Clever DIYer shows how to create a Crittall-effect shower door – for just £2!

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  • If you’re looking to give your bathroom a revamp, don’t worry if you’re working with a tight budget. One savvy DIY-er has shown that you can completely transform a bathroom for under a tenner, with a few handy hacks.

    When self-proclaimed DIY tutor Jasmine of Instagram’s @_OhAbode fame decided to revamp her plain bathroom, she knew she’d have to get creative if she was going to make her limited budget stretch. Creating a Crittall-effect shower door with electrical tape has given Jasmine a modern look for less, with impressive results.

    Find more ways to revamp a bathroom on a budget – all for under £50

    The trend for Crittall doors and windows has hit the interiors market in a big way and we’ve seen them become a must-have feature for many homes in the last year. However, it’s not often you see them used in a bathroom idea.

    Crittal-effect shower door hack

    Image credit: Jasmine Gurney

    ‘My new-build property felt quite bland and had no character,’ says Jasmine. ‘I wanted to make it more interesting, but on the cheap.’

    Clever DIYer shows how to create a Crittall-effect shower door – for just £2!

    To begin her bathroom makeover, the creative DIYer took a roll of black electrical tape and attached it to the outside of her shower screen to create the Crittall effect.

    ‘I taped around the outside edges first, ensuring the tape was straight and snug to the edge of the frame,’ says Jasmine, ‘and then used a tape measure to find the centre and horizontal sections, which I marked with a Sharpie.’

    ‘Cutting a straight edge on the tape roll, I stuck one end down on the Sharpie mark and held the tape taut to ensure the line was straight. I repeated this for the other horizontal and vertical tape lines.’

    To seal the tape, Jasmine used a hairdryer to warm up the tape glue before smoothing out all the air bubbles and trimming any overhanging edges.

    Image credit: Jasmine Gurney

    Get the look: Diall Black Electrical Tape, £1, B&Q

    ‘I still admire my new £2 Crittall-style shower door!’ she says. ‘It’s completely waterproof and holds up great against bathroom cleaning sprays.’

    To match her new shower doors, Jasmine decided to paint her taps. ‘I spray-painted the wall brackets of the shower screen and it looked so good I thought I’d do the taps to match,’ she says.

    Jasmine taped around every fixture with masking tape and covered every surface to protect it, then cleaned and dried the chrome taps and plug. Next up, she gave the surfaces a light scuff with a sponge sanding block to provide a key for the paint to stick to.

    Each tap and plug plate was sprayed with a few coats of white matt primer, before using an all-surface spray in matt black.

    ‘I coated the taps in thin, light layers, allowing drying time in between until full coverage was achieved,’ she says.

    Image credit: Jasmine Gurney

    Get the look: Rust-oleum Universal Spray Paint in matt black, £11.99, ScrewfixFinally, Jasmine sprayed two layers of clear matt lacquer to make the paint last longer and hold up better against limescale and water. ‘My top tip is to sand the tap between each layer of paint, so it has a key to stick to,’ she says.

    Image credit: Jasmine Gurney

    After peeling back all the masking tape, Jasmine cleaned up any overspray with acetone before adding a black shower hose and some funky monochrome floor tiles. Pale pink accessories and a scattering of plants complete this amazing transformation.Feeling inspired? Find plenty more bathroom makeovers hereAre you tempted to try the Crittall-style DIY idea yourself?