Renovation A bathroom makeover on a budget

A creative couple has worked magic in their drab old bathroom – largely with spray paint!

After buying their first home – a dated fixer-upper – in 2015, Wynand and Nicola Pretorius had to decide where to begin renovating. They’d just come back from an overseas trip and money was tight, so they decided to tackle the bathroom first.

“It was really ugly and some of the other changes we had planned for the house were much bigger, so we felt that doing the bathroom would be a quick win. And it was!” says Nicola.

Wynand, an engineer, and Nicola, a digital media marketer, spent six months planning and then transforming the space. They did most of the work themselves; this included spray-painting the tiles, retiling the floor, installing a vanity, redoing plumbing and fixing leaky pipes.

The final touch was adding shutters and quirky accessories, most of which were beautiful second-hand finds. Lastly, the walls got a lick of fresh paint.

As for the overall aesthetic, Nicola says they’re very happy with their classic bathroom. “I can tire of a look really quickly, so we tried to create a space that we will still love in five to 10 years’ time – and I think we did!” she says.

Wynand applied two coats of white Rust-Oleum Spray Paint over the original dusty-pink tiles, including those inside the shower. “We decided on spray paint as it was more cost-effective than removing the tiles,” Nicola explains. “By chance, we saw spray paint in a hardware store and decided to test it on a few tiles. We were impressed with the finish, so we went ahead and did all the tiles in the bathroom.” The couple painted the walls a dramatic dark charcoal (Plascon Dark Onyx) for contrast.

The vanity was custom made and painted a dark blue (Plascon Fat Alley Cat). The couple installed the new basin in the same position as the original basin; this saved them money as they simply had to reconnect the existing plumbing. They also replaced...

Wynand and Nicola made these simple floating shelves using an old scaffolding plank they found in the roof of the house. They attached them to the wall using metal rods inserted into the shelves and walls, and secured with adhesive epoxy.