DIY $300 No-Demo Purple Bathroom Makeover

Our all white family bathroom got a a whole new look, without demolishing anything. New to us eco-friendly, safer paints were used, to reduce VOCs and toxic chemicals in a gorgeous color. Let me show you the before and after!

Before and after photos of bathroom makeover with no demolition or major remodeling

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What needed to change

The closet door was removed a year ago, because we were dealing with mildew in the closet, since there's wasn't much airflow. And, it's a bathroom, so lots of moisture in the air.

Before photo of bathroom closet open storage and door in need of repair and painting

Thankfully, there's no water damage inside the walls or bigger problems. But, it took a lot of clean-up that I didn't want to do again and again.

After removing the door, we were left with ugly spots where the hinges and door handle used to be.

Also, we needed to make the storage prettier, since it's open storage now with the door gone.

The flat-panel interior door was stained and faded from use.

Before photo of bathroom with view of sink, mirror, shelves and closet reflecting in mirror

The white paint on the walls, trim and closet was tired and hadn't been painted in 15 years. While it kept the bathroom bright, we needed a change.

The blinds were broken after an intense battle with a wasp.

Before photo of bathroom looking at window with half-painted wall above toilet

Here's a list of the supplies we bought or had on hand for this project:

Supplies

1 Gallon James Alexander Thrive Paint - Plum Noir color (for the walls, a quart would've been enough, but it only comes in sample size or gallons) - $84 retail (sponsored by James Alexander)
1 Gallon Ecos Semi-Gloss Trim Paint - White (for the trim and closet shelves - we used this to paint the trim in the rest of the house, too) - $99
Wood trim, to elevate our hollow core interior bathroom door - $14
8-ounce GoodFilla non-toxic wood filler (we used this in the hallway, also) - $12
Krud Kutter natural cleaner (removes old latex paint and preps surface to prevent having to prime) - $8
New white faux wood blinds - $38
Cane baskets with black trim - Bought at Aldi - $45 for three sets
Felt circles to make the baskets slide smoothly on the shelves (we had these already)
The new matte black door hardware was installed courtesy of our hallway interior door glow-up project, which will be written up in another post.
GRAND TOTAL: $300

🔨 Equipment

Here's a list of the equipment we used to help us complete this project:

Paintbrushes

Screw driver

Step stool/ladder

Hand scraper with contoured blades (to smooth out bumps and lumps in the trim before painting)

Fine grit sandpaper block (or sand paper)

Dewalt 12-inch Miter Saw (to cut trim for door)

Dewalt Brad Nailer (to nail trim in place on door)

The process

First, we ordered an obscene amount of paint samples from James Alexander.

James Alexander paint sample color sticks on table

While their paint colors are limited (they don't do custom colors), I really wanted to use their plant-based, zero-VOC botanical emulsion natural paint, since my husband is a cancer survivor. We're always trying to reduce our exposure to toxins, if we can find a reasonable way to do so.

We cleaned the door and trim with Krud Kutter natural cleaner to prep the surfaces for paint, without having to prime them first.

Once the paint samples arrived, the fun started. We painted swatches on the bathroom wall, close to the tile so we could make sure it didn't clash.

We were also trying to pick colors for other projects, too, so the paint swatches were up all over the house!

Once we decided on a color (a dark, dusty purple/gray: plum noir!), we set out to paint the walls and closet. We had enough sample paint to almost finish the wall by the window in our bathroom while we waited on more paint to arrive.

In the bathroom, we left the ceiling white. But, in the closet, the ceiling was painted the same color as the walls. I am LOVING the dark closet and dark walls.

Stirring James Alexander Specialty Paints plum noir paint (a dark grayish purple) with a stir stick.

Abi smiling after painting the bathroom closet, as you can see wet paint behind her

This color feels sophisticated, fun, bold and has both masculine and feminine qualities. This is important since this bathroom is used by the whole family.

Then, we used wood filler to fill in the open spots of the door frame, where the hinges and door handle had latched. This took a couple coats.

After the wood filler was dry, we scraped it using the hand scraper with interchangeable heads. Then, sanded it with a sandpaper block. Finally, the frames were wiped down before painting.

Unfinished door with trim added before painting trim and door

We used ECOS semi-gloss trim paint in white (untinted) for the door frames and the door. The fresh white paint makes the dark wall color POP.

I will write up all the details on the interior flat panel door makeover in another post. The added trim and new hardware really do make such a huge difference!

For a later project, we plan to deep clean the grout in the bathroom and re-seal it.