Three-Day Bathroom Makeover: A Rapid, Heartfelt DIY for Granny

Most room makeovers follow three main stages, whether they take a weekend, a few weeks, or several months: planning and prep, the larger structural or surface upgrades, and finally, the finishing touches that make a space feel personal. For us, those steps looked like this:

• Prep and planning: brainstorming, selecting a color palette, shopping, priming, sanding, and spackling
• Bigger upgrades: painting walls, refinishing or painting cabinets, replacing flooring
• Finishing touches: curtains, hardware, art, and accessories that add personality

When John’s mom mentioned that his grandmother’s half bathroom needed an update, we put those three steps into action. What followed was a three-day bathroom blitz that included two seven-hour drives and a little late-night painting. John’s parents came along to help with Clara, which made the long days manageable and fun.

First, meet Granny. She lives in Huntington, West Virginia, and is one of the kindest, most cheerful people you’ll meet. Here she is holding baby Clara for the first time:

We like to share a clear timeline, so here’s the to-do list we used for our turbo-charged, three-day project, with our planned schedule in parentheses after each item:

• Brainstorm colors and shop for accessories (Day 1)
• Spackle, sand, and caulk to prep the room for paint (Day 1)
• Rebuild and balance the cabinets (Day 1)
• Prime and paint the cabinets for an updated look (Day 1 & 2)
• Paint the entire room, including the ceiling (Day 2)
• Address problem spots like a rusted duct and a dingy corner beneath the sink (Day 2)
• Replace the old sheet-laminate floor (Day 2)
• Refresh hardware and accessories with a new finish (Day 2)
• Sew and hang cafe curtains to add charm (Day 3)
• Add meaningful art and personal touches (Day 3)
• Install functional accessories and finalize styling (Day 3)
• Reveal the finished room to Granny (Day 3)

The house itself is a 1920s charmer the family has owned since the 1940s. John’s late grandfather, “Papa,” did much of the handiwork over the years, so the house holds a lot of memories. Papa had once converted an old pantry into this little half bath—adding plumbing and electrical decades ago—so the room had history as well as charm. But the wallpaper had seen better days, and Granny was ready for an update.

Before we arrived, Granny, Aunt Ellen, and Uncle Dean had already removed the wallpaper—an enormous help that saved time and cleared the room for prep. We had also done some shopping beforehand: a quick HomeGoods run for accessories, a stop at our favorite fabric outlet for a floral print that suited Granny’s style, and a Home Depot visit for new flooring.

The floral fabric felt perfectly Granny—soft, a little vintage—and became the material for simple cafe curtains for the small bathroom window. Below you can see the fabric alongside some of the accessories we planned to use:

Arriving at the house, the space already looked dramatically improved with the wallpaper gone. But the removal exposed other issues: a damaged corner under the sink, a burned outlet, and a rusted vent. These all needed attention before we painted.

We started with the prep work: removing old caulk, spackling, and sanding. Cutting out caulk doesn’t look impressive right away—sometimes it even looks worse—but fresh caulk and paint make a dramatic difference. I used a full tube of caulk in this compact space, sealing the baseboards, sink perimeter, window trim, and doorway for a polished final look.

While I spackled and sanded, John tackled a carpentry fix: he cut a small plank to fill the gap where two cabinets had been pushed together and covered with an old hollow-core door. He secured the plank to existing supports, which cleaned up the cabinet silhouette and made painting look continuous once primed.

Next we removed hardware and primed the cabinets and countertop. The drawer fronts were left to dry in Granny’s spare room, turning it into a makeshift cabinet-painting studio.

By the end of Day 1 we had a clean, prepped room and primed surfaces ready for paint. Our remaining tasks included painting walls and cabinets, fixing the rusted vent and dingy corner, replacing the flooring, reviving hardware, sewing curtains, adding art, and styling with accessories before the big reveal.

• Paint cabinets and walls (Day 2)
• Fix rusted vent and sink corner (Day 2)
• Install new flooring (Day 2)
• Refresh hardware and finishes (Day 2)
• Sew and hang curtains (Day 3)
• Add art and accessories (Day 3)
• Reveal to Granny (Day 3)

We went to bed at midnight after a full day of driving, shopping, prepping, and priming. The fresh slate set us up perfectly for Day 2’s painting, floor replacement, and finishing work. It’s a special kind of joy to renovate a space for someone you love—especially when you get to see their face at the reveal. Stay tuned for the Day 2 recap.