Bathroom of the Week: Light and Spa-Like Primary Bath
A designer helps a couple find a calm balance between their modern and traditional tastes
These parents of three boys bought a house they liked in a Charlotte, North Carolina, location they loved, but the ornate traditional interior finishes were a bit much for them. They hired interior designer Jena Bula to help them with the design for a major renovation.
The family wanted to be able to stay in their home during construction, so they planned the renovation in three phases. Phase one was the primary bathroom and the basement’s living space and kitchen. This was a smart move as it gave them a working kitchen and living area to use during phase two, which was renovating the main level’s kitchen and living room. They were also smart to carve out a restful sanctuary away from all the impending construction chaos — their spa-like primary bathroom. Come take a look at their calm retreat.
The family wanted to be able to stay in their home during construction, so they planned the renovation in three phases. Phase one was the primary bathroom and the basement’s living space and kitchen. This was a smart move as it gave them a working kitchen and living area to use during phase two, which was renovating the main level’s kitchen and living room. They were also smart to carve out a restful sanctuary away from all the impending construction chaos — their spa-like primary bathroom. Come take a look at their calm retreat.
After: The bathroom is quite spacious at 240 square feet. “We were not trying to reinvent the existing layout — it made sense,” Bula says.
The room had a few sets of narrow double doors, leading to the bedroom, a closet and a toilet room. “It worked out really well that these existing doors were skinny, because they didn’t hit things. For example, if there had been one full-sized door here, it would have hit the storage tower on the right when it swung open,” Bula says.
The soft gray-green color on the cabinets was the jumping-off point for the design. “The wife loved green, and they both wanted this bathroom to feel light, spa-like and very relaxing,” the designer says. “They also knew they wanted a natural stone look but that the maintenance involved in keeping it up would not be for them.” So Bula recommended a durable, easy-to-clean porcelain with a marble-like veining pattern. “This tile has lots of movement and there will be no watermarks or staining,” she says.
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The room had a few sets of narrow double doors, leading to the bedroom, a closet and a toilet room. “It worked out really well that these existing doors were skinny, because they didn’t hit things. For example, if there had been one full-sized door here, it would have hit the storage tower on the right when it swung open,” Bula says.
The soft gray-green color on the cabinets was the jumping-off point for the design. “The wife loved green, and they both wanted this bathroom to feel light, spa-like and very relaxing,” the designer says. “They also knew they wanted a natural stone look but that the maintenance involved in keeping it up would not be for them.” So Bula recommended a durable, easy-to-clean porcelain with a marble-like veining pattern. “This tile has lots of movement and there will be no watermarks or staining,” she says.
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Before: The bathtub surround took up a lot of space. And the way the tub and shower surrounds met made the spacious room feel cluttered.
After: Bula straightened out the shower enclosure and swapped the drop-in tub for a freestanding model. This made the room feel lighter and airier. She also continued the shower surround tile onto the walls as wainscoting, which created a seamless and cohesive look. “It also brings the eye up,” she says. She capped the wainscoting in a matching bullnose tile.
Browse white freestanding bathtubs in the Houzz Shop
Browse white freestanding bathtubs in the Houzz Shop
The new bathtub marries traditional and modern styles. It has a simple modern shape, but the little extra details around the top and bottom are traditional touches. The freestanding tub filler has a minimalist silhouette, but its polished nickel finish is classic. A handheld wand eases tub cleaning.
For the window, Bula chose a linen Roman shade that adds a soft touch. It also makes the window seem taller. “I used an outside mount and hung the shade about 14 inches above the top of the window,” Bula says. “The outside mount means you cannot see where the window ends from the sides. This made the window and the room look higher.”
The toilet room wasn’t photographed, but it’s located just out of this photo’s frame on the left.
For the window, Bula chose a linen Roman shade that adds a soft touch. It also makes the window seem taller. “I used an outside mount and hung the shade about 14 inches above the top of the window,” Bula says. “The outside mount means you cannot see where the window ends from the sides. This made the window and the room look higher.”
