48-Square-Foot Bathroom Converted Into a Calming Oasis
An empty nester’s formerly cave-like space becomes an airy retreat with sage green tile, a new vanity and a soaking tub
This Toronto-area bathroom remodel was the answer to a mother’s dreams. After sharing the only full bathroom in the house with her three sons for years, she was ready to make it her own once her youngest flew the nest. “My client told me that she wanted this bathroom to be her own little slice of heaven,” interior designer Lisa Thomas says. “She said she wanted it to be pretty, cozy and have beautiful finishes. Also, she was not afraid of color.”
The room measures just 48 square feet and had ceilings that were less than 8 feet tall, so giving it a more spacious feel was a challenge. However, a new nature-inspired palette, vertical tiles and warm accents transformed the room into a relaxing oasis.
The room measures just 48 square feet and had ceilings that were less than 8 feet tall, so giving it a more spacious feel was a challenge. However, a new nature-inspired palette, vertical tiles and warm accents transformed the room into a relaxing oasis.
Before Photo
After: Thomas describes the homeowner’s personal style as transitional-contemporary. Brushed gold fixtures and the Shaker-style vanity bring in the more traditional part of the mix, while the clean lines of the tile composition, tub and toilet tank lean contemporary.
As for the layout, the footprint of the room stayed the same, with the plumbing for the tub, shower and sink remaining in place. The challenge was to make the room feel lighter, airier, taller and more luxe.
Because the ceiling was less than 8 feet high, Thomas oriented the 3-by-12-inch tiles vertically. This, emphasized by the light grout lines, draws the eye up, while the gridded pattern adds a fresh, modern touch.
Figuring out where the tile would begin and end was important. Rather than trying to make the bump-out disappear, Thomas embraced it, wrapping the tiles around it from floor to ceiling. “By carrying the tile all the way around the bump-out, we highlighted it,” she says. The tile has a handmade look, and its lovely tone variation gives it a watery appearance that creates a sense of calm in the space.
10 Ways To Control the Cost of Your Bathroom Remodel
As for the layout, the footprint of the room stayed the same, with the plumbing for the tub, shower and sink remaining in place. The challenge was to make the room feel lighter, airier, taller and more luxe.
Because the ceiling was less than 8 feet high, Thomas oriented the 3-by-12-inch tiles vertically. This, emphasized by the light grout lines, draws the eye up, while the gridded pattern adds a fresh, modern touch.
Figuring out where the tile would begin and end was important. Rather than trying to make the bump-out disappear, Thomas embraced it, wrapping the tiles around it from floor to ceiling. “By carrying the tile all the way around the bump-out, we highlighted it,” she says. The tile has a handmade look, and its lovely tone variation gives it a watery appearance that creates a sense of calm in the space.
10 Ways To Control the Cost of Your Bathroom Remodel
Instead of extending the countertop’s quartz for the backsplash, Thomas continued the sage green tile as wainscoting across the vanity wall. “My client wanted to use color in a way that would make her feel like she was walking into a jewel box as soon as she opened the door,” Thomas says. The designer determined the height of the wainscoting by finding the right height for the backsplash.
Choosing a vanity with drawers helped with the storage issues, and additional storage space comes in through the recessed medicine cabinet. The vanity’s oak-look veneer adds warmth to the room, and so do the brushed gold plumbing and lighting fixtures. “We also mixed in black accents because we didn’t want the room to be too matchy-matchy,” Thomas says.
Choosing a vanity with drawers helped with the storage issues, and additional storage space comes in through the recessed medicine cabinet. The vanity’s oak-look veneer adds warmth to the room, and so do the brushed gold plumbing and lighting fixtures. “We also mixed in black accents because we didn’t want the room to be too matchy-matchy,” Thomas says.
“I always want a proper backsplash that extends at least 6 inches above the countertop,” Thomas says. This backsplash extends 8 inches above the quartz countertop, which is double the standard 4-inch height. Because it’s taller than the faucet, the backsplash provides a full green backdrop for the brushed gold fixture. At the same time, this backsplash height leaves a visually pleasing amount of space between it and the bottom of the mirror.
Thomas designated full-size tiles along the top of the wainscoting and located the tiles that needed to be cut in a much less noticeable place along the floor. “The contractor, the tile installer and I swooned over the fact that a grout line lined up exactly with the top of the toilet,” she says. “All three of us are complete geeks when it comes to tile.”
