Retro Bathroom

Before

This makeover adds color and function to a dull, colorless bathroom and extends the home’s ’40s and ’50s theme. All for $488. Here’s how:

Handles and Lights - $9
Tissue paper is decoupaged onto Plexiglas panels, which are used for doors for the small linen closet. Contemporary door handles are added, along with battery-operated lights inside the closet.

Hardware and Storage Boxes - $40
Plexiglas shelves are attached to the wall over the toilet for extra storage.

Plexiglas and Hardware - $170
The walls receive a shimmering treatment with Plexiglas. The material is cut into small squares and a hole is drilled in each. Cup hooks are secured to the wall and the squares are hung to create a three-dimensional wall treatment.

Ceiling Panels - $7
Mirrored Plexiglas panels are screwed to the ceiling.

Towel Bar and Shower Curtain - $57
Sheer black window panels are used for a shower curtain. An industrial-style towel bar is used in the shower as a shelf.

Accessories and Clock - $97
Accessories include a soap pump, vases, clear frames, a faux-fur tissue box and trash-can cover, and a clock with a face adorned with mechanical parts.

Paint - $60
The walls are given a geometric paint treatment using yellow, turquoise, green and black paint. First, a coat of white paint that will be the border between the shapes is applied. Next, the walls are taped off and the different colors are painted in each rectangle.

Chrome Sink Legs - $8
The homeowners’ sink is installed and propped up with chrome sink legs purchased at a reuse-it center.

Window Inserts and Light Cover - $18
Instead of a traditional window treatment, more of the tissue-decoupaged Plexiglas is used to streamline the look. Another piece of matching Plexiglas is used to filter the light from the light bar over the sink. (The addition of white tissue paper helps to diffuse the light.)

$22 - Rug
Three solid-color rugs?white, blue and yellow—are arranged in a geometric fashion on the floor.

Total cost - $488