The toilet room wasn’t photographed, but it’s located just out of this photo’s frame on the left.
Before: The angled side of the shower enclosure reduced the stall space. And in spite of the room’s large size, the way the shower and tub surrounds met resulted in a crowded and cramped look.
After: The new shower measures 3 feet, 10 inches by 6 feet, and the shower door swings both in and out. Bula placed the temperature controls within easy reach of the door so the homeowners don’t have to step inside and get wet before the water heats up.
The designer recommends mounting a shower head 7 feet off the tiled floor. “A lot of times shower heads are too low for tall people. Mounting it at this height means almost everyone, except maybe [basketball player] Yao Ming, can shower comfortably under it,” she says. She also recommends placing a handheld shower on a slider like she did here. “This way you can position it as a second shower head if you want,” Bula says. “It’s also great to have a sprayer for rinsing soap and shampoo off the shower floor. And I even use mine to wash my dog.”
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The designer recommends mounting a shower head 7 feet off the tiled floor. “A lot of times shower heads are too low for tall people. Mounting it at this height means almost everyone, except maybe [basketball player] Yao Ming, can shower comfortably under it,” she says. She also recommends placing a handheld shower on a slider like she did here. “This way you can position it as a second shower head if you want,” Bula says. “It’s also great to have a sprayer for rinsing soap and shampoo off the shower floor. And I even use mine to wash my dog.”
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Backed in matching tiles, the niches add to the surround’s seamless, uninterrupted look. The lower niche is a shelf for propping a foot when shaving or washing a leg. This is a convenient and ergonomic addition that’s easy to add to a shower design.
“I advise my clients to do one large niche for products rather than smaller multiple niches,” Bula says. “They wind up collecting so many different bottles that everything looks neater in one place.”
“I advise my clients to do one large niche for products rather than smaller multiple niches,” Bula says. “They wind up collecting so many different bottles that everything looks neater in one place.”
The shower floor consists of small hexagonal tiles in the same marble look as the shower wall tile. The bathroom floor tile is also porcelain, but with a wood look. This is a fresh take on traditional hardwoods and another low-maintenance material.
With the existing floor joists and flooring selections, a curbed shower stall was the best option for these clients. “A curbless shower can be great, but it can add a lot onto the budget because of the slope it requires,” Bula says. She notes several other benefits of a curbed shower stall:
With the existing floor joists and flooring selections, a curbed shower stall was the best option for these clients. “A curbless shower can be great, but it can add a lot onto the budget because of the slope it requires,” Bula says. She notes several other benefits of a curbed shower stall:
- It creates an easy transition between different tiles on the shower floor and main floor.
- It provides a good water barrier.
- It allows the shower door to open without getting stuck on a bath mat.
- A curb is a good place to mount the shower enclosure glass.
- A curb has an easier installation process, especially in a remodel, than a curbless shower does, which also means it’s less expensive. (Curbless showers are easier to plan for and install during new construction.)
The couple have their own vanity and storage towers in the new layout. The bottom of each tower has a double laundry pullout, and the upper portion includes an outlet for electric toothbrushes. Note the crown at the top of the towers and the paneling along the sides of the towers and vanities. These extra details add to the custom look of the vanities and to the traditional touches.
Meanwhile, the minimalist style of the light fixtures, cabinet hardware and mirror frames are more modern touches in the transitional mix. The designer mixed matte black into the design through the hardware and the mirror frames; mixing metals also contributed to the room’s transitional style.
The mirrors, at 34 by 34 inches, are oversize. (Standard size is 24 by 36.) “They had become used to the existing mirrors that covered the walls,” Bula says. “Giving them a larger-size mirror made things more special.” She says a significant number of her clients have been requesting larger bathroom mirrors lately.
