel with a monogrammed "F" is on the left. Brass faucets include a soap dispenser. A dark framed mirror hangs above, with a logo in the bottom left corner.
| | | | |

Small DIY Half Bathroom Remodel with Tile and Paint

ByLisa

Among many of the rooms that needed a complete overhaul in our 70s house was our half bathroom on the main floor. While I am definitely thankful this small powder room exists, the previous design choices were dated and not functional. While simple changes were done when we first moved in for the phase one lipstick job, it was time to give this small space new life with updated floor tiles, a new vanity, fresh paint, a new light fixture, and new decor.

This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you. Please see my full disclosure policy for more information.

Small Bathroom Starting Point 

Before I dive into the DIY bathroom makeover, let’s take a look at the starting point. This half bath is only 30 square feet but it also has a laundry closet attached that is an additional 18 square feet. 

Bathroom with beige toilet and grey sink on a cabinet. Above the sink is a mirror reflecting a person taking a photo with a flash. The walls have a textured wallpaper and the floor is covered with light-colored vinyl.

This is what the bathroom looked like when we first moved in. Clearly Home Depot must have had a sale on seafoam green countertops in the 90s because these were in all the bathrooms unfortunately. Clearly the previous owners and I did not share the same tastes. 

After removing the wallpaper, a fresh coat of paint, a new countertop, and decor, this is what the bathroom looked like after I made a small change or two this is where I was starting from.

A bathroom with a toilet and a countertop. A towel is on the counter, and two more hang on a rack. There's a colorful abstract painting with circles on the wall, featuring shades of red, orange, and white. The room has neutral-colored walls.

To Do List

The vanity. Like many old houses, this one came complete with a child sized vanity. You know, the kind you have to bend over to brush your teeth to use. That definitely had to change. 

A bathroom vanity with a granite countertop featuring a sink, faucet, and a brown-framed mirror. A beige towel is folded on the counter next to a red vase with green foliage. A toilet and wall art are partially visible.

The flooring. I never knew it was possible to hate a bathroom floor so much until I inherited this commercial grade vinyl? I honestly am not even sure what it was besides ugly. I guess the silver lining was at least we didn’t have to rip out old tile. New flooring was definitely on the wish list. 

A bathroom with a tan toilet beside a blue cabinet. The floor features a patterned, light-colored vinyl. The walls have a floral wallpaper. A small section of a countertop is visible in the foreground.

Paint. Any time I do a room makeover paint is a great place to start. Not to mention, I chose the last paint based on the horrible flooring I was working with. Now it was time to make this more of my personal style.  

The toilet. I know replacing a toilet isn’t all that exciting, but the toilet in this bathroom was an almond color and really dated the bathroom. I wanted an updated look with a new toilet. And in case you are wondering what to do with an old toilet, I listed it on Facebook Marketplace for free and it got a new home.  

Choosing Materials

Even though this was only a small bathroom remodel it was important to me to make it a modern space as it is used most often as a main floor guest bathroom even though it’s only a half bath.

The first item on the agenda was new tile. That weird vinyl had to go. I selected five different 12×24 ceramic tile options that I thought went well with the Pergo in the adjacent hallway and went from there with my interior design choices. Luckily this time there would be no wall tile unlike the previous kitchen renovation project.  

I was leaning towards the one in the middle and the one on the upper right, but worried the tile in the upper right maybe looked too much like reclaimed wood. After much thought, I choose the one in the middle.

Five rectangular floor tiles of different textures and shades are arranged in a grid pattern. A small, dark brown square tile is placed on top of the center tile. The background is a plain surface.

With this project, we were tearing up all the existing floor and the tile would be laid on the sub floor. In the hallway adjacent to the bathroom, was dark Pergo laminate wood. To minimize the difference in flooring height between the two we decided to use a tile floor membrane rather than cement board which would have created a large difference in flooring height. 

A roll of Schluter-Ditra orange underlayment is displayed in a hardware store aisle. It has a labeled package indicating it covers 54 sq ft (5 m²) with a thickness of 1/8 inch. Shelves with various products are seen in the background.

The old vanity was rather short and looked dated. I wanted to take the opportunity to add an updated vanity with a more open bottom with legs. Because of the placement of the plumbing fixtures on the back wall and the door frame, I was limited to a vanity with a sink on center and no drawers. This was surprisingly more difficult to find in a 36 inch bathroom vanity than you think. I finally managed to find one that would work and picked up a pre-fab quartz top in a neutral white/cream tone. 

Since the color scheme was pointing in an all new direction now, in the gray family, I picked Intellectual Gray by Sherwin Williams for the new paint color.

A close-up of a paint can lid with a label. The label reads: "Lowes... Mixed Paint Non-Refundable, Sherwin-Williams, One Gallon, Intellectual Gray (SW7045), Semi-gloss, Extra White." Various codes and measurements are also visible.

