Don’t think you can afford to update your bathroom? We’ve rounded up some tips to help you get a new look without breaking the bank.
No matter how tight your budget (or the restrictions on decorating), there’s a way to give your bathroom a new lease of life.
Our tips include low-cost refreshes you can make in just a couple of hours, plus tactics to keep the cost down even if you need to make bigger changes.
If you want to get an idea of the cost of a new bathroom, our page on planning and buying a bathroom suite reveals the average cost for different-sized rooms, as well as what can hike the cost and how to save money.
Read on for a number of tasks that should be within the reach of most confident DIYers. Or, If your bathroom needs a bit more work than your skills are up to, you need a good-value tradesperson that you can trust.
Use the search tool below to find a trader that's been vetted and approved by Which?.
8 ways to upgrade your bathroom without spending too much
1. Clean and regrout
A build-up of grime, limescale and mould can quickly make any bathroom look tired, so your first step in any budget bathroom makeover should be to give everything a thorough clean. You can buy specialist products from supermarkets and DIY stores to shift tough dirt.
If that doesn’t do the trick, try an anti-mould grout-reviving pen on any stubborn patches. They come in a variety of colours to match what you already have, or – if you’re very patient and have a steady hand – to allow you to change the colour of your grouting.
'My bath and surrounding tiling was in good condition. It just needed thoroughly cleaning and descaling.'
Kate Martin,HomeownerAlternatively, if you have a lot of tiling, you could bite the bullet and redo the grouting. If you go down this route, look for a product that will help prevent staining and mould growth in the future.
2. Upgrade your bathroom tiles
If regrouting or painting tiles isn’t practical, replacing them could give your bathroom a style boost. To get good value, make sure you use them wisely.
‘Tiling the entire bathroom is expensive,’ says Terry Ward from Ward Brothers Bathrooms Ltd, a bathroom fitting firm endorsed by Which? Trusted Traders. ‘Can you get away with only tiling around the bath, shower and sink?’
The tiles you choose can influence the price too. Standard-sized ceramic tiles start quite cheap and are generally quicker and easier to install than stone or mosaics, which can cut the cost of using a professional tiler.
If you don't feel confident making any of these changes yourself, find trusted bathroom fitters near you using our Which? Trusted Traders service. Only bathroom fitters who have passed an assessment by our trading standards professionals, and who follow our Code of Conduct, can become Trusted Traders.
3. Smarten up your bathroom accessories
If the budget is really tight, small touches such as new accessories can make an impact. They can also be used to add colour and style to an otherwise plain bathroom, or in a rental property where your options to redecorate are limited.
Consider buying new curtains or blinds for the window, putting up a smart shower curtain or hanging mirrors and pictures.
You can even make a difference by adding a stylish toothbrush holder, hiding toiletries in matching storage baskets and upgrading your towels.
4. Get a fresh coat of paint
If some surfaces in your bathroom are painted, simply refreshing the paintwork or changing it to a different colour can give you a whole new look. And because of the relatively small amount of wall you have to paint, it will take less time and money than other rooms.
Don’t limit yourself to walls. You could also give bathroom furniture a fresh lick of paint or cover up dated and dull tiles.
Just make sure you buy suitable paint. You can get mould-resistant emulsions designed for bathrooms and specialist paints for use on tiles.
See our page on bathroom design ideas for more tips and inspiration to help transform your bathroom.
5. Improve lighting and add mirrors
Better lighting can brighten up a bathroom without breaking the bank. You might be able to change the existing light fitting for something more stylish. Or you could opt to get LED downlights installed.
Hanging mirrors can help to bounce around the light and create more sense of space in smaller rooms.
For a modern look and a useful extra source of light over the sink, try an illuminated LED mirror. Some need to be wired in, but you can also buy simpler, low-cost models that run on batteries.
If you need a qualified electrician to install new lighting, search Which? Trusted Traders for electricians near you.
6. Change taps and showers
If your fittings are old or discoloured, or simply drab and boring, replacing them can give your bath, shower and sink a new lease of life.
Buy the best you can afford, as it could save you cash in the long run. Cheap fittings are likely to deteriorate more quickly, meaning you’re more likely to need to call out a plumber or replace them again.
You could also consider swapping the shower head for a modern, eco model which can also reduce your water use.
Make sure you get the best fixtures and fittings – see how customers rated the products they bought from some of the UK’s biggest suppliers. It also includes ideas for choosing the best taps and showers that will also help to make a statement.
7. Repair instead of replacing
If you’re lucky enough to have expensive fixtures and fittings which have just become worn over time, investigate whether you can repair them instead of having to fork out for a pricey replacement.
For example, if the ceramic covering on a cast-iron bath has started to crack, you could buy a resurfacing kit or hire a professional to renew the covering.
8. Stick to the same layout
If you have to buy new fixtures, keep the plumbing costs down by sticking to the same bathroom layout, so you can use the same pipework.
Try to replace toilets and basins with a similar style, as modern ‘floating’ toilets, where the workings are hidden behind a wall, will require a lot more disruption to install and may not be compatible with your existing plumbing.
Similarly, if you want to add a shower, opt for an ‘exposed' shower fitted directly onto the wall rather than concealed behind it.
‘If you do want a concealed fitting, you can make the installation cheaper by fitting the shower against a stud wall,’ says Ward Bathrooms Ltd’s Terry Ward. ‘This saves cutting out solid walls to accommodate pipes, valves and so on.’
If you’re replacing your bathroom suite, discover the best and worst bathroom companies, as rated by thousands of customers.
Get value from your bathroom fitter
If you have limited DIY experience, it could be a false economy to attempt skilled jobs like plumbing and tiling yourself. As well as taking you far longer to complete the job, you could risk injury or end up causing damage.
If you hire a trader, get several quotes to find out the going rate for your job. Ask for itemised quotes to see if there are areas where you can save money, such as managing waste disposal yourself, if it’s practical to do so.
Check whether the trader charges a minimum rate or a call out fee, as this might mean it’s more cost effective to combine several jobs that need doing at once.
Read our guide to Bathroom installation for tips on how to find the right person for the job or search Which? Trusted Traders for bathroom fitters in your area.