It looks like you have good neutral colors to work with! I would go ahead and paint the vanity and remove the glass shower doors. Find a pretty shower curtain, or make your own. Add some colorful art and you are done. Shop Homegoods or Ross for inexpensive art and accessories.

if it were me, I'd ditch the salmon tiles and see what I could find on sale. you don't want your bathroom floor to be your focal point and you also don't want it to look dirty. I find that gray is a very good floor colour for that. try spray painting a high gloss paint on those cabinets for a high end contemporary look. ummm you can also paint the walls or have a frame made for the mirror for pretty cheap

In situations like this there are two very simple fixes that will make as huge difference in both of your spaces.

1. Paint. You already covered this though. May I suggest you step outside of the box. White is great but grey or taupe could also could also work nicely. After you finish painting you could also think about installing some hardware as well. Modern with clean lines.

2. Shower curtains! I know you are probably shocked by this! Shower curtains date your space, right? Wrong! Now there are more fun choices than ever! They are actually a great choice for hiding dated tub/shower frames. I strongly believe shower curtains would make a very positive impact in your space. Take the leap of faith! Even if you can't remove the dated clear frames then hang the curtain slightly past them. I cannot even begin to stress how strongly I feel you should use showers curtains in your space!

Hello Kathryn,

First of all, congratulations on your new house! Now comes the fun part of making it your own. I have worked with many clients who, because of the purchase of a new home, need to decorate on a budget.

I suggest paint as the first option in changing the feel of the room. I have used the Nuvo Cabinet paint on my most recent kitchen remodel and it was great. It covered the oak cabinets very well, comes in great colors, and has stood up to two kids under 10. I think the Coconut color would work well with your countertop as well as the tile and lighten up the cabinet.

I would next paint the walls. I have gone to places like The Home Depot and others and asked for their paint returns. You can buy a gallon of paint for under $10 if you can find a color that you like. The other option is pre-mixed paints. I have found several types at Wal-Mart that have some great colors at a great price. If you don't find a color that suits you, you could wait for a paint sale.

Lastly, I would add (as mentioned above) color with accessories, such as a shower curtain and towels. You could hang the shower curtain over the glass door if you don't want to remove it. Colorful towels, artwork or accessories will help add more of your personality into the rooms.

Don't forget to show us what you do with your bathrooms! Good luck!

thanks guys. i dont think i have enough budget, time and manpower to redo all the tiles and floor tiles. how about painting the countertops?

Agree, agree, agree! When you want to make big changes on a budget, paint is your best friend!

Paint cabinets & walls; frame the mirror & paint the frame same color as cabinets; add shower curtain (good suggestion from Donna Alexander to hang curtains over existing glass door), towels, etc? Try working with the existing floor tile color to coordinate, do not try to match your tile color. Get big neutral color bath matts and ditch the blue.

Good luck and have fun!

No, don't paint the countertops.

Love Donna's suggestions about getting paint for less. Especially since you'll also need good rollers/brushes and things and those add up quickly. As with all projects, it's worth doing really good preparation in order to get a good result. Yes to shower curtains, so much style for so little money.

I have painted my countertops because it was an ugly chocolate brown faux marble. Yours looks like nice stone or engineered stone so I would only paint cabinets and wall. I can't tell you how much I hate scrubbing our shower door so I would definitely trade it for a bright shower curtain the can easily be thrown in wash or thrown out for a new color. If you keep walls and vanity neutral you can change color schemes on a whim with towels and curtains. Teal to tangerine in ten minutes. Or saturate the walls with a favorite color and use bright white linens. Bright white grout sealer can brighten tile floors if a new tile job is not a budget friendly option.

You didn't show the light fixture in the pics but changing that out makes a big difference. Agree on paint, shower curtain and framing in the mirror

the light fixtures at the bathrooms are just regular light at the ceiling but there is skylight so a lot of natural light.

Paint the entire bathroom white to feel like a "spa like" look. Instead of a rug - use a teak made mat. Add some task lighting (fixture) for the mirror above sink. Paint all cabinets white - preferably a different shade darker or lighter than walls. Take down the "shower enclosure" and add a nice shower curtain (there are plenty to choose from). Cloth curtains (white) with a liner would be ideal.

Maybe I'm confused, but this is two different bathrooms, right? One with a bathtub and one with a shower? Either way, the answer is the same, but if you're looking for a big impact for $200 for two bathrooms, you're going to need to get creative. This is totally my forte - I just redid my entire master bedroom for $50 - the only things I bought were a clearance bedding set and 3 vases from Target. Everything else I made and/or repurposed. SO, here we go: FIRST, take down the shower doors, fill in the holes with PAINTABLE caulk (even if you won't be painting that area right now, it'll bite you in the a-- later), and put up shower curtains. Bed Bath and Beyond has a great selection, and you can get really stylish ones for $40-50 or under. Take along two 20% off coupons, and they'll let you use one on each curtain. Now you're down to $32-$40 each. Start with the shower curtain because it's way easier to match paint to shower curtain than the other way around. I find that Bed Bath and Beyond has the best selection of shower curtains, but by all means, look around. Sometimes TJ Maxx has good ones, and theirs run about $15 each.

SECOND, I love white towels for every day because I get makeup on them and need to be able to bleach them. Plus, I don't have the budget to replace all my "actual use" towels every time I want to re-do my bathroom. I "splurge" and buy a pretty hand towel and washcloth at TJ Maxx/HomeGoods/Target or someplace like that - something that LOOKS rich and coordinates with the shower curtain. That will be about $15 per bathroom. If you get something that has a hint of navy, you can even use the same rugs. If you want new rugs, I like using a hallway runner-type rug in a bathroom of this length. You can get these at TJ Maxx etc. as well -- the length covers up a greater amount of floor space, the patterns are endless, and one long rug looks less cluttered than multiple small ones. I usually keep my rug color similar to my floor, just because I don't like them to stand out. That's totally personal preference, though! Runner-size rugs at TJ Maxx tend to be about $40 ea.