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Thomas designated full-size tiles along the top of the wainscoting and located the tiles that needed to be cut in a much less noticeable place along the floor. “The contractor, the tile installer and I swooned over the fact that a grout line lined up exactly with the top of the toilet,” she says. “All three of us are complete geeks when it comes to tile.”
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Another important tile move that inspires geeking out can be seen here on the shower niche. Rather than using tile edging strips or outlining the niche in quartz, Thomas had the tile installer use mitered edges. The tiles inside the niche line up so perfectly within the composition that the niche blends into the wall. “A lot of installers don’t want to do this, because it takes a lot of work to line up the grout lines perfectly,” she says. “But tile edging strips can ruin a beautiful wall, while this one has a niche that almost disappears.”
The designer notes that mitered tile edges will increase the labor cost but are worth it for a result like this. She added a quartz shelf along the bottom of the niche because it’s easier to keep clean than tile with grout lines would be and, aesthetically, it ties into other elements in the room.
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The designer notes that mitered tile edges will increase the labor cost but are worth it for a result like this. She added a quartz shelf along the bottom of the niche because it’s easier to keep clean than tile with grout lines would be and, aesthetically, it ties into other elements in the room.
Check out our guide to get started on your home project
Before Photo
Before: When completing a down-to-the-studs remodel of a bathroom with a tub-shower combo like this one, many homeowners opt to remove the tub and replace it with a generous shower stall. However, even though the homeowner hadn’t favored baths in the past, she wanted the remodeled bathroom to change that.
“She hadn’t been a bath person because she shared the bathroom with the boys and it’s not like they cleaned the tub after they showered,” Thomas says. “She told me that one of her goals was to be able to enjoy soaking in the tub with a glass of wine and some candles in a room that was her own oasis.”
“She hadn’t been a bath person because she shared the bathroom with the boys and it’s not like they cleaned the tub after they showered,” Thomas says. “She told me that one of her goals was to be able to enjoy soaking in the tub with a glass of wine and some candles in a room that was her own oasis.”
After: The new streamlined soaker tub surrounded by the calming color of sage invites long soaks.
“My client said that you can never go wrong when you go with colors of nature because they will never go out of style, and she was absolutely right,” Thomas says. Additional color comes into the room through an extra-long shower curtain. Extending the curtain from floor to ceiling also makes the room feel taller.
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“My client said that you can never go wrong when you go with colors of nature because they will never go out of style, and she was absolutely right,” Thomas says. Additional color comes into the room through an extra-long shower curtain. Extending the curtain from floor to ceiling also makes the room feel taller.
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Finally, the floor also brings in a natural touch and some warmth. It consists of 24-by-24-inch porcelain tile with a concrete look. “It has a light beige undertone with little tiny flecks of warm gray and light beige in it,” Thomas says. “It pairs really well with the wall tile.” Besides the warm look, radiant floor heating brings in literal warmth, which makes the room even more of an oasis, particularly during Toronto’s long winters.
This mother is thrilled to have her own relaxing sanctuary. However, she’s also very happy to share the new bathroom with her sons when they’re home from school during breaks.
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This mother is thrilled to have her own relaxing sanctuary. However, she’s also very happy to share the new bathroom with her sons when they’re home from school during breaks.
More on Houzz
Read more bathroom stories
Browse bathroom photos for ideas
Find design and remodeling pros
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: An empty-nest mother of three
Location: Toronto
Size: 48 square feet (4.5 square meters); 6 by 8 feet
Designer: Lisa Thomas of ALC Interiors
Contractor: Generation Construction & Fine Homes
Before: The windowless room was lit by a single light above the vanity. Besides being dark, it was also dated and didn’t function well for the homeowner. “The first goal was to make it not feel like a cave,” Thomas says.
Other issues included the lack of storage, which resulted in a shelf and a toilet tank top full of products. Additionally, the bump-out to the left of the toilet looked awkward, so Thomas wanted to find a way to transform it into an attractive feature.
To get started, the designer recommended contractor Greg Janczak of Generation Construction & Fine Homes, with whom she’d collaborated successfully many times. Though the homeowner got bids from other contractors, she ultimately went with Janczak due to the careful attention to detail she noticed in his bid and the deep trust she saw Thomas had in him.
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