A Black, White and Brass Bathroom - High On Style And Function

A year ago, the most amazing family reached out to us for a consultation. They'd seen this infamous red sofa photoshoot and our design work and emailed to say that anyone who could take a photo with that kinda attitude is someone they wanted to work with. After stalking our work for a while they decided it was time to meet and get the ball rolling.
Like most clients, they wanted to work in phases. Phase one: the transformation of their daughters bedrooms and their shared bathroom. 
We'll reveal the bedrooms next, but the bathroom needed to be hella stylish since there is no powder room and it's also the bathroom guests would use. 
This bathroom is a standard 5ft x 8ft with no room for expansion so the new design would take place in the existing footprint.  

Here are five things we did for this bathroom that will help you with any bathroom renovation:

1. Remove the tub. A tub is a great thing to have for resale since a family with young kids will need a tub. But if there's a tub in any other bathroom in the house, then it's all good to remove it. We did so here and this immediately makes the bathroom feel larger. If you don't plan to ever sell, then please remove the tub and install a shower with grab bars, especially for aging in place.  

Adios tub, hello shower!

2. Install a frameless shower glass panel/doors. We always do since this opens up the space and makes it feel much larger than it is. Also install the glass as high as possible.  Standard height is only 72' high but we usually take ours as high as possible in this case 90" - you need a few inches between the ceiling and the glass for steam to escape. 

3. Consider a tankless toilet. This will be a splurge as it'll drive up both the labor and material cost of your budget. But not seeing a bulky tank in a small bathroom is a win-win and a definite wow factor that guests will love.

The tank of the toilet is installed inside the walls, eliminating the bulkiness of the typical tank we usually install. 

For some added bling, we installed a gold flush plate. 

4. Splurge on a statement tile as an accent wall. The dramatic tile shown here was a splurge but the black porcelain tile we used on the main floor and remaining shower walls were inexpensive. This hi/lo hack is one we use often to stretch our clients budgets. 

5. Consider a pendant instead of a traditional wall sconce by the vanity. This allows you to do a much taller and wider mirror since there's nothing in the way to stop them from being great. 

We love the style and function of this mirror with its own shelf

Using a vanity with dual storage options - closed and open -  is also a great way to create visual airiness in a space, in lieu of using a traditional vanity with closed storage.

And that's all folks. One of our favorite transformations ever especially because our clients were openminded throughout the design phase. They were also perhaps our most patient clients ever, never worrying about delays or extended timelines because they trusted the process. We are forever thankful for their trust and look forward to begin phase two in a few months. 

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