Updating a Bathroom

Master bathroom makeovers are popular these days, and today I am showing you what Connie and I did with our friend Janice’s master bath.

Here are a couple of before pictures. In this first picture, notice the arrangement of the cabinet with two sinks side by side and the kneespace shoved all the way to the right. The cabinets were white with polished brass fixtures and cultured marble countertops and sinks, typical of mid-1990’s construction. Also typical is the large mirror that spans the entire wall.

If you look in the mirror, you can see the opposite wall with the door that leads into the toilet/shower space. That’s a clothes hamper that’s tucked behind the door. If you keep reading, I’ll show you what we did with that space.

This picture shows a portion of the original shower made of cultured marble. Notice how the ceiling has been lowered to about 7’, and imagine how cramped you would feel showering in that space.

We started by gutting the bathroom—cabinets, mirror, floors, whirlpool tub, shower—everything went. Here is a picture of the new cabinets. We raised the cabinet height to 36” and moved the kneespace to the center for a more balanced look.

New granite countertops are St. Cecelia with undermount oval sinks in biscuit. We used a mosaic tumbled marble for the backsplash. The Venetian bronze faucets are from the Delta Victorian collection.

The two mirrors over the sink were a bargain from Kirkland’s, and the round mirror above the kneespace once resided in Donna’s master bathroom that I showed you HERE. It didn’t work for Donna’s new look, but it was perfect for Janice’s bathroom. Janice purchased the stool from Ballard Designs.

The custom cabinets were painted the same color as the walls, Benjamin Moore Powell Buff, and antiqued with a chocolate glaze. Fluting and a decorative toe kick give them a furniture look, and the drawers at the bottom of each sink cabinet provide extra storage space.

Janice’s cultured marble whirlpool tub was replaced with a large soaker tub in biscuit that we dropped into a tiled tub deck. We used the same 20”x20” tile on the floor in a diagonal pattern. The tub splash repeats the mosaic tile used at the vanities.

Remember that clothes hamper that was hiding behind the door to the toilet/shower area? We had a custom linen cabinet built to give added storage. The upper portion of the cabinet has shelves for linens and other things, and the lower portion tilts out and holds the clothes hamper.

In the shower/toilet area, we opened up the door wall with glass and raised the ceiling to a full 9’. Although the new tile shower is not any larger than the old shower, the wall of glass and the higher ceiling give it a roomier feel. The shower trim matches the Venetian bronze of the plumbing fixtures as does the towel/robe hook from Restoration Hardware.

I hope you have enjoyed the tour of Janice’s bathroom, and be sure to check out the other remakes at Metamorphosis Monday, hosted by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch.