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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Wine Lovers Guest Bathroom - Deuces Three Headed Vanity

We had the honor of renovating this entire home appropriately dubbed #nwdprojectwinelovers for two amazing and very wine-loving clients (more about that wine in another post).. 
This included three bathrooms that have both undergone quite the transformation. What was wrong? Well, a lot!
Let's start off this reveal with this guest bathroom which had three vanities - side by side! The previous owners had triplets so hmmmmm, that was quite the interesting solution to accommodate all three kids. 
Anyway, a lot has changed, including the fact that we had to redo the entire plumbing to this home which was an unexpected, expensive and painful development but one our clients weathered like true champs - you can see videos of this rotted plumbing in our #nwdprojectwinelovers highlights on Instagram. Okay, enough chatter, here we go: 

That infamous three headed vanity had us all scratching our heads. 

Our floor plan showing the true details of those vanities. We decided to go with one vanity in 42' which has plenty of storage for future kids - triplets or not! This bathroom also had sustained water damage over the years so just really needed to have a new lease on life.

Haha. Super proud to find a before pic with the toilet seat down! 

This was our approved design plan but it's important for you to understand that our designs often evolve and so I ask clients to not stay lock in to what we first proposed because my mind is often in creative mode and will mix things up a bit. So while we pitched a traditional subway tile installation with white floors, clearly we jazzed things up a bit and took some risks. 

The paint color was inspired by the color our very own Gloribell used on her living room wall, Blue Metal by Behr.

This tile installation is pretty difficult to do and our installers likely cursed us in English and Spanish for days but whatev! No pain, no gain and we couldn't be happier with how stunning this tub surround now is. 

I'm a huge fan of these scalloped tiles and have used them before but never in black. This bathroom floor needed some drama and we're happy our clients agreed.  

And that's it folks. Quite the transformation for this bathroom and we are so happy our clients are no longer afraid to open the door and invite guests to use it. What's your favorite part of this project? Have you survived a major bathroom renovation or plumbing nightmare? Feel free to share all the deets below. 

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Anatomy of a Bathroom Renovation

When our longtime client Heidi called to figure out a way to expand her master bedroom closet, we had no idea we would instead embark on a massive renovation of half her home - this guest bathroom, guest bedroom/office and her master bedroom, and yes, she did get a larger closet! 
But first, let's chat about where this bathroom started. 

It was a tiny en suite of what was likely the home's master bedroom but what Heidi has always used as a guest bedroom. Did I mention tiny?

After confirming our design direction, we closed the original bathroom entry to accommodate custom bookshelves since this bedroom would also become her home office. We annexed an under utilized closet and doubled the bathroom's footprint. 

We relocated the shower next to the window, moved the vanity to the center or the bathroom and tucked the toilet to the far end i.e where the closet once was. 

Here's the new entry, with a fab chalkboard barn door where guests can say whatever they wanna say. 

Chalkboard facts!

We loved the curves and color of this vanity. It is the perfect compliment to the updated black and white touches we added to the new design. 

I'm officially obsessed with these patterned tiles!

Yes, that is an entire slab of stone you're seeing on that window wall. 

Heidi loved its boldness and that at least one wall would have zero grout lines to worry about :)

We chose black faucets - my new obsession! And of course love to add niches for shampoo bottles and bath gels in all our showers. What element is your favorite in this project? And what are you dying to see in your own bathroom one day?  

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Teal Vanity
Black and White Tile
Black Faucet
Black Wall Tile
Round Mirror
Swing Arm Light
Black Shower Head
Chalkboard Sliding Door

The Well Traveled Home - A Brass inspired Guest Bathroom

If you've followed me over the years, then you know that kitchens and bathrooms are kinda my thing. Knocking down walls, gutting ratchet tile jobs, well that kinda gives me an incredible high. Seeing those spaces utterly transformed? The sweetest of joys. So it's no surprise that we gutted this outdated bathroom with much glee. It's part of this Miramar House Tour project we first featured last week.

 

Builder grade tiles everywhere. Builder grade vanity. Sliding shower doors. But at least the brass was inspirational.

 

 The old school brass inspired this pendant, just one of several new lighting sources we added to this small guest bathroom.

Tiles were the star of the show in this space for sure. We were on a budget and used porcelain wood-like in a dramatic way on the walls with this detailed installation. Hexagon tiles on the shower floor added contrast to the linear details on the shower walls.

 

More modern brass updates on the shower and vanity faucets. Don't be afraid to use this old school finish in a new, modern way. 

There is no powder room, so this is the bathroom that all guests will use so we thought it should be as wow as can be down to the simple finishes like this towel hook and nail-head inspired mirror.

The vanity is smaller than the original, but it's loaded with storage as both drawers are deep and functional.

 

All photos by Jennifer Hillstead via JHillstead Photography

And there she is. A budget friendly bathroom that packs a heck of a punch. Have you used brass in your kitchen or bathroom? We'd love to see pictures or hear your thoughts. Are you loving or hating this comeback?

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  (1) Vanity (2)Mirror (3)Hexagon Tile (4)Wood Tile (5)Pendant or here 

 (6)Wall Hook