I completely transformed my bathroom from plain and boring to homey and fresh with this DIY hack… and it only cost £79
A DIY-SAVVY mum with more than a million followers shared how she transformed her bathroom into a fresh space – costing just £79.
Amanda Vernaci, 29, a content creator from Michigan, US, wanted to spruce up her plain bathroom while on a budget.
Using MDF shiplap boards from Home Depot, alongside multiple primed pine wood boards from her local lumber, she was able to transform the space for only $98 (£79).
The mum-of-one also had some tools on hand, including a mitre saw, nail gun, trim puller, jigsaw and measuring tape, which helped to keep costs low.
Amanda, who lives with husband TJ and their one-year-old son AJ said: “I was [luckily] able to get some of the boards at a discount because they were damaged.
“I started by mapping out the height I wanted my vertical shiplap to be and for this, I went with a half wall.
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“I decided to make mine four ft high, so that I could get two boards out of one, which saved me costs.
“Using a utility knife to score along the edge of the baseboard, I broke the seam between the caulk and trim.
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“Then, I used a painter’s tool and hammer to get behind the trim which made some space for the trim puller.”
Using this tool, she was able to easily pull the original trim off the wall without any damage so it can be reused.
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This helped her to save costs, as she was able to recycle old material into new.
She said: “If you are careful, you’ll be able to reuse these baseboards.
“Next, I cut [one of the] boards the full width of the wall and nailed in the studs using a brad nailer.
“I installed the horizontal board first to make sure everything was level and then attached one of the [bigger] boards to the wall and placed the [smaller] on its side on top to create a ledge.
“I used MDF nickel gap shiplap boards and cut them in half to save money.
“Once the boards were cut, I lined them on the wall right up to the horizontal board.”
She used shiplap boards which have a “tongue and groove” system that helps to easily lock the boards together.
She then secured these to the wall using a nail gun, which she recommends shooting into the tongue of the board to create a less-holey surface.
Amanda said: “Baseboards will need to be cut in order to fit, so I used a mitre on the corners so that they would fit together nicely.
“Using a nail gun, I reinstalled the baseboards which finished off the walls.
“Next, I used wood filler on the boards and baseboards to fill in the nail holes, before using caulk around the baseboards, both edges of the horizontal board and corners.
“I also caulked around the edges where the shiplap met the sink.”
One of her top tips for a smooth finish is to use baby wipes, which also help to keep fingers and clothes clean.
She said: “[Finally] as the wood filler dried, I sanded this down to create a smooth surface for painting.
“I decided to use Pure White by Sherwin Williams in a semi-gloss finish.
“If I was going to use colour, I would recommend painting the boards first to avoid having to paint each of the seams.”
After two days, the project was complete and the bathroom looked a far cry from its original state.
In a clip uploaded to TikTok, which has received 10 million views and 389,000 likes, she walks her one million followers through the process.
One person said: “So beautiful!”
Another person said: “It’s beautiful I think I’ll make my bathroom the same as yours, very good idea.”
“Really useful,” someone else said.
One person said: “Awesome,” followed by two thumbs up emojis.
“Inspirational! Beautiful!” another person added.
Amanda added: “Overall, this project totally elevated the space without having to do a major renovation.
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“I was able to keep the same mirror and vanity, while still making the room feel like a new space.
“People often think they need to change everything about a space to update it, but this isn’t true.”