This homeowner saved £1000s turning two rooms into one super-stylish bathroom makeover

Not all room revamps have such dramatic results, but this pink bathroom makeover is truly stunning. Knocking through to join a separate bathroom and toilet together added some much-needed extra space . Plus it gave this homeowner a chance to create a stylish bathroom scheme, jam-packed with clever design details.

Others may have been daunted by what was a rather dated and uninspiring bathroom idea. But Instagrammer Emma, from Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, rose to the challenge. Having created her dream home through numerous DIY projects, Emma saw the bathroom as another opportunity to save money by taking on some of the work herself.

Modern bathroom makeover

Emma and her partner came up with a plan to gain some extra space when faced with their small and extremely dated bathroom. 'We had two adjoining rooms, the main bathroom and a separate toilet,' she told online retailer Leader Floors.

'The bathroom was a reasonable size and contained an airing cupboard and boiler. We knew we could give us more room if we relocated the boiler to the loft. Plus this was on the adjoining wall, so without moving it we couldn't have knocked through. I had the idea of making what was the toilet area into a walk-in shower. We decided to move the bath to fit under the window, making space on the outside wall for the toilet.'

Ready to see what the bathroom looked like before?

Before

Everything about this bathroom screams "makeover required!" from the dated tiles and vinyl flooring to the bath panel and shabby radiator.

'Other than the plastering and the relocation of the boiler and plumbing, we did all the work ourselves with my dad's help,' says Emma. 'We removed all of the old floorboards and laid sheets of MDF on top in order for us to tile the floor. I do all of the tiling myself, so this saves us a lot of money.'

The tiling isn't the only thing that Emma turned her hand to, having become something of an expert at upcycling and restoring old and thrifted items. 'Our biggest bargain was this vanity unit,' she says. 'We love 60s retro furniture and knew we wanted a piece to remodel into a sink unit. We picked this one up on eBay for just £30!'

After

Would you ever believe this was the same bathroom? Emma's eye for detail means she's been able to create a beautiful scheme that most of us would love to spend time in – a great example if you're after some modern bathroom ideas.

What we particularly like is how she's used a mix of tiles. From a plain white hexagon design on the bath panel and walls, to the bold pink design on the splashback and heavily patterned monochrome floor tiles. 'I love how durable and clean tiled floors are, and the great range of patterns you can get,' says Emma.

 Buy now: Geo pink porcelain tiles, from £47.68sq m, Mandarin Stone

Buy now: Apollo white hexagonal tiles, £22.99sq m, Tile Mountain

And what of the bargain-buy unit that the couple bought on eBay? Now it's a star piece, transformed with pink paint, gold knobs and modern black and gold taps.

'We used oil-based eggshell to ensure protection from water, which cost about £30, and along with taps and sinks the whole unit cost about £220 in total,' says Emma. 'Our final product was just like one we had seen on sale for over £1,000!'

The devil really is in the detail and glimmers of gold and brass have been used on the tile trims, knobs, taps and double mirrors, each of which features a handy shelf for display.

Remember the old discoloured radiator? Emma swapped that out for a modern wall-hung heated towel radiator in black, to match her scheme. 'The whole bathroom cost around £4,000, including the plastering and plumbing,' she says.

You can see more of Emma's home over on Instagram at @ahouseonashbank

What's your favourite part of this room and has it inspired you to give your bathroom a makeover?