Bathroom Restyle Under $5

When you buy cheap bathroom furniture you understand that it will only last so long.  The laminated particle board bubbles and stains as soon as a drop of water sits on it.  If you've ever tried the miracle that is Mr. Clean Magic Erasers you'll find that our bald friend only serves to rub off more of the surface leaving it looking dirtier than it was before.

I'm working with a tight budget and bathroom furniture is just not anywhere on our budget priority list.  Although I could go to Walmart or Target and buy their latest cheapies or search Craigslist endlessly to find small pieces of furniture to restyle, I thought that there must be something that I can do to make my bathroom look a little better while I'm waiting for it to move up the budget priority list.

I thought of using duck tape to cover the damaged parts.  I couldn't quite find a color or pattern and I was a little worried about how all the seams would look.  I found some simple contact paper at the local dollar store.

This project was simple and only took a few hours to complete.  Although I do not have a blow by blow to share, I will share a few tips that will help make things look polished.

1. Since it's difficult to get all of your cut pieces to fit perfectly, make sure the primary color in your contact paper matches your bathroom furniture. if the primary color on your contact paper matches the base color of your furniture, you won't notice little cutting and measuring errors the way you might if you had chosen a contrasting color.
2. For more difficult shapes such as curves, place your contact paper right side down on the furniture and trace your shape.  I held the pieces tight over the edges and used one of my daughter's crayons to color over the edges.
3. Reposition your paper on the furniture until you get the best fit.  Use scissors or an exacto-knife to trim any excess.