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Try These Small Basement Bathroom Ideas On A Budget

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Inside: These small basement bathroom ideas are perfect if you’re on a budget. Save money on your tub, surround, flooring, and decor with my tips!

I had big plans for our basement bathroom.

I wanted a black window pane shower with black fixtures everywhere and natural wood vanity.

That was until I researched the cost for said bathroom details and found they were way outside our budget.

So we opted for a more traditional bathroom layout, but with a design that was still in line with my taste.

A modern, classic bathroom design on a budget?

Yes, please!

I’m actually in love with how everything turned out, especially because we didn’t have to fork over a ton of money to get the look I was going for (you’ll never believe how much that flooring cost!).

RELATED: The Ultimate List of Modern & Affordable Home Decor

Small basement bathroom ideas on a budget.

Gold hexagon mirror on a bathroom wall.

Gold towel ring in a bathroom.

Gray vanity with gold hardware.

Brushed nickel bathroom faucet.

Marble peel and stick tile floor.

White and gray bath towels on a gold towel bar.

White shower curtain hangs in a bathroom.

 

Tile | Vanity | Vanity knobs | Faucet | Mirror | Light | Towel bar | Towel ring | Toilet paper holder | Shower curtain rod

Small Basement Bathroom Ideas

1. Try peel and stick tile

Would you believe that flooring is peel and stick tile?

I’ve always loved the look of marble floors, but the real deal can cost $17 a square foot.

We only paid $40 for that peel and stick tile and I think it looks pretty dang good.

The installation was pretty simple, too.

I applied a primer and let it dry for several hours and then installed the tile.

It’s really easy to make cuts. I just scored the tile with a utility knife and snapped the tile on the cut line.

No special tile tools needed!

You can even grout this tile if you want.

2. Choose the traditional tub

I mentioned earlier that I wanted a really modern window pane shower, but it was going to be too expensive once we factored in cost for the actual shower and pan.

Plus, our plumber wasn’t willing to install the shower pan for us, so we would’ve had to hire that out and possibly build an extra frame to put the pan in.

It was much easier (and cheaper) to have our plumber install a traditional shower/tub combo.

That way, we knew it was done correctly, and he included the tub as part of his bid.

A tub/shower combo costs $150-$300 for the basic model. A corner shower can run you $900+.

3. Go for a glue-up bathtub surround

And if you want to save even more money on your small basement bathroom, you should try a glue-up bathtub surround.

We were forced to use a glue-up surround after we discovered our bathroom wasn’t framed correctly for us to install a direct-to-stud surround, but it was fine in the end because it saved us money.

Plus, the direct-to-stud surround can be difficult to install and get level.

To install the glue-up surround we made guide-lines for all of the pieces, applied the surround adhesive to the walls, and pushed all the pieces in place.

It was pretty easy!

The worst part of it all was having to caulk all of the seams, but that was it.

4. Spruce up a budget vanity

Once I decided against the natural wood vanity, I started looking at navy blue options.

Those were also pretty expensive, so I decided to go with a gray vanity to match the rest of our house.

The vanity I picked seemed pretty cheap compared to all of the other models I had looked at, so I was worried about the quality.

But I love the vanity and I think it’s great quality for the price!

One easy fix to make any budget furniture item look more expensive is to switch out the knobs and pulls!

The chrome hardware that comes with budget furniture looks cheap, so I opted for a pretty champagne colored knob to make the vanity look more expensive than it was.

How much does it cost to put a small bathroom in a basement?

Basement bathroom with white and gray decor.

Several articles online will tell you that it costs $10,000-$15,000 on average.

I don’t know what kind of bathroom those people are putting in, but that is not true!

The cost for all of the plumbing, fixtures, and decor in the bathroom came to $2350. Way cheaper than $10,000!

For reference, our bathroom is 5 ft x 9.5 ft.

And of course, that doesn’t include all of the drywall and framing that we had done as part of our entire basement.

If we’re just taking the square footage of the bathroom compared to the rest of the basement then you would add on another $533, which isn’t bad!

If you were just going to put a small bathroom in a basement in Utah, you could probably plan on spending around $3000.

Want More?

If you liked this post, be sure to check out the rest of my modern home decor on a budget.

Your Turn

Let me know in the comments which project you’re working on and if you’d like to see more posts about finishing our basement!

These bathroom ideas on a budget are perfect for anyone who wants to DIY a small bathroom.

Rebecca W

Friday 31st of July 2020

I'd like to do some updates in my kitchen. I love how your bathroom turned out! Thanks for the cost breakdown and links to where you found your items!

Jessica Ashcroft

Friday 31st of July 2020

Of course! I'm glad you like it Rebecca