Another of the most needed renovations to our new house was the master bath. This is what the bathroom looked like when we purchased the house. Notice that yucky teal colored laminate counter top. The bathtub was gigantic, but the shower was so small that Hubby kept bumping his elbows on the (fiberglass) walls when he showered.
We decided to take the bathroom back to the studs and completely renovate it. (Such fun for an interior design student!) We briefly considered eliminating the tub altogether, but let's face it, I'm a bath girl. I love nothing more than settling in for a long bath full of bubbles. Another important thing for us was changing the vanity to a double one since that is what we were used to from our house in Georgia.
So armed with a pencil, paper, and measuring tape, I got to work and started designing my dream bath in a very small space (only 10x10 minus a bump out from the hall that couldn't be removed). The basic arrangement stayed the same, which meant our plumbing cost much less than it would have if I had rearranged everything.
Once I had the plan drawn and approved by our contractor, I spent (too many) hours shopping for just the right fixtures. I saved a ton of money by ordering all of my fixtures online rather than through a bath supply showroom. (I got a quote from a local place that was almost 3 times what I ended up paying for the same stuff!) The moral of the story is - if you have the time and the internet skills, you can reduce your bottom line significantly.
One of the biggest changes was tearing down the wall between the toilet and the shower. It really opened up the space and allowed us to have more glass in the shower.
I got my soaking tub! It is an air bath, so no more yucky jacuzzi jets to clean. This tub creates little air bubbles in the tub rather than circulating the water itself through the jets. Hubby had few requests, but he really wanted a large rain shower head (and more space)!
For tile, we used a standard subway tile on the shower walls and around the tub. The floor of the shower is a penny tile to match the subway tile. The floors in the bathroom itself are done with a 12x24 textured porcelain. The same color grout is used on all the tile to tie things together.
The new bath feels much more spacious and very spa like. It is truly a relaxing spot now. (And no more horrible teal laminate counter top!)
For those interested, a brief materials list -
Paint - Benjamin Moore Granite
Toilet - reused from previous bathroom
Bathtub - American Standard Evolution 36x60 air bath
All faucets, shower and tub fixtures, robe hooks, and towel ring (except rain shower head) -
Delta Leland collection
Rain shower head - Danze antique bell 10 inch shower head
Sinks - American Standard Studio square undermount sinks
Vanity - Virtu USA Caroline Avenue 72 inch
Counter top, tub decking, and shower curbs - LG Viatera quart in rococo
Train rack over tub and shelf over toilet - Pottery Barn Mercer collection
