7 Easy DIY Bathroom Projects You Can Do on Your Own

Oct 09, 2023

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A little work can go a long way when it comes to making over your bathroom.

So, you've decided that your bathroom is in need of a renovation. That's step one. The easiest part. Next comes pricing out all the work that needs to be done, shopping around for professionals who can handle all of your tricky installations and figuring out a realistic timeline for when the work will be completed — and knowing that you'll probably end up going over time and over budget.

Complete bathroom renovations are no joke. Home Depot estimates that the average cost of a full master bath remodel — complete with new cabinets, fixtures, flooring, shower and more — is over $30,000. That's a lot of money, not to mention costs that skyrocket and timelines that extend when things go wrong (and they almost always do). So if you're looking for some ways to spruce up your bathroom on your own without having to bring in a team of professionals for a full overhaul, then have a look at the seven easy DIY bathroom projects below that you can tackle yourself in a single afternoon.

One of the classic easy kitchen DIY hacks also applies to your bathroom. Your bathroom likely has a wall-mounted towel rack, a hand towel ring, toilet paper holder and cabinet handles. This hardware is probably an afterthought. So why not opt for some more stylish hardware and swap them out? In most cases, hardware is held in your wall or cabinet by screws with drywall anchors, so grab your screwdriver and drill and get to work.

Turn your bathroom into a veritable art gallery with this series of hooks, racks and holders that takes inspiration from the wire sculptures of mid-century designer Carl Auböck.

Why not liven up your bathroom with a fresh paint coat or wallpaper? You can fully paint your walls a new color, add an accent, or just paint your vanity. Alternatively, you can hang some fun and interesting wallpaper to bring added character to the room. Wallpaper is especially great in a powder room where guests will appreciate the extra show of personality, but if you plan on having some in a bathroom equipped with a shower, just be sure that it's a waterproof variety.

Fun and quirky Backdrop is our favorite destination for both paint and wallpaper, and the brand's wallcoverings — like the terrazzo-like Los Cosmos — are designed in LA and printed in Brooklyn to the highest standards.

Be honest: you've judged someone after using their bathroom and seeing their sink cluttered with every grooming item known to man. Creating a tidy and organized bathroom is incredibly simple and can make a huge difference in the overall feel and look of the room. Grab sink-top storage containers to keep your grooming routine organized, hide away toilet paper and cleaning tools in dedicated units and invest in some attractive reusable dispensers for your soap and other cleansing products.

Stash your extra toilet paper rolls and your plunger or toilet brush with this sleek and innovative shelving system from Yamazaki Home. In addition to this, the Japanese home goods favorite has an entire department dedicated to bathroom storage and organization.

You don't need to be a plumber to install your own showerhead — doing so is incredibly easy and can help turn your daily shower into a spa-like getaway. In most cases, installing a shower is as easy as unscrewing your existing showerhead with your hand or an adjustable wrench, applying a few wraps of plumber tape over the screw threads (make sure to wrap in the same direction that you'll be screwing on the showerhead), pressing them flush, and then screwing on your new showerhead. It will take you all of 15 minutes (at most) and you'll feel like you got a whole new shower out of the deal.

Hai's smart showerhead adds increased pressure, a slider for easily adjusting spray settings and fun colors to your shower. It also syncs with your phone via Bluetooth, allowing you to track your water usage and set limits to save water.

Just ensure you turn off the water to your bathroom (if not your whole living space) at its supply point before you start.

Read our full Hai Smart Showerhead review.

A lot of old-school bathroom vanity lights are ugly — sorry, they just are. If you want to switch to a more streamlined unit outfitted with energy-saving LEDs, you don't need to be an electrician, so long as you're comfortable with basic wiring.

Brush up on basic wiring safety before you start, turn off the power to your bathroom at the breaker and verify that the wires are no longer live with a tool like a non-contact voltage tester.

When you unscrew the fixture itself from the wall, you should find an electrical box in the wall with wires that are connected to your old fixture. Once you've verified these wires are not live, you can unscrew the plastic wire nuts, remove your old fixture and wire up your new fixture just like the old one before reattaching it to the wall. Screw in new bulbs (if necessary) and turn your power back on.

This fixture can be mounted vertically or horizontally, depending on your vanity's setup. Its LED bulbs are also dimmable and provide soothing diffused light courtesy of the opal glass shade.

Tiling is a DIY project that many people do opt to tackle on their own to save money. But a lot can go wrong with laying tile, and if you screw up, you'll probably have to call in a professional to fix it. A far easier way to create a backsplash behind your bathroom sink just get some peel-and-stick tile. Obviously, this stuff won't last as long or look as good as the real deal, but you'd be surprised at how good some peel-and-stick tile does look, especially if you get some with some kind of 3D effect.

And installing it couldn't be any easier — you literally just cut the panels to fit, peel off their backing and stick them to the wall. And if you mess up? No biggie, just peel it off and try again with a new strip. Just make sure any peel-and-stick tiles you're putting in your bathroom are rated to withstand heat and humidity.

Smart Tiles feature a patented element called gel-O that gives their tiles a realistic 3D look, and they're also durable enough to withstand the heat and humidity of a bathroom. Just be advised that this particular model is not rated for in-shower use.

I'm not talking about installing a standalone porcelain bidet like the one you used in that European Airbnb a few years back — that requires complicated new plumbing, cutting a hole in your floor and other stuff that you're probably not qualified to do. But adding a bidet attachment to your toilet is stupid easy, and like your new showerhead, it will create a more luxe environment in your bathroom. Manual and electric bidet attachments exist, with the former being simpler to install since you don't have to worry about needing an electrical outlet near your toilet.

Most manual bidet attachments require little more than a bit of wrenching behind the toilet, where the water supply to fill the tank comes out of the wall. If you want warm water, you'll also have to do a little wrenching under the sink where the hot water is.

Tushy is the first name in bidet attachments, and the brand's Spa 3.0 adds a warm water setting for those cold mornings.