SO, we're at (per bath):

Towels: $15
Shower curtains: $15-$40
Rugs: $40
Total so far: $70-95 per room, depending on your shower curtain choice, or $140-190 total. Obviously, if you're doing 2 rooms, you're going to want to have as much left here as possible, but all you need now is paint. The secret here is: 1, ask friends and family if they have any leftover paint sitting around their homes that they don't want or need. If 3 people each have 1/4-1/2 gallon of neutral paint sitting around that they don't want, you're solid gold. Just get a larger bucket (bigger than a gallon), stretch an old pantyhose across the top, and pour in the old paint. The pantyhose will strain out the crusty bits. Then, mix well and you've got your base paint. Don't love the color? Adjust it with acrylic craft paint (yes, the 99 cent liquid kind). Just remember: red cancels out green, blue/orange, and purple/yellow. Black will make things darker, but also muddy them up. The craft paint is pretty concentrated - a little goes a long way - so add a little at a time, stir, put a swatch on a piece of paper, dry it, hold it up to the wall to see if you like it.

If you don't know anyone with leftover paint, then try the "Oops paint" areas at Lowe's, Home Depot, Ace, Walmart (yes!), etc. Also, if you have a Habitat for Humanity Restore in your town, they have their own brand of paint that is made the exact same way I described above, and it runs about $10/gallon. The point is, it's way easier to make paint match curtains than the other way around. For painting the cabinet, look at Oops paint, too -- you don't need as much for that. Otherwise, you can buy a quart of Rustoleum enamel and that stuff wears like IRON. Stinks to high heaven until it cures, though.

If you're only doing one room per $200, just choose a paint color and have it mixed. Bathroom light is tricky, though. I strongly advise springing for the paint samples and painting a big ol' swatch on the wall to make sure you like it before you drop $30 on a gallon of Behr.

wow.. thanks a lot for that detailed advice.. i appreciate it.

I have the same icky orange floor tiles in my bathrooms. I sympathize. I can't afford to have them removed and retile either. What I can do is take away the shower doors (mine are coming down tomorrow). I'm getting cute shower curtains from IKEA. The giant mirror dates the space, that's very 80's. I'd take it down and buy a regular size mirror from Home Depot or IKEA. Then you could add some shelves or art over the toilet. You might have some repair to do on the wall behind the mirror though. I'd paint the cabinet, but not the top. Those are pretty easy to replace at Home Depot. Sometimes they have smoking deals. I recently used chalk paint to cover an old table. It worked so well that will be my go-to for anything I want to paint over. It sticks to anything with little prep and has a flat chalky finish which you need to follow with something like Verathane in a damp environment. Chalk paint has no VOC's. I'd paint it a worn blue jean or Swedish blue and coordinate towels, art and shower curtain. I'm thinking of painting my tiles but haven't gotten up the courage yet to try Rustoleum's tile kit. You can even use it on floors or showers, but it's majorly smelly. Check it out on blogs.

remove the large mirror (replace with smaller mirror to relate to the sink area, not the entire wall), paint cabinet and walls, shower curtain instead of slider, and add drawer hardware, add vanity light. luxury look comes from monochromatic color scheme (wall paint should compliment the tile not contrast with it, the vanity and frame around the mirror should be the darkest think in the room.) No primary or jewel tone accessories....

For $200 go with the bright color please, that I have done with my guest bathroom.

It's overall a very nice bathroom. Could easily take on the spa look. Add nice sleek hardware. A framed mirror the color of the vanity and size of the vanity. Paint walls white. Get nice quality white towels and rug. 1 big piece of art. Crisp, clean and classy. Oh and light fixtures... more important than the mirror actually. Can really set the tone.

I would make the salmon colored floor tiles a part of the decor. Find a fabric that has both salmon and another color such as teal and make or have made a shower curtain. Paint the walls the other color ...teal would be so cool! And I'm seriously confused about the pictures...some have a tub, some have a shower!

Have you considered cutting that large mirror and having two? One for another room? You could trim it in moulding that you stain yourself for a frame

the pictures are 2 separate bathrooms, one with shower and the other is with tub

Definitely remove the doors & hardware from the bath with the doors. It may take some elbow grease to clean the residue from under where they attached to the tub. I've done mine. That makes it so much easier to even clean the bathtub. I'm for painting the cabinets an off-white. Buy quality shower curtain in one color & use with a clear shower curtain liner. Go with all white nice bath towels in both rooms. White paint does wonders. Good luck.

Even if you want to keep the shower doors, you can cover with shower curtains that are fabric. You will not need the liner if you keep the doors. This is what I do since I have 2 teen aged boys who liked to spill water all over before I was forced to put in doors. When they're off to college, doors will definitely come off and in the trash they will go. But for now, the doors do serve a purpose, as ugly as they are, but they are hidden behind a nice fabric.

The bath tiles can be sprayed white. Home Depot has Carrara floor tiles (12x24) for under $1.19 sq ft and you won't need very much. A gray shade that can be used in the bath and the entire house is SW Amazing Gray. You can always paint the cabinet white later or try it on your own. Affordable Kitchen and Baths has very economical vanity and counter tops if you decide to replace and then think about going with a rectangular sink. Shower curtains are once again popular--white and keep it pushed to one the side of the tub (when not in use) to keep the bathroom open.