Think back to the last time you walked into a bathroom and immediately thought, Wow – they must have spent so much money on this bathroom? Then realised upon closer inspection that half the fixtures are from IKEA? That was me last month.
Walking into my friend Sarah’s new rental flat, trying not to sneak any peeks at her expensive-looking grout. After a lifetime of cheap flats, Sarah had managed to put together an entirely rented flat that just felt, well, expensive. I spent the entire dinner party asking her about her trick to achieving such a luxe space on a budget – specifically her bathroom.
Which was grey and also inexpensively beautiful. Like, less than £400 beautiful.
Grey can make anything look expensive.
It just does. But, uh, spoiler alert: I learned that from experience. After MONTHS of stressing about what colour to paint my bathroom – (side note: painting your bathroom dark grey can give you nightmares about it never fully drying) – I realised there was a method to Sarah’s (and every magazine ever) madness.
Grey doesn’t just make your bathroom look expensive, when used correctly, grey can disguise your IKEA fixtures as handmade and your textured cabinets as pure marble. After painting my bathroom five different shades of grey – yes, five – and embarking on every DIY project Pinterest told me would bring me one step closer to a glossy magazine bathroom, I can tell you with confidence that this room is the art of deception. Here’s how to make your bathroom look expensive on a serious budget: I started with paint because, well, it’s painted beige and brown.
Brown. And the landlord told me I could paint it whatever colour I wanted. Grey, immediately popped into my head.
Expensive-looking grey. Not-your-basic-grey. What I didn’t realise at the time was that grey can very easily become your not-your-basic-wall-of-sorrow grey.
Lesson One: Grey comes in cool and warm tones. When painting your bathroom grey, you have to mix cool and warm greys together to create depth. It was like someone reached into my soul and painted my bathroom to match.
Lesson Two: Painting is only the first step. Lucky for me, I didn’t realise that until I’d already painted the walls. And by lucky, I mean I actually learned that when one shade of grey isn’t enough to add depth to your bathroom, you’ve gotta add in textures.
Which brings me to my next project… Grey subway tiles are a bathroom designer’s best friend. They instantly make your space feel expensive but, let’s be real, Subway tile costs £15 a square foot. Not this girl.
I found these gorgeous peel-and-stick tiles that are TOUGH TO DISTINGUISH from the “real” thing for £2.50 a square foot. You know those tiles looked expensive? Because I installed them with an exact drill bit’s worth of space between each tile.
I used wooden coffee stirrers as spacers because I’m fancy like that. A £3 shower curtain will never look expensive. Nor will that see-through plastic monster they sell at pound shops.
But did you know you can get glass shower doors for less than £200? Newsflash: I can’t. My shower has a curtain.
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Solution: I found a thick grey fabric shower curtain in a slightly darker grey than the walls. It’s textured so it hangs heavy and looks purposeful. And it cost me £25, versus the £300+ a real shower door would have set me back.
My bathroom has literally one light fixture. An ugly-ass ceiling bulb. The second I replaced it with this inexpensive pendant and frosted glass shade from Amazon (cost me £35, looks like I spent £175) it instantly felt expensive.
But it wasn’t *quite* there. Then I installed a floating shelf above the sink, stuck some battery-powered LED lights underneath, and BAM. Layered lighting is what made all those different shades of grey actually pop instead of compete with each other.
Floating shelves are another budget-bathroom dream. First of all, you don’t need to spend money on some €200 specialty bathroom shelf. I bought a cheap wooden board from the hardware store, stained it to match my grey paint colour, and hung it on hidden mounting brackets.
It was £12, guys. Secondly, floating shelves aren’t just for plants (don’t get me started on the people who think you can’t put plants in your bathroom). I used mine to not only store toiletries but style a few decorative pieces: a small plant (plants can thrive in bathrooms, don’t @ me), a nice soap dispenser, heck, even a candle or two.
Mirrors are another trick. That bulky rectangle my flat came with? Gone.
Replaced with this cute round thing that I found at a car boot sale for £8. I spray painted the thin black frame matte black to match my curtain rings, and suddenly I had a fancy-ass £80 mirror. The roundness offsets all of the hard lines of the subway tiles and floating shelf.
Stop reaching for whatever towels are cheapest at Ikea. Instead, invest in a set or two of grey towels in complementary shades. One in charcoal, one in light grey.
Get two from the same brand so they have similar textures. Then roll those suckers up and stack them on that floating shelf. It’ll look like something you spotted in a spa.
Everything matte black, please and thank you. Once I realised all of my fixtures throughout the bathroom weren’t exactly matching – door hardware, towel rack, even the tap itself – I was mad. Then I realised embracing the mismatch was my problem.
Solution?
Spray paint. EVERYTHING matte black.
I bought a pack of drawer pulls from the hardware store and used them as towel hooks. Mounted a similar toilet roll holder. Spray painted the existing tap.
Trust me, it sounds obsessive but having consistent hardware is the difference between an expensive bathroom and a major DIY project. And that’s how I made my bathroom look expensive using less than £200. Sarah swears she only spent £150, but hers gets great natural light so she got lucky.
Point is, your bathroom doesn’t have to have matte black everything to look high-end. But every detail does have to be intentional. Grey is a great foundation, but once you start stacking on textures and layering in decorating tricks, that’s when your bathroom starts to look kinda pricey.
