RAISE THE ROOF

Contrary to popular belief, interior design isn't always about fluffing a pillow or buying overpriced wallpaper, sometimes it's about taking an ugly space and making it, well, less-ugly! Another contradiction of sorts; I actually prefer working with people who have budget challenges, because it forces me to be more creative and think way outside the usual idea box. Take the top photo, for example, is a challenge I faced a few weeks ago; how to make this basement bathroom less hideous with a tiny budget. THE FACTS: House was empty for several years so rodents had moved in (GREAT), bathroom in basement smelled like mildew, toilet leaked, vanity was dated, floors were carpeted, fan didn't work, ceiling was a musty drop-ceiling typically seen in basements. SO, how did we fix this?
VANITY: $169.00 at Lowe's
TOILET: $110 at the Home Depot
NEW FAN from the Home Depot: $29.99 plus installation
TILE FLOORS: $65.00 plus installation
PAINT: $25.00
NEW MIRROR: 19.99 (from Ikea, painted with high gloss paint, slightly darker than wall)
REPLACE CEILING PANELS WITH WOOD: $36.50
Because functionality often trumps beauty, we needed to keep the drop ceiling for a few reasons; A.) it concealed pipes from bathrooms above and B.) Sheetrocking would be cost prohibitive, SO, I decided to take this one into my own hands and ran to the Home Depot where I found 3/8" thick lightweight wood. I removed each panel, traced them and cut accordingly. I've not decided what color to paint the metal railing at this point nor what stain to use on wood (it's a bathroom, so stain, even clear, is essential to keep wood looking good). For now, however, an hour later and less than $40 invested, I think the results are great.
UPDATE: Upon closer examination, some of the wood pieces bow up and appear to not fit properly, a quick pop down to the hardware store for drop ceiling clips solved that. The key pieces here are the lightweight wood (so the frame will hold) and remembering to stain the pieces for moisture protection.