Tiling the Floor 

Because this was not our only DIY bathroom remodel on the books we did buy a wet tile saw. Which turned out to be 100% worth it over renting one. Tiling is a tedious process and shouldn’t be rushed. 

I started out with my unconventional method of laying out the tile in a dry fit to make sure I liked the pattern. With this floor plan I wanted to lay the tile in a “modified herringbone” – not a technical term, just my name for it. 

A partially tiled floor in a room under renovation, featuring light gray rectangular tiles in a basket weave pattern. Some tiles are missing, revealing the bare subfloor. The room is bordered by white walls and door frames.

After we agreed on the pattern, we laid out the Schluter Ditra membrane. Let me tell you, this is a MILLION times easier than cement board! We will use this on all of our future tile projects. It is very easy to roll out and use a utility knife to cut. Not to mention it’s so much easier to transport. Anyway, we followed the instructions and laid it down. 

A small room with an orange Schluter DITRA underlayment partially installed on the floor. A single tile is placed for positioning. A red bucket containing mortar and a trowel sits on the floor. A shelf with a basket is in the background.

After it was dry, we got to tiling. It only took us about two hours to lay all the tile and we were cutting as we went. Most of the cutting time was spent on the tiles around the toilet flange. While I did most of the cutting I have to give Barry credit for the cut out around the toilet. He was pretty proud of the octagon he cut out, and I must say he did a great job on this!  

Bathroom floor with light gray rectangular tiles arranged in a herringbone pattern. The grout is not yet applied, and a red toilet flange is visible near the back wall. Walls are bare, and a door frame is partially visible.

If you have never tiled before I do recommend using traditional mortar not the “quick dry” kind. You have to be fairly fast with the fast drying mortar and even after doing several large tile jobs I still don’t know if I would be fast enough. I also only recommend mixing what you think you can lay and getting a lid for the bucket of mortar. Once it starts to dry out it becomes very difficult to work with and you need to toss it. 

Because we used traditional mortar we needed to wait for a full 24 hours before we could walk on the tile to let it fully cure. Then we got to grouting. This is my least favorite part but at least we were doing the floor and not shower walls. Small victories. We only mixed what we could immediately grout and wipe so it wouldn’t dry out. Barry mixed me some grout and got I started then he jumped in and did the grouting when I was wiping. Teamwork makes the dream work!

Newly installed light gray ceramic tiles laid in a herringbone pattern on a floor, with unfinished edges near the walls. A plumbing pipe protrudes from the floor in the center. The walls are partially primed.

Do not let your grout dry before you wipe the tiles down with a tile sponge or they will end up with a permanent haze. I personally won’t let grout sit for more than 15 minutes so you will want to work in sections especially if you are working solo. 

After all the tiling was complete and dry, Barry put up the baseboards one night so we could start moving everything back in. First, we moved the washer and dryer back into the laundry closet and hooked all the water lines back up. 

Then we worked on the vanity area and attached all the new plumbing under the sink. While we did not replace the faucet with new fixtures, the plumbing was slightly different than before.

A small bathroom features a white toilet next to a dark wood vanity with a white countertop and silver faucet. A framed picture and towel rack with a beige towel hang on the light gray wall. A vase with grass decorates the counter.

Finally we added the new white toilet. The new color was one of the easiest things to change and had such a big impact. I mean nothing says 1980 like an almond colored toilet, haha!

Bathroom with a white toilet and a dark wooden vanity with a light countertop. The floor features large, light gray tiles in a diagonal pattern. A small waste bin sits next to the toilet.

This DIY bathroom renovation is now done and I am thrilled with the end result! The whole bathroom got a much needed makeover and now has an updated, modern look. We saved so much money on the labor costs by doing the work ourselves. Plus, like all of our previous projects, the new bathroom expanded our DIY skills making future projects even easier.  

A bathroom with a framed cityscape artwork on the wall. There's a beige towel with the letter "F" on a metal rod, and a white toilet beside a countertop with a partial view of a sink. The wall is painted gray.

If you enjoyed this blog post, Small DIY Half Bathroom Remodel with Tile and Paint, please share it with your friends on Facebook or hover over an image and save to Pinterest! And if you don’t already follow me on social media (Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, or Facebook) I would love for us to be friends!

Love new ideas and projects? Subscribe to receive DIY and design inspiration delivered straight to your inbox! Plus you will receive access to all my free printables! These are only available to my awesome subscribers as my way of thanking you for your continued support!

 

Modern bathroom with a dark wood vanity, white countertop, and chrome faucet. A folded towel with an "F" rests by the sink. Above, a large mirror reflects decorative items, including a tall black vase with green plants.

This post, Small DIY Half Bathroom Remodel with Tile and Paint, appeared first on Garrison Street Design Studio.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *