An expert shared how anyone can renovate their bathroom in under 24 hours to give it a “luxury look.”
Tony b (@diybuford), who runs a popular DIY TikTok account, recently decided to make a few changes to his son’s bathroom. He uploaded a step-by-step guide to help others do the same.
Bathroom demo
“The first thing you want to do is get rid of that builder-grade mirror,” he says. Tony says this can be done with the help of wood shims from Lowe’s or Home Depot. Shims are thin tapered wedges that can be used to fill gaps, level things, or to assist with removing something from a wall.
Tony wedged the shims behind the mirror and gently tapped them with a hammer.
“Once you get a finger space between the wall and the mirror, just go ahead and pop it right off the wall,” he says.
Tony also removes the bathroom sink’s mini backsplash. He does so by tapping on it with a hammer, which makes it crumble off the wall.
How to hang tile like a pro
Then comes the tiling, which Tony has a pro-tip for.
“If you’re nervous about tiling and you’re second guessing yourself, I would highly recommend this double-sided sticky tape by Muscle Bound,” he says. He does note that the tape is not renter friendly, because “once you put it up, it’s pretty much on there forever.” Unless you don’t mind removing drywall, he adds.
Once Tony carefully applies the tape to the bathroom wall, smoothing it out to make sure there are no bubbles or wrinkles, he says it’s ready for the tile.
“Be sure to take your time, don’t rush it,” he warns.
After the tile is evenly placed on the adhesive mat, he says to press on it to ensure that it sticks. He then continues in the same fashion with the rest of the tiles.
Tony says that tiles can be easily trimmed with a saw. This way people can customize shapes to fit over wall switches. He notes that the cut does not have to be perfect because the switch plate covers the edges.
“The one downside of using this double-sided sticky tape is that the tiles cannot be wet. They have to be completely dry in order to adhere,” he says. Tony advises putting the tiles in an oven or using a hair dryer to ensure they are totally dry.
Next comes the grout
Once the tiles are hung, Tony suggests taping off the edges before applying grout.
“It’ll help with clean up and leave you with a cleaner edge,” he says.
Next, Tony hangs a new light fixture from Artika, which he also thanks for sponsoring the video. He then uses a carbide scraper to remove black paint from the cabinets and re-stains them in a walnut color. He also adds a floating shelf under the mirror.
Viewers react to the upgraded bathroom
Tony’s video has been watched nearly 500,000 times. Viewers left comments commending the bathroom upgrade. Some offered additional advice. Many also had follow-up questions.
“That’s a huge upgrade. I love the tiles you picked and thanks for the tiling tips,” one person said.
“Oh this is really nice. Especially the extended floating shelf,” a second wrote.
“You make me believe I could do this at my house,” another said.
One person wanted to know what the total cost of the bathroom renovation was.
In a follow-up video, Tony broke down the money he spent on each item, from the shims to the tiles to the light fixture. His grand total came out to $348.
Of course, there were a fair amount of haters in the comments as well.
“The little slivers in the corner… no no no.. would drive me nuts,” one person opined about the bathroom’s tiles.
“Super crooked! but the concept looking good,” another shared.
In another video, Tony fought back against the cynics and said he was proud of the job he did. He added that his video was aimed towards DIY’ers and that professionals should keep out of the conversation.
@diybuford Did a small upgrade to my sons bathroom #interiordesign #bathroomremodel #musselbound #organicmodern #modernhome #bathroomupgrade #artika #artikalight ♬ Self Care – Mac Miller
The Daily Dot reached out to Tony and Artika via email for further information.
Update Feb. 14, 5:13pm CT: In an email to the Daily Dot, Tony said, “Something I would change is I wished I asked my son for more input on how he would like for his bathroom to look. When I did the reveal he looked at me and said oh it looks just like your bathroom. Other than that I wished I did a lime wash to the walls.”
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