Welcome Chrome

Bathroom Renovation Reveal

Earlier this year we {and by "we" I mean a professional contractor} started renovating the downstairs bathroom and now it's time to show off the finished product.   

The bathroom had been through what appeared to be a semi-DIY remodel in 2004 and needed a lot of help looking more like a space fit for a 1937 Tudor style home. It was dark, so dark!  The walls and ceiling were dark, the tile was dark, no natural light, and the pedestal sink offered zero storage so the bathroom always looked cluttered.  It was not an enjoyable place to spend time in at all.  Also the shower was leaking and the poor quality tile was way past its prime 

{but actually it never had a prime}.

Here is a photo of what the bathroom looked like when we moved in...

  and here is a post-renovation image from the same vantage point.

The dinky pedestal sink was taken out and a vanity was custom built to fit the space and 

maximize on storage.  Plumbing was reconfigured so that the shower head and valve could be moved to a different wall making for a larger walk-in shower.  

This shower head is huge.  It is 12" in diameter, looks dramatic and feels luxurious.  Since we weren't doing double shower heads, double faucets, double mirrors, etc it was fun to be able to get exactly what we wanted.  I'd always rather have quality over quantity anyway and wouldn't have been willing to pick out such nice fixtures if we needed two of everything.  

Read about tile selections here.

The countertop is marble, the cabinets/trim are painted Benjamin Moore Pale Oak, and walls are Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee.  I really wanted a classic pivot mirror and ended up ordering the Kensington Pivot Mirror from Pottery Barn in chrome.  It is substantial and is even more beautiful in person than it appeared online.  

The taper sconce is from Restoration Hardware and it looks so charming on the entry wall.  Little details like this always end up being my favorite, it is on its own dimmer switch so I use it like a lamp and turn it on for atmosphere.  The sconce and candle make this corner feel like a living space adding a touch of cozy to the white and chrome bathroom.  

I didn't declutter the countertops for these photos, aside from getting ready in the morning this is how it always looks.  All of our stuff fits in the vanity and when not in use it is out of sight.  Our toothbrushes aren't even allowed to sit on the counter because they are such a buzzkill.  

The marble is stunning and deserves to be void of junk.  

Another detail I love is the monogrammed hand towel hanging on the side of the vanity.  Small personal touches like this make a room feel well appointed.

The new window shade is a Hunter Douglas top-down/bottom-up cordless shade.  Chosen primarily for the combination of natural light and privacy it allows by being operable from the top.  

Towels hang on the marble instead of the drywall so they can be left to dry 

without damaging anything.

  

Everything in this bathroom is white, gray, chrome, or glass, except for the rug.  It is  a 2.5'x4' Persian showstopper from a local rug store {Mansour's Persian & Oriental Rugs}.  It adds texture and warmth and checks off the hygge box for this room.

I don't plan to hang anything on the walls in the bathroom.  The marble, the fixtures, and the rug are beautiful to look at and I don't want any "art" cluttering things up. 

Polished Chrome ended up winning out for the fixtures because it has proven staying power.  Chrome does not tarnish and is simply classic.  Of course I was tempted by brass but I didn't want this remodel to seem trendy down the road.  The faucet and shower valve are both from the RH Sutton line {cross-handle model}.  

Notice the linear drain, it makes for a nice touch of chrome on the shower floor.  

A single sheet of glass and open shower entrance make the smallish bathroom feel 

as spacious as possible.  

This is definitely the fanciest room we've ever had and it feels right to sign off with a picture of Shep inspecting the dual flush toilet the day it was installed.  Quality Control is key.  

Click here for sources.

{Post not sponsored by any of the brands mentioned}

The Tile Styles

Our bathroom was gutted earlier this month!  

I think it's about halfway done- maybe more...honestly I'm not really sure but there have been people here working almost every day since it started and it seems to be moving right along.  Completely gutting a space has been a dream of mine for years and it's so exciting to watch the transformation.  I love the daily activity and each evening it's so fun to go in and see what was done.   

This is what the bathroom looked like when we first moved in, so dark. 

Such an odd choice to paint the main bathroom of the house.

After a few months of living here we had it painted and that definitely was an improvement.

I'm the first to acknowledge that the bathroom was fine, it had hot running water which is more than a lot of people will ever have.  But, the shower leaked.  We lived with it/managed it for a long time always knowing it eventually would need to be repaired.  

In order to remedy the issue the entire shower had to be torn up because the problem 

was with the shower pan itself {it wasn't just a simple caulking issue}.  

Bearing that in mind we waited until the whole thing could be redone.  

You can see from the before photos that the shower was an awkwardly placed "display box" in the middle of the back wall with a few feet of dead space on either side of it.  

The new shower pan, seen framed out above, makes much better use of the space by absorbing those extra square feet for a larger shower.  

Moving to the other side you'll see the pedestal sink was taken out and will be replaced by a custom vanity.  This is not a large bathroom and it is our "master" bathroom {old houses don't really have masters} so storage was a necessity.  The new vanity is being built thoughtfully making use of every available inch to maximize on storage.  

