Basement Utility Bathroom on a Budget

I’m back with another mood board!  Next up, the basement bathroom.  

Now this space is…unique.  It’s part bathroom, part utility sink, part HVAC closet.  Basically, it’s a whole lot of function in a very small space.  

The before leaves very little to be desired – a tired stand alone utility sink, a dated oak medicine cabinet and janky bi-fold doors.

Before:

What I’m looking to create:

1) a functional space with a big sink – I would like this to be fully usable as a bathroom and a utility/laundry sink

2) a space that feels like a real room in our house – meaning similar colors and textures to the rest of the house.

3) more storage, more storage, more storage.

But of course, all that on a budget.  Because this is a utility space, I feel like it’s not the place for top of the line anything.  But that doesn’t mean I can’t bring in a bit of style to the room through thoughtful choices.

Here’s the mood board for the space:

Matte Black Vanity – IKEA to the rescue! For real though, I love IKEA kitchen cabinets because they are super sturdy and have such nice soft close hardware, deep drawers, and easy clean fronts.  Plus, you literally can’t find anything that beats the price.  I’ll be using the Kungsbacka anthracite fronts and side panels.

White sink / Chrome faucet – Again, I couldn’t think of a better way to save a few pennies than to use a small IKEA kitchen sink and faucet.  My thought is that these will have the functionality of a laundry sink, but will still look a bit like a bathroom sink – just on a bit of a larger scale.

Light fixture – A steal at $25 and will add some much needed light to the space.

Mirror – A light natural wood to balance out all the black and white in the space.

Hand towel / Triangle towel ring – Waffle weave and just the right size to hang on a modern looking towel ring

Art – Free digital download from The Art Institute of Chicago – I’m going to print this and put it in a frame I have on hand.  

Hardware – Matte black against the black of the vanity.  I have plans to buy a large pack of 18 and use them in a planned future basement project.  I guess you could call this “buying in bulk”?

Countertop – I will be looking for a quartz remnant to fit this new vanity, hopefully in a nice marble pattern.  Something durable but also beautiful for the space.  This will likely be the most expensive part of the whole remodel.

Cane webbing for DIY closet doors – I’m nervous about this one, but planning to tackle a DIY where you remove the slats from a bi-fold door and replace it with cane webbing.  I need this closet to “breath” since it holds our furnace and water heater, but I’d really like to up the look of the closet.  It seems like the holes in the cane webbing will bridge this nicely.

How I will save money on this remodel:

• Do as much of the work as I can by myself, but hire out the things I can’t do (like plumbing!)
• Keep the tile.  It’s not my favorite, but it is in good shape, so I’ll keep it and work around it.
• Use budget friendly materials and keep it simple!

This remodel will likely happen over the course of several weeks.  This is real life and I’m constrained by taking care of kids, muddling through the DIY and finding professionals who can help with the electrical, plumbing and countertops.  But I will be sure to share progress along the way on my Instagram and also here on the blog!