Beige Bathroom - What to do?

Question

I just purchased my first rental property.  The property is very nice, however the bathrooms are beige and look outdated.  It is a 2br/2ba and one bathroom has a beige tub and beige tiling in the shower.  The second bathroom has a beige toilet, shower tiles, and stand up shower.

I am not too concerned because I feel the unit will rent.  However, the beige may be a bit of a detriment in the long haul.  Are there any tricks or cheap ways to update a beige bathroom?

Account Closed · Answer

I personally think that the bathroom looks great. Not only are the colors neutral, but they will likely hold up for years to come. The only thing that caught my eye is the white caulk. Perhaps using a matching beige caulk would not have been so tacky. As Laura Williams said, clean is the way to go and the way it is now, it will be easy to keep clean during turnover. While reglazing it is an option, I would reserve that only for the pink, green, and blue colored tiles.

Kyle M. · Answer

Thanks for the reply, I think this picture actually misrepresents the actual look of it.  It looks slightly worse in person.  You're right about the white caulk.  I may get an estimate to tidy up the bathroom by re-caulking and fixing some minor mold issues.

Account Closed · Answer

@Kyle M.  Even if they don't look as good, the materials are still the same, which is about the most durable kind you can get. Like Stephanie said, your goal should be to tie the beige in with the walls and make it look good. Choosing a shower curtain that ties it in too could help. The grayish colored wall is an odd combination. I'm really bad at color picking colors, so I just stick to antique-white. Not sure how that would look. Perhaps if you really wanted to do something you may could paint the sink cabinet to match with the tub, but all in all I still think you have a great rentable bathroom as is.

JT Spangler · Answer

The other cheap update you could do is to but in some brushed nickel or oil rubbed bronze towel holders, toilet paper holders, etc (whichever matches the faucets). Wal-mart sells a set for like 14 bucks.

Sharad M. · Answer

@Kyle M.

If you are going to be renting the unit, I would compare the finishes of your unit to other units on the market. If updating the bathroom can get you extra $200-$300/mo in rent and it will cost you about $5,000 to update the bathroom, then that's about 50% ROI on the bathroom remodel.

OTOH, if you are not going to get any higher rent, then keep it as is.

Jesse T. · Answer

Unless it is a high end market, I think it looks pretty good.  With colors(especially for rentals) boring is good :)

Stephanie Dupuis · Answer

Keep tub, toilet, etc. as is. Paint the walls off-white. It looks pretty good (even if I imagine it worse!). It's in good condition. Paint the walls so the beige works better - there may be a better color than off-white for paint, but I think you understand the goal is to paint so the beige works. I wouldn't worry about the white caulk. It looks clean. My two cents.

Kyle M. · Answer

Here are some photos, let me know what you think.  What color do you feel that would be for the walls.  I was thinking Sherwin Williams "Softer Tan" 6141.  I just got a pretty good price from my painter to repaint the two bathrooms, let me know what you think!

Laura Williams · Answer

I think the most important thing with rentals is to make them look really clean. I'd probably go with a white paint for the bathrooms especially if the bathroom is dated and a tan color.

Beige Bathroom - What to do?

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