Ask Jane: We desperately need to update our bathroom with only $2000 to spend

Gary and Sarah ask: “We’ve just moved into our house and desperately need to update this bathroom! What were they thinking? Any ideas? The problem is that I only have about $2000 to spend.”  

Jane says: Oh yes that’s colourful! Luckily the majority of the wall tiles are fairly neutral, which means your $2000 budget might just work.

Tiling over the top of the existing floor tiles is a great time and cost saver. You will need to have the tiler remove the blue tiles along the side of the bath though, so they will need to be very careful not to damage the adjacent tiles in the process.

I would do a neutral browny-grey and change the shower and floor wastes while you’re at it. Keep colours neutral as I always say!

The coloured wall tiles are a bit of an issue and not as easily removed and replaced as those on the side of the bath. In this case, I think you should paint over the top of them in a super-high-gloss tile paint. You can do this by preparing the surface with a specialist tile primer and then painting over the top with an enamel top-coat. I like an oil-based enamel, as you’ll generally get a higher gloss level than with an acrylic paint. Colour-wise; go for a quarter strength of the floor colour.

I can see your trim colour around the window is quite yellow. Does this mean the rest of your walls are this colour too? If so, they all need to be changed to a cleaner white or light grey to tie in with the wall tiles.

You could also look to replace the handles and taps on your vanity, shower and bath. I would do a square knob and square style taps – just to give it a more modern twist.

Lastly, have a really good go at cleaning that shower screen. I’ve seen screens like this be revived like you wouldn’t believe and there are some excellent cleaning products out there to help you.

So you see, a small budget is not always a problem. I’ve witnessed some amazing transformations on the measliest of budgets!