Our main bathroom had a chrome vanity bar with three globe bulbs mounted above a large unframed mirror. The light it produced was technically adequate and aesthetically 2004. I wanted to change it without spending money on anything that required a contractor.
Budget: $180. Result: a bathroom that looks like we chose things on purpose.
The Vanity Light Swap ($95)
I replaced the three-globe chrome bar with two matte black wall sconces, one on each side of the mirror, mounted at 62 inches from the floor. The side-mounted sconces meant running two new wires from the existing box — which sounds hard but is actually the kind of job YouTube teaches you to do in an afternoon with about $25 in wire and junction boxes.
The Mirror Swap ($85)
The unframed builder mirror came down (it was just adhesive-mounted — came right off with dental floss and patience). A black-framed rectangular mirror went up in its place, centered between the sconces. The frame connects the mirror to the sconce finish. The bathroom reads as designed rather than defaulted-to.
What Stayed
Everything plumbing-related: faucet, sink, toilet, shower. None of it is beautiful but none of it needed to be replaced. The lighting and mirror carried the entire visual update. When the plumbing eventually needs replacing it will be for function reasons, not because it looks bad in context of everything else.
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