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cat_mom

Completed guest bathroom! (finally!)

cat_mom
14 years ago

We finally completed our downstairs/guest bathroom reno. Prior to the reno, there was a tiny sink (no vanity), a toilet (a very low one at that), and a sliding door closet (at the back end) of this very narrow bathroom. We stayed within the same width, but removed the closet, and bumped into the adjacent garage by about 1-2 ft in order to add a shower stall (~ 3' X 4') at the far end of the bathroom.

I apologize in advance--there are no "before" pics. We'd meant to take them, and I think we'd thought we did, but....nope! Anyway, believe me when I tell you that our pre-reno bathroom would definitely NOT have won any prizes (unless it was for the most uninviting bathrooms!).

We deliberately tried not to go overboard with this bathroom, as it will not see day-in-day-out use, but, since it does open to our family room, we still wanted it to look nice.

We stayed pretty much within budget (a couple things along the way cost a bit more than originally expected, but not a total shock by any means, and we still stayed close to our budgeted total). We knew going in that we would use a frameless glass door on the shower, with Starfire glass and Clear Shield. We also knew that this would be a big ticket item, but kept the price down a little by choosing 3/8" thick glass and not 1/2" thick.

Details:

Ceiling Vent Fan: Panasonic Whisper

Toto toilet; Soiree, w/ sanagloss, Cotton White, brushed nickel trip lever.

Robern Medicine Cabinet: PLM1630B; 15 3/4" X 30" (recessed, black interior).

Jaclo shower head: Frescia Nebulizer; satin nickel.

Cifial shower control (pressure balance mixing valve); satin nickel.

Cifial faucet: techno; satin nickel.

Kohler cast iron shower pan: Purist shower receptor- K-9026; white w/ satin nickel Kohler drain/grid strainer.

Sonia sink/top: model P08--31.5" wide w/ overflow holes, white porcelain/fireclay, Sonia pop-up drain in satin nickel.

Vanity: custom-built by local cabinet maker; based on the Sonia Europa vanity (~31.5" wide X 18-18.5" deep), with some modifications. Espresso stained walnut, Blumotion drawer glides, Valli and Valli hardware.

Tile:

Floor: Noce/Lt. Walnut Travertine (purchased a few years ago in anticipation of reno), Tec grout; light buff.

Saddle: Noce Travertine.

Field tile on shower walls: Daltile Modern Dimensions (~4 X 12) in Arctic (glossy white), Tec grout; Bright White.

Border tile mosaic (in shower and "backsplash" over the sink): Emperador Dark/Noce Travertine/White Thassos 3/8" strips.

Niche: side walls, top and floor; White Thassos, back wall; Daltile Modern Dimensions tile.

Motiv by Ginger (Sine): 24" Towel bar, hooks (on back of bathroom door), and open toilet tissue holder; satin nickel.

Restoration Hardware towels: Espresso and White.

Restoration Hardware bathroom accessories: Espresso resin (discontinued).

Flat Roman Shade: Hunter Douglas Designer Screen Shade; fabric--Umbria, color--Basalt.

Paint: BM Aura--walls; matte finish, Affinity color; Pensive, base molding; matching color in satin finish. Ceiling; matte finish; Super White.

Twig Candle Sconces: Crate and Barrel.


Comments (18)

  • hmdennis
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your Bathroom looks great! I really like the accent tiles in the shower and on the sink backsplash. I also really like the sink itself, very sleek. Your guests may never want to leave!

  • fin1
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This may sound like a silly question. It is regarding your toilet paper holder. Which way is it mounted? I have the same one--in two different bathrooms. It was mounted in one bathroom with the open part out--which means the toilet paper falls off constantly. The other bathroom has the open part towards the wall and there is no problem.

  • desertsteph
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    those on a back wall should have the open side away from the tank and on a side wall the open end should be to the back. You pull the paper toward you which pulls the roll toward you. my sister has those on side wall w/open end to the front. it always pulls the roll off.

  • brutuses
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Very pretty. Love the little accent tiles behind the vanity and in the shower. Very nice touch.

  • User
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yep...you are going to have to watch out for guests that refuse to leave !! What a beautiful transformation. I have seen the old and this is definitely a FABULOUS improvemnt. c

  • cat_mom
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    hmdennis, we like the sink so much, we ordered two more in the 24" width for our two upstairs bathrooms!

    fin1, we mounted the holder with the opening facing the toilet. On this particular holder there is a little 1/2 lip sticking up on the edge when it is mounted facing that way. Had we flipped it over (so the opening faced the vanity), the lip would've been on the bottom, sticking down, and that didn't seem like it would help to hold the paper roll on the holder as well (plus, it looked upside down to us when we flipped it over!).

    Thank you for the compliments! We had seen a really neat sample board (an expensive one of course!) when we first walked into the tile shop that gave us the idea to combine (oblong) glossy white tiles with a stone border that tied in the other colors in the room. With the tile we actually used, we were able to customize the border mosaic; the stone/colors used, as well as the size of the sheets (x number of rows per sheet) in order to minimize waste.

    Since we weren't tiling the walls (in the room itself), and since the sink did not come with its own splash, I thought it would be not only a nice look, but also a practical one, to use the border tiles over the sink as well. Ties everything together nicely, I think!

    PS trailrunner, they'll have to go on your word--we're kicking ourselves that we forgot to take those "before" shots!