Above is the countertop I picked out at a local stone yard for the vanity.  Pieces were also cut off this remnant to be used for shelving in the shower niche and to be installed along the shower curb.

I love the paw prints in the quickset, Shep has been an invaluable help to the tile guys.  

The shower walls are 12 x 12 inch polished marble five feet up, then 4 x 12 inch polished marble subway the rest of the way up.  A marble chair rail breaks up the two tile sizes.  

The dark area is the niche framed out.  I chose larger scale subway tiles because I think it makes the bathroom look less busy.  Sometimes traditional 3 x 6 inch subway can start to look a little cluttered. 

The 12 x 12 inch tiles are nice because it's less grout to clean.  

The floor tile is 3 inch marble hex.  All tile was sourced from The Tile Shop.

  We decided to do the shower pan and the rest of the bathroom floor in the same tile for the sake of visual flow.  There will just be a large sheet of glass {no shower curtain} and I thought seeing two types of floor tile might be choppy.  

I'm excited about the drain- it's linear and looks sleek without being overly modern.

Today everything is being grouted and I think it is the tile guys last day on the job.  Laying tile does not look easy, the only tile that came on a mesh backing is the floor tile pictured above.  Everything else has been individual tiles and these guys are masters.  

It's good that the bathroom is small because all this marble would have been 

 very expensive on a larger scale project.  And it does coordinate nicely with Shep after all. 

ORB You Know Me

Remember last month when I shared my design for my in-laws guest bedroom and said a bathroom plan was also in the works?  Well just like the bedroom, the feel I was going for in the bathroom was sophisticated {in this case "spa"} married with country.  My first inclination was to go with the wildly popular brass/marble combination but as I was thinking through everything I decided to use oil rubbed bronze paired with marble instead.  The brass just wasn't lending the country edge the design called for, oil rubbed bronze will be the warm country counterpoint to the spa feel of the marble and cool hues.

Here is my inspiration board:

There is an existing 30" vanity that will be updated with a new countertop, paint, and hardware.

The paint color for the vanity is Benjamin Moore Glass Slipper.  This is the same paint color that is on the adjoining bedroom walls and I think it will tie in beautifully with the sleek white marble and rich oil rubbed bronze. 

Pottery Barn's Sussex Double Tube Sconce will hang above the mirror.  The shape is not overly modern, but I like that is does add a hint of modern to the bathroom. I love in the photo above how you can see the way traditional ORB can play off white marble.  Working through the bathroom design I really grew to appreciate this pairing. 

Pottery Barn's Germain Arched Mirror will hang above the vanity, the hand carved mango wood will be a nice rustic but polished detail. 

This Home Depot Carrara marble countertop with white sink basin will replace the current vanity top.  I'm so glad we'll be able to update what's already in there rather than having to buy a pre-fab vanity.  It seems like pre-fab vanities that look nice are usually extremely pricey and in this case I prefer the look of a built-in vanity.   

Home Depot 20" Cararra marble side-splash will go against the wall.

I am so excited about this brass horse head towel ring I found on One King's Lane.  It's a splurge for a towel ring but it is a must-have.  It will hang on the wall next to the vanity and it loops in the horse element from the bedroom.  

Lowe's allen + roth Aged Bronze Round Cabinet Knob, we'll use two of these to replace the current hardware.  

Lowe's Kingston Brass Heritage Oil-Rubbed Bronze Widespread Faucet, I think this will look so striking against the marble and will really bring out the veins.  

The walls, ceiling, and trim will be Benjamin Moore's White Dove {this color is also used in the bedroom ceiling and trim}. 

The bathroom and shower floor will be Home Depot's MS International Grecian White 

12 in.x12 in.x10 mm Honed Marble Mosaic Tile. 

The shower curb tile is from the same line, Home Depot's MS International Grecian 12in.x12 in. Honed Marble. 

Lowe's allen + roth Venatino Polished Natural Stone Mosaic Subway Tile will line the shower walls. 

The bathroom currently has no baseboards so these Home Depot MS International 

Grecian 4in.x12in. Polished Marble Baseboard Wall Tiles will be taking care of that. 

All grout used will be Lowe's MAPEI warm gray sanded powder grout.

To warm up all that marble in the shower, the fixtures will be oil rubbed bronze.  The shower head and arm are Lowe's Symmons. 

The shower knobs are Lowe's Giangni. 

Moen oil rubbed bronze shower drain from Home Depot. 

The shower door is Lowe's DreamLine Unidoor with oil rubbed bronze hinges and handle.

 Ballard's Gwyneth Buffalo Check fabric in Spa will be used for the one window treatment needed in the bathroom {this is the same fabric that I used for the bedding}.

The curtain rod is Pottery Barn Essential Endcap Finial Drape Rod in Cast Iron {this same rod will be used in the bedroom}. 

Last little details...hooks, toilet handle, paper holder, door handle, and wall plate.  All from Lowe's or Home Depot and all ORB.

Another look at everything laid out together, bring on the {country} spa day.

*This post is not sponsored by any of the brands mentioned.