Remove cabinet above the toilet.

New plain, off-white shower curtain.

Get rid of the cheesy brown tile trim

around the insert and back wall. Patch the walls and paint. Clean within an inch of its life. If you’re feeling more ambitious, paint the vanity and replace the Hollywood light.

Agree with mmilos. The cabinet above the toilet makes the room feel very cramped. And an off-white shower curtain would make it look much better. And, FYI, the dark brown wall color via tile, is becoming a very current trend; so I would say not to mess with it at all. After the cabinet above the toilet is removed and the wall holes mended, find a great piece of artwork to put on the wall above the toilet. Would also remove the wooden towel ring, too. If the wall to the left side of the sink does not have a towel holder place a plain chrome one there or use a standing towel holder on top of the counter.

Wow!!That is odd. I'm no expert but can that tile be painted? Maybe like beige to match the outline tile and then paint all the wood a nice color that will also match the floors. (maybe blue). Good Luck

hire a steam cleaning company to steam clean all the grout

The tile doesn't bother me. What's weird is that paper towel holder over the toilet. I'd get rid of that, as well as the hand towel holder that is too crowded for the space. Paint the walls with something light and fresh. The knobs on the cabinet make the doors look a little wonky. (Maybe it's just the camera angle.) If the doors are slightly off and can't be fixed, get some sort of arty odd shaped knobs to keep the eye from seeking symmetry. Finish with a fabulous shower curtain. If you have time to order, Society 6 has thousands of "artwork" shower curtains, but I think it takes a few weeks to get them.

In a word: Ikea.

If you do not have the budget to jack out all the tile, at least get the country wood stuff out of there.

With some decent measurements and a $1000 worth of materials, you can purchase a handsome bathroom set up at Ikea (new mirror, new light fixture, new cabinets, new counter top/sink, new hardware). Install should be another $1000 (includes removing light fixture). Everything else stays.

White is nice. Some of the Godmorgen cabinets have a walnut finish which would help tie-in your brown/beige tile scheme. New paint once the old cabs are taken down. And yes you need a new curtain and some decor towels for staging.

Since you have the ceiling height, purchase an extra long shower curtain and move the rod up closer to the ceiling (a new rod would be nice too). It will give your buyers an impression of more ceiling height.

To go with the rest of the house, please show us the kitchen so we can see the style and finishes. Is your bathroom budget $500, $1000 or other?

Does the brown tile run under the vanity? Removing the bottom drawer should give a clear view to the floor.

@apple_pie_order here is the most recent kitchen picture I have! It's a very simple mashup of modern, farmhouse, and minimalist. :) We had more plans for it in the future, but someone else will have to take up that torch I guess.

Remove as much of the wood as you can. Definitely lose the cab & all other items above tank. What wood you can't move out, paint. White. Hang the new plain shower curtain(s) as high as possible. Check out this vid, especially the part at 3:35 or so. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uW8fEWfI-8 Good luck with your sale!

ETA: the brown is not tile, it is sheet vinyl. The beige tile is a very shoddy tiling job with dark grey grout. And yes, the same brown sheet vinyl is everywhere on the floor as well as up the wall and around the tub surround.
Budget would preferably be less than $500.
Thank you everyone for your great ideas so far!
@SJ McCarthy, an IKEA reno was our original plan for this bathroom, but I'm not sure we have the time for a full gut. I may just have to remove the non-essentials and paint the rest. ?

$500 is not going to go very far. Paint what you can and stage the rest. The new owners will have to deal with sheet vinyl on walls and poor tiling job. And the outdated cabinets. Considering this is a very small en suit (it is actually a three piece bath that happens to be in the main bedroom) it shouldn't do too much to the overall value. It isn't big enough to drop the value of the home that much. If it does, you don't have a big enough budget to deal with it anyway. You would have to spend $15K just to get it to the point where you house does not drop in value. You wouldn't see a financial benefit from a full redo. It would just maintain the value the house has right now.

If you think the trim tiles will pop right off, then do that, and remove the sheet vinyl from the walls, too. If the trim tiles are stuck on mightily, buy a $25 single roll of paintable wallpaper (big box or online), cover the brown sheet vinyl on the walls with it, then paint the walls and paper with the same color paint as the kitchen cabinets. Use a grout paint on the brown grout that more or less matches the off white tiles. Paint the cabinet and mirror frame with the same paint as the kitchen cabinets. Replace the cabinet pulls with the same style as the kitchen's. Remove the wood towel ring and wall storage cabinet. Put a $15 chrome towel bar or towel ring up. Replace the plastic faucet handles with $15 chrome handles (their fittings are standardized). Replace the white toilet seat with $25 off-white seat to match the toilet. Replace the shower curtain rod with $25 white or chrome finish, add an off white shower curtain $20. Shine the countertop and shower surround. Add some colorful artwork you already have on one wall, not both walls. Put out $30 new towels and you are finished.

Go to the local Bog box store.. Get things like these

This vanity set is $280

This light is $60

This faucet is $68.

Then get rid of the wood cabinet over the toilet and the wood towel ring ( replace all of the accessories if needed ) Then come up with a few more buck and get the tile off the walls.

Some fresh paint and you are done.

Otherwise, see what your realtor says.... if they think they can sell it as is, then leave it alone but scrub it clean.

Good luck with your move

New chrome faucet, shower curtain rod, cabinet hardward, and hooks on the wall (NOT above the toilet please). Update the light fixture. Remove all of the stuff above the toilet. Declutter. Install a long off-white shower curtain, towels, and fluffy rugs. Paint the walls to match off white tiles. Paint the grout on the light tiles to match the tiles.

The YouTube link that Hollybar posted is very good, IMO. Many people just don't have the funds or energy to deal with an extensive and expensive redo; the YouTube link is great at ideas and will get creative thoughts going.

Now that I know that is sheet vinyl on the walls, it’s even more imperative to get it off of there and fix the walls. That’s just a immediate lightening rod target to raise questions about other cheesy fixes that may have been done.

A potential problem with replacing older faucets is that they often have 1/2 inch supply lines while new ones can have 3/8 inch supply lines (approved for use in my area). Check new faucets before buying. We either have to install adapters or replace the angle stops. This rapidly gets expensive if you have a plumber do the work. It's far easier and cheaper to replace old worn handles if the faucet is in otherwise good condition and you are keeping the countertops.

You didn’t ask about the kitchen but I would remove the curtains and put up a simple blind.
Good luck with your bathroom.

I am not able to "like" comments and I would second @Debbi Washburn and @Sammie J. I am not sure if replacing the vanity would work but the other suggestions re lighting seem relatively simple and would work nicely. Definitely remove the wood holders and cabinet above toilet.

Price is always related to whether you are able to do the labor yourselves. I don't think replacing the vanity, lights and medicine cabinet is difficult (we've done a bunch of them), compared to other home projects--but best not to mess with electricity and plumbing if you have no experience with it. So, if you need to pay labor, the best way to cut costs is to hunt on Craigslist--there's always someone out there remodeling their bathroom who has "upgrades" to what you have going there now. Last time we replaced a "Hollywood" light fixture, my husband measured and we found a fixture that would cover where the old one was, so there were no holes to patch. If you don't find what you need used, go with Ikea or a big box store. I would definitely NOT replace the cabinet over the toilet. Since we are talking about saving money, I would not touch the tile.

I would DIY peel and chip the tile off the walls, then repair as needed. Replace vanity, medicine cabinet, and light. Remove stuff over toilet. Stage with nice towels and shower curtain. Even if the total is more than $500.

An ugly bathroom in a pretty house will stand out like a sore thumb, and people will remember the ugly more than they will remember the pretty. Your house will sell faster if it's all pretty.

A lot of potential buyers will not be able to get past vinyl flooring on the walls. The vanity can be painted, and the light changed out too. That will give it a good neutral base.

I'm in agreement with everyone who says to do what you have to to get the trim tile and sheet vinyl off the walls. Then repair, freshen with paint, paint the vanity and medicine cabinet, get rid of the cabinet and towel holder by the toilet and replace the light fixture and faucet. Done.

Hi... the quickest and cheapest fix I think would be is to get (1) panel of a fabric curtain at 84” at Walmart or Home goods and put on a swing rod (this will be stationary and only for looks to make your room look taller). Then get (1) white shower curtain at Amazon that is 84” and move tension rod up as far as it will go and make sure it stays inside tub.
Swing rod can be found at Bed Bath and Beyond or use another tension rod for your fabric panel as long as it fits the top of curtain.
If using swing rod put on far right wall and stack back. Also stack back your shower curtain behind this panel. This opens up your bathroom and makes the space appear bigger, taller and not cramped.
Then just take down the cabinet and towel holder and hang a tall picture in space. I would put a hand towel folded longways and put on side of sink. Put a small rug to match in front of sink. Your door may not shut but just keep open and no one will know. I hope this will help.

Whoever buys the house will likely redo bathroom if they can. I would paint vanity white and add new hardware. Remove cabinet and towel holders above toilet. Remove medicine cabinet if you can and replace with a regular mirror and put in simple cheap vanity light. Maybe new basic sink/countertop unit if affordable. Fresh coat of paint, new shower curtain and 🤞🏼

Are you handy / capable of doing all the work yourself? That will stretch the budget a lot further.

• Remove wall cabinet completely.
• Replace the light fixture with something more up to date.
• Replace the medicine cabinet mirror with a decorative mirror, something framed if you can.
• Replace the wood towel ring with more up to date.
• Remove all of the wall tile including that around the shower surround if you are capable of replacing / repairing all of the drywall you will probably damage. Repair and paint.
• Replace the vanity with an affordable one from big box store. There are a lot of relatively affordable options that look nice. I would be a bit careful about stark white because your toilet and tub and surround look to be bisque. Alternatively you could paint yours if you can't afford a replacement.
• Replace the toilet seat with a matching bisque option.
• Remove the flooring and replace it with something affordable. You could tile the floor if you are handy. Alternatively a fresh laminate flooring would be reasonable.

All of the above could potentially be done for $500 or less if you shop for deals and do all of the work yourself.

Is it possible to paint the grout?

That is a HUGE improvement!

It looks great!

Make sure in the kitchen you remove all but one or two items from your counters and your shelves. Right now it looks like you don't have enough room in the kitchen and you want people to feel they have plenty of room for their things.

Best of luck on your sale. Let us know when you do sell it.

The wall color and shower curtain coordinate nicely. Good job!

ITA with the others about the kitchen. :)

You did a fantastic job, Angela. It does not even look as if it is the same bathroom. Just wonderful of you.

This is how our kitchen turned out. :) We listed it around 9:30 today, have 17 showings scheduled so far, and have gotten several offers above asking price already today! So apparently the bathroom tips really helped! ;) thanks, everyone!

Kitchen looks great, too. That is great that you are already getting very good offers and so many showings scheduled.

Congratulations! You must be thrilled.

Your bathroom looks so much better. Really well done! I’m just curious, about how much did you spend. I bet not a lot for the dramatic improvement which will definetly help you sell your house. Thanks for the follow up pics.

Thanks for the update, you did a great job AND have received positive responses!