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Meanwhile, the minimalist style of the light fixtures, cabinet hardware and mirror frames are more modern touches in the transitional mix. The designer mixed matte black into the design through the hardware and the mirror frames; mixing metals also contributed to the room’s transitional style.
The mirrors, at 34 by 34 inches, are oversize. (Standard size is 24 by 36.) “They had become used to the existing mirrors that covered the walls,” Bula says. “Giving them a larger-size mirror made things more special.” She says a significant number of her clients have been requesting larger bathroom mirrors lately.
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“We talked at length about what kind of storage they wanted and created vanities with two drawer banks for each of them,” Bula says. Also, look at the top drawers in the vanities — they have slab fronts rather than Shaker detailing. “I find that when the top drawer is smaller than the drawers below it, adding those 2¼-inch rails looks awkward because the space in the middle is too narrow,” Bula says. This alternative look also suits the transitional style of the room.
Bula chooses LED bulb Kelvin (K) temperature on a room-by-room basis. The lower a Kelvin number is, the more yellow the light is. For reference, 2,700K is often recommended for typical warm home lighting. “For a bathroom that gets great natural light like this one, I like to lighten the color temperature of the bulbs,” she says. “Here I recommended 4,000K. It’s less yellow and better for putting on makeup. Of course, I put all the lights on dimmers so that they can adjust them for different tasks and times of day.”
Bula chooses LED bulb Kelvin (K) temperature on a room-by-room basis. The lower a Kelvin number is, the more yellow the light is. For reference, 2,700K is often recommended for typical warm home lighting. “For a bathroom that gets great natural light like this one, I like to lighten the color temperature of the bulbs,” she says. “Here I recommended 4,000K. It’s less yellow and better for putting on makeup. Of course, I put all the lights on dimmers so that they can adjust them for different tasks and times of day.”
The countertops are a low-maintenance quartz with subtle marble-like veining. The faucets, like all the other plumbing fixtures in the room, are polished nickel. “The sleek gooseneck faucets and lever handles are so pretty,” Bula says. These fixtures and the mirror frames add soft curves to the space.
Bula used Houzz Pro to keep the project organized, communicate clearly with her clients and invoice. “We used the Room Boards to organize all of the items that we sourced, then we ‘approve’ our selections to keep track,” she says.
“Now this room is lighter, brighter and more refined,” the designer says. Though their tastes leaned in different directions, both homeowners are thrilled with how their bathroom turned out. And it provided the perfect relaxing sanctuary as their other construction projects progressed.
Faucets: Rohl
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Bula used Houzz Pro to keep the project organized, communicate clearly with her clients and invoice. “We used the Room Boards to organize all of the items that we sourced, then we ‘approve’ our selections to keep track,” she says.
“Now this room is lighter, brighter and more refined,” the designer says. Though their tastes leaned in different directions, both homeowners are thrilled with how their bathroom turned out. And it provided the perfect relaxing sanctuary as their other construction projects progressed.
Faucets: Rohl
More on Houzz
Read more bathroom stories
Browse bathroom photos
Find a bathroom designer
Shop for your bathroom
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their three boys
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Size: 240 square feet (22 square meters)
Designer: Jena Bula of Delphinium Design
Contractor: Watershed Builders
Before: The bathroom had a lot of ornate details that didn’t suit the homeowners’ taste. To find out what would, Bula asked them to put together a Houzz ideabook for the room. “I always have my clients start with inspiration images and I give them a list of things to look for. For the bathroom it was vanities, lighting, floor tile, shower tile, mirrors, bathtubs and plumbing fixtures. Then I have them give me three to five images that resonate with them and bring them joy for each item,” she says.
Bula also knows that couples can have differing tastes. “I have them work on it together,” she says. “If all the images seem similar, then I get a great sense of their personal style as a couple. If they are different, then I know we are going to have to find some compromises.” In this case, the wife’s selections leaned more traditional and the husband’s were more modern. But both were open to a transitional traditional-modern mix.
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