Well speaking in real estate terms a half bathroom is the .1 or the bathroom with just a toilet and sink, otherwise known as a powder room. If there is a shower or anything more in the bathroom, it is no longer counted as half but then is a full (in real estate terms). Some may consider a bathroom with a sink, toilet and shower as three quarters. So, long story short, a half bath is a room with a toilet and a sink. The next question has to be how do you make a room with a toilet and a sink feel welcoming and pleasant? I’m about to show you! Some great half bathroom ideas to follow.
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Half Bathroom Ideas – Before We Started
We moved into our HOME nearly 5 years ago and we are finally starting to make it our own. The first room to get complete is our main floor powder room. I was excited to start here, not only because it is a small space, but it’s a room that almost every guest will use.
It started out so bland and generic! The blue walls were here when we moved in. I’m not going to lie, I HATE it! This color for some reason actually makes me angry LOL. So, gone with the baby boy blue and in with wallpaper!
Wallpaper and Shiplap
I’ve been obsessing with wallpaper a lot lately. I think I would have some in every room if it weren’t so expensive. I hunted on all my usual shopping sites including Etsy, Wayfair and Amazon. There are SO many options at quite a wide range of prices. I decided to try the peel and stick type for our first application. I figured it might be easier and if it didn’t turn out the way I had hoped, I could easily take it down. This one I bought through Amazon. Even in this small room and only the top half of the walls still took 4 rolls. Eek!
We have also been wanting to finally jump on the shiplap bandwagon. These boards were bought at Menards. Yet another overly expensive wall covering. So we decide to use it in the smallest room in the house to make it more affordable. Any I have to say, I LOVE IT! It adds a dimension to the room and offsets the wallpaper beautifully.
Fun floral wallpaper with white shiplap wainscot
this project
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Custom Toilet Paper Holder
The most fun part is when I get to create my own little project in a room. With this room I was inspired by the trending use of cast iron pipe to create shelving, etc. We had just finished putting a pot filler in the kitchen so I had little scraps of copper piping laying around. The orangey shine was a perfect add to this space. I paired it with some leftover pieces of wood and twine to soften everything up. I torched the wood and applied a clear coat for a very natural look. It came out amazingly!
this project
I made these myself. It actually cost me nothing because I used leftovers from previous projects.
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Half Bathroom Re-design
The finishing touches include a frameless floating mirror, glass light fixture and oil rubbed bronze faucet. Each of these items I found on Amazon. There are surprisingly an abundant variety of each of these on Amazon. And since I did most of my shopping during the pandemic, I was happy to shop from the safety of my home and saved a ton on shipping.
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Tools Needed
- Miter saw
- Air compressor
- Nail gun
- Box cutter
- Wrench
- Measuring tape
This Project $500-600 / 1-2 days
This half bathroom redesign could easily be done in a weekend and possibly a day. All in all I am very happy with our first renovation! Mostly excited to get rid of the baby boy blue walls and create a space in this HOUSE our HOME.
Every remodel can vary in cost. Building material costs always fluctuate. When determining a budget for a project you need to take into account the actual size of your space. Remember, the more you do yourself, the more you save.
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FAQ
Q: How can I make my half bath look fancy?
A: With the right mirror and light fixture any bathroom can look amazing!
Q: How big does a 1/2 bath need to be?
A: The architect in me wants the bathroom to be ADA compliant. That means it needs to be big enough for a person to move around in a wheelchair. And the size would depend on the position of the doors and fixtures. Seems somewhere between 35-40 sq ft should do it. Find some layouts and dimensions on this ADA Compliance website.
Q: How do you brighten a small half bath?
A: The obvious answer for half bathroom ideas is lighting. In addition to a wall mounted fixture above the vanity mirror you can add a light to the exhaust fan. Some would say use light colors, maybe even white. But IMO its more about adding contrast and depth.
Q: How much does it cost to update a half bathroom?
A: This project cost just over $500 but that doesn’t include labor.
Q: How do you update a bathroom on a tight budget?
A: In a bathroom I always come back to the light fixture and mirror. These two items make such a huge impact on the design.
