As John mentioned on Monday, our full bathroom is due for a complete overhaul. From across the room it looks fine, but up close it’s worn out. After more than fifty years of use, the black-and-white basketweave floor tiles are cracked, stained, and too damaged to restore, and the white wall tile is chipped and dingy in many places.
We usually try to save what we can and work with what’s already here, but after a major cleaning and recaulk a few years back— which held up for a while— it’s time for a proper renovation. That doesn’t mean we’ll use materials that clash with our 1950s brick ranch. Our goal is to balance classic and current styles so the finished bathroom will fit the house and still feel fresh for years to come.
This post focuses on the planning and inspiration stage—the brainstorming and legwork that happen long before demolition. One of our favorite first steps is collecting inspiration images from magazines and online. If you don’t know where to start, find rooms you love and build a folder. Gather at least five images so patterns begin to emerge: you might notice you repeatedly favor white cabinets or mosaic tile, which helps guide your choices. You can often recreate a high-end look for less by shopping at accessible stores like Target, Ikea, HomeGoods and others that offer similar styles at lower prices.
Over the last six months we collected inspiration slowly, and when it was time to choose tile and color, one image in particular stood out. Although the featured bathroom was much larger than ours, we loved the contrast of deep mocha floors with very light walls. Our entire house has dark hardwood floors, so carrying a similar mocha tone into the bathroom felt like a sensible, cohesive choice. Instead of stepping from dark floors into a small box of light tile, a consistent floor tone helps spaces flow and can make rooms feel larger because there’s no abrupt visual boundary. Dark floor tile also allows the use of darker grout, which tends to be easier to keep looking clean.
We were decided on a dark mocha floor, but tile makes more sense than hardwood in a full bath because it handles moisture better. We started by exploring options at Home Depot and Lowe’s. Home Depot offered some porcelain and ceramic tiles that had a travertine look, which didn’t align with the classic-meets-modern style we wanted. At Lowe’s we struck a lucky find: mocha marble tiles on clearance, marked down significantly. Since our floor requires only about 30 square feet, the clearance price meant the floor tile cost ended up being very affordable.
We followed a useful buying trick learned from family: buy more tile than you think you need. When tiles have variable veining or color patterns—like marble—ordering extra gives you a larger selection to choose from during installation. Store policies at major retailers typically allow returns of unopened, undamaged boxes, so you can return excess boxes for a refund. It’s also smart to purchase at least 10% more tile than your measured need to allow for breakage and to keep spares for future repairs.
For the shower surround, we’re sticking with classic white subway tile, installed full height to the ceiling to create added vertical space and a less interrupted look. Subway tile is timeless, affordable, and well suited to a 1950s ranch. We’ll remove the existing tile around the sink and toilet and replace it with drywall for a cleaner, less broken-up wall plane, then paint floor to ceiling in a single soft color. Semi-gloss paint will keep the walls wipeable and durable in a high-use bathroom.
We also decided to build our own vanity using a solid piece of furniture adapted to hold a sink and plumbing. A dark wood base with a crisp, clean-lined white sink will bridge classic and modern styles. After visiting thrift stores and several retailers in one long shopping day, we found a perfectly sized night table at Crate & Barrel that will become the vanity base. A coupon helped with the price, making this a cost-effective alternative to buying a new wood vanity base from a big-box store. By pairing a discounted vessel sink and an affordable faucet, the total vanity cost will be competitive with many ready-made options.
Our mood board and plan include soft gray-blues and light taupey-greens in accessories and paint, the rich mocha floor, crisp white subway tile in the shower, and a white shower curtain to keep the room feeling airy. The tiles for the shower and floor have been purchased, and the DIY vanity base and sink are on hand. We’ll finish with patterned towels, a few accessories, and some art to pull everything together.
That’s the plan for our bathroom renovation. We’ll share the installation process, a full budget breakdown, and the finished results as we move from planning to execution. We’d love to hear about budget-friendly projects you’ve completed and any discounted finds that helped upgrade a space without a big expense.