  • sweetd313
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Great job! Love that you were able to recreate the Sonia vanity! Your cabinet guy did a nice job!
    I was looking through your pictures, is that a small toe kick heater in your bathroom? If so, what brand is it? I'm thinking about getting one installed in my bathroom, but I'm wondering how much of a hassle it would be to install.

  • hudsonleigh
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Looks great! You're giving me so many ideas for my next bathroom (after I finish this one, there's still the guest bath to do). One question....did you consider running the backsplash tiles around the side of the sink as well, and if so, why did you choose not to? I also have a sink the sits in a corner like yours, and I keep going back & forth in my mind as to whether to run tiles on both sides or just the back, or no backsplash at all. Right now it's laminate, with splash on both side and back. Would love to hear your thoughts on it.

    Thanks.

  • User
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow that looks so nice! Great Job!! I'm sure you're guests will feel like they're in a 5 star hotel!

  • cat_mom
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    sweetd313, we have baseboard heat in the bathroom--no kick heater there, but we do have kick heaters in our kitchen. Those are from Turbonics (Kickster +3's or 4's; I can check on that if you need me to).

    We are planning similar vanities for our upstairs baths; just smaller, and in different wood/colors, and will use the same cab guy to make them.

    hudsonleigh, neither of us is particularly fond of the look of a wrap-around splash (though we are well aware of the merits of having one), so we didn't really consider running the tile along the side wall. With luck, we won't regret the decision against doing so! We're also not planning wrap-arounds for the other two bathrooms.

    lukkiirish, maybe they will leave a nice tip on the dresser when they leave? LOL

  • pharaoh
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Very pretty! I love the colors from the travertine to the vanity. That sink is gorgeous. I love large white sinks with a wide deck.
    The accent mosaic is a nice exclamation point to the bathroom.

    Two more to go? Any themes, colors, materials you have in mind?

  • cat_mom
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks pharaoh, oh high priest of stunning bathrooms!

    For both upstairs baths, we ordered white Toto tubs, white Toto Soiree toilets, and the smaller Sonia sinks (as I'd mentioned above). All faucets and hardware will be satin or brushed nickel. For the vanity in our tiny MB, I'm leaning towards cherry with a black stain; either black-black, or black with a hint of dark purple or dark blue undertones, and for the hall bath, I'm considering cherry as well, but with a light reddish-sunset color stain (if such a stain color even exists!).

    Originally I'd wanted the MB to have cool colors for accents; blues, purples, some greens ("sea colors"), but now I'm thinking more white on white tones, maybe some MOP, so we'll see what inspiration hits me when it comes time to choose tile and paint!

    For the hall bath I want sunset/hot colors; fiery pinks, reds, oranges and yellows, just not sure if I want to bring those colors in at all with the tile, or stick with whites there, too, and then bring in my colors with the paint, shower curtain, towels, and accessories. Of course, if I go with the whites in the MB, I could scuttle my hot colors in the main bath and put my sea colors there...!

    Totally up in the air re: flooring material, so colors for those haven't even been on the radar yet. Might go with wood, or stone, or ?????

  • pharaoh
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Please do an accent wall with MoP. I can enjoy it vicariously :) I adore that material. Saw a wall at the Wynn/Encore casino shops done in rough MoP. Did not look good from a distance. The smooth MoP posted on this forum is gorgeous.

  • cat_mom
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    If I can afford to do it, I just might! We saw some beautiful MOP tile when we picked our tile for the downstairs bath.

  • overmyhead08
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm drawn to your bathroom because you've chosen some of the same materials and accessories that I'm using in my guest bath reno: Daltile Modern Dimensions 4 x 12 Arctic White (mine is matte) field tile staggered vertically (but in a pattern) and Motiv Sine accessories. I love your mosaic tile border. From what you write, it sounds like you fabricated the mosaic yourself by cutting the different strips of marble and combining them. I'm in awe.

  • cat_mom
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Our field tile was installed in a pattern as well! Hard to see it in the pics (very subtle in person as well, since we used white grout). The mosaic came pre-made; taped across the front of the tiles--no mesh or other backing. The strips are all random lengths for the most part, and the three different stones were arranged randomly as well.

    When we ordered the mosaics, we were able to specify how many rows of tile we wanted per "sheet." DH and our salesguy figured out how many total linear ft we needed, and then figured out how many rows of tile to specify (6) in order to end up with the border thickness we wanted.

    I like the matte tile, too, and I am considering using it in one of our other baths.

  • charlikin
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Beautiful bathroom! Very clean and elegant. Love that vanity!

    Happy to see I'm not the only crazy person to order a toilet trip lever to match the rest of the fixtures - it was a joke between me and my mother for a while. ;-)

    We got the same towel bars & open toilet paper holder, too. I was kind of skeptical of the open holder, but it works really well. (Mine is on a side wall.)

    Did you use the Aura paint that's intended for bathrooms?

  • cat_mom
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks charlikin! We still can't get over how much nicer it looks now than it did before.

    We used the regular Aura. The one for bathrooms came out a few weeks (a month?) after we had painted the bathroom. Figures, right? We should be ok though since that bathroom won't see daily use anyway (except when we reno the upstairs baths). We'll definitely use the one made specifically for baths when we do the other bathrooms.