Design blogs love to talk about what a renovation “can” cost. I'm going to tell you what three of my clients actually paid in the first half of 2026 — with real line items, real labor rates, and the inconvenient surprises that landed between the quote and the final invoice.
These are all Los Angeles projects, but the cost structure translates to any major metro area. Adjust for your local labor rates, but the hierarchy of where money goes doesn't change much.
Project 1: The Paint-and-Hardware Refresh — $1,840
This was a 5×7 condo bathroom in Silver Lake. Nothing was torn out. No plumbing moved. No tile touched. The client wanted the room to feel different without a dumpster.
What We Did
A full repaint in Benjamin Moore Aura Bath & Spa matte — $240 for two gallons plus supplies. Swapped the builder-grade chrome towel bar, toilet paper holder, and robe hook for matte black pieces from Rejuvenation — $320 for the full set. Replaced the standard 16×22 medicine cabinet with a 24×30 recessed unit from Robern — $680. Swapped the ceiling fixture for a semi-flush LED with a warm-dim driver — $210. New outlet covers, switch plates, and a new GFCI outlet in white — $45.
Labor for the medicine cabinet recess required a carpenter at $85 an hour for four hours — $340. The rest was DIY or handyman-level work billed at the same rate for the other half-day.
What We Didn't Touch
The vanity, the toilet, the shower tile, the floor. That's the discipline of a refresh: you only change what you can reach with a screwdriver and a paintbrush, plus one surgical strike (the medicine cabinet) that earns its labor cost.
Total: $1,840
Project 2: The Vanity Swap — $3,550
A 6×8 bathroom in a West Hollywood condo. The existing vanity was a 30-inch oak builder special with a cultured marble top that had yellowed. The mirror was glued to the wall.
Line Items
The replacement was a 30-inch Signature Hardware wall-mount vanity in walnut with a single U-shaped drawer and a white quartz top — $1,450 including the sink. A new single-hole faucet in brushed nickel from the same manufacturer — $280. Plumber to disconnect and reconnect supply lines, install the new faucet, and cap the old mirror wiring — $420. The old mirror came off in chunks and took drywall with it, so we had to patch and texture the wall above the vanity — $350. Paint to match the existing wall color — $80. A new 24×30 framed mirror from a local glass shop, custom-cut and installed — $490. Debris haul-away and a handyman for the demo — $480.
Total: $3,550
The Surprise Cost
The glued mirror destroyed the drywall behind it. If you have a mirror that feels unusually solid when you knock on it, assume it's mastic-glued and budget for drywall repair. That $350 wasn't a splurge; it was a ransom.
Project 3: The Full Cosmetic Renovation — $11,730
A 5×7 primary bathroom in an Eagle Rock bungalow. Everything cosmetic was replaced. The layout, plumbing locations, and electrical panel stayed untouched. No wall moved. No permit pulled beyond a minor electrical update. This is the top of what I'd call a refresh without entering gut-renovation territory.
Where the Money Went
Demolition and disposal: $820. Demo of existing tile floor, vanity, toilet, and shower surround. A full 10-yard bin for a single bathroom.
Tile and installation: $3,840. Floor tile: 35 square feet of 2-inch hex matte porcelain at $12/sq ft plus thinset and grout — $680. Shower surround: 60 square feet of 3×6 white ceramic subway tile with a single row of pencil trim at $18/sq ft installed — $1,860. Labor for tile removal, substrate prep, waterproofing, and installation at $12/sq ft — $1,300.
Vanity and top: $1,840. A 24-inch custom floating vanity in rift-sawn white oak with two functional drawers and a quartz top, fabricated locally.
Fixtures: $1,290. Toilet: Toto Drake, $410. Faucet: Watermark single-hole in aged brass, $380. Shower trim, valve, and showerhead: Delta Trinsic in champagne bronze, $500.
Lighting and electrical: $1,020. Two plug-in sconces from Cedar & Moss, $540. Installation of new sconce boxes and a dimmer switch by a licensed electrician: $480.
Paint, mirror, and hardware: $920. Wall paint, ceiling paint, trim paint. A custom 24×36 mirror from a glass shop. New towel bar, robe hook, and toilet paper holder in aged brass.
Total: $11,730
What You Should Take From These Numbers
None of these projects were bargains. None were irresponsible. Each one spent exactly what the scope demanded and nothing more. The paint-and-hardware refresh transformed the bathroom for under $2,000 and was done in three days. The full renovation cost nearly six times as much and took four weeks. Both were the right call for the client who made them.
The line items that consistently surprise people: drywall repair, debris disposal, and the cost of a custom mirror. The line items that tend to come in under budget: paint, basic hardware, and the toilet. Plan accordingly.