Bathroom of the Week: Warm Luxury With Transitional Style
A designer mixes warm walnut, marble mosaic tile and champagne bronze to create a luxe feel
“My clients were at a point in their life where they wanted to treat themselves to something wonderful,” interior designer Julie LaBruna says. Retired with grown children who had moved out, they’d considered renovating their primary bathroom for years. But it was a bad leak and a worse repair job that finally pushed them into a redo.
“A handyman had hacked up their shower rather than fixing the plumbing through the adjacent closet’s wall. They originally were going to have him redo the bathroom. But once they went to the tile store to pick something out, they were overwhelmed and realized they needed professional help,” LaBruna says. They called her, and the result is a bathroom that feels luxurious and warm.
“A handyman had hacked up their shower rather than fixing the plumbing through the adjacent closet’s wall. They originally were going to have him redo the bathroom. But once they went to the tile store to pick something out, they were overwhelmed and realized they needed professional help,” LaBruna says. They called her, and the result is a bathroom that feels luxurious and warm.
After: “At first one of my clients thought she wanted white vanities. But I suggested they bring in walnut and layer in champagne bronze fixtures for a warm, elegant look,” LaBruna says. “They also really liked the look of freestanding bathtubs, even though they admitted they only use a bathtub a few times a year.”
LaBruna kept the sinks, tub, shower and toilet in approximately the same places so the plumbing lines wouldn’t have to be relocated. This saved on the budget so they could splurge on things like beautiful marble mosaic tile that extends all the way up two 12-foot-high walls.
The flooring is 24-by-48-inch porcelain tile that looks like marble. LaBruna repeated this tile on the shower walls.
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LaBruna kept the sinks, tub, shower and toilet in approximately the same places so the plumbing lines wouldn’t have to be relocated. This saved on the budget so they could splurge on things like beautiful marble mosaic tile that extends all the way up two 12-foot-high walls.
The flooring is 24-by-48-inch porcelain tile that looks like marble. LaBruna repeated this tile on the shower walls.
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LaBruna acted as the project manager, calling in her favorite subcontractors to complete the work while keeping it on schedule and on budget. She used Houzz Pro software to craft her proposal, log her time, invoice her clients and track materials and approvals. “I also like to get my hands dirty on a project,” she says. “I ran out to get things as they needed them, such as the rough-in for the toilet.”
Wall color: Alabaster, Sherwin-Williams
Wall color: Alabaster, Sherwin-Williams
The bathtub has a beautiful shape. So does the tub filler. “I had the tub filler mounted on a pedestal to give it an even more significant presence,” LaBruna says. All the plumbing fixtures have a champagne bronze finish.
“My clients wanted this project done quickly. They didn’t want to wait for custom vanities,” the designer says. So she proposed 60-inch readymade vanities from James Martin Vanities’ Bristol collection. The vanities are walnut with a whitewashed finish and marble countertops.
Browse vanities in the Houzz Shop
Browse vanities in the Houzz Shop
The vanities come with matching wood backsplashes. These have a special water-resistant finish. However, LaBruna says she warns her clients to wipe them off if they splash water on them.
The mirrors have antiqued gold leaf and acrylic frames. “This gold finish works really well with the champagne gold faucets,” LaBruna says.
Mirror: Balkan, Uttermost
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The mirrors have antiqued gold leaf and acrylic frames. “This gold finish works really well with the champagne gold faucets,” LaBruna says.
Mirror: Balkan, Uttermost
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The light fixtures are also a beautiful complement to the metal finishes, as well as the marble mosaic tile on the walls. The glass is piastra, which is handmade. It has a white textured finish.
Light fixtures: Hines wall sconce, Hudson Valley Lighting
Light fixtures: Hines wall sconce, Hudson Valley Lighting
One must-have on the clients’ list was a ceiling fan. “She likes to get ready to go out in the late afternoon when this room gets hot and really wanted one,” LaBruna says. This was a bit of a design challenge. For one thing, the designer had envisioned a beautiful chandelier, which would have helped balance the scale of the high ceiling. Second, having a ceiling fan in a bathroom is an aesthetic anomaly.
The solution was this “fandelier.” It’s an attractive light fixture that camouflages a powerful fan.
The solution was this “fandelier.” It’s an attractive light fixture that camouflages a powerful fan.
Before: This photo shows the existing makeup table off the vanity, which made it longer than the new vanities are. The shower had drywall around it with a narrow opening. You can also see the damage to the wall from the leak repair. A toilet room is on the left.
After: With the makeup table gone, LaBruna was able to use a shorter vanity and expand the shower area into that space. She demolished the drywall enclosure and replaced it with a glass one that has a slim pony wall on the right. The existing shower was step-down; the new one is zero-threshold.
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
The pony wall gave LaBruna a spot for the shower control. Placing it here allows the homeowners to turn it on to heat up the water without getting wet.
“The tile installers paid very careful attention to detail and took the time to do things right,” LaBruna says. “They composed the wall tiles in a way that made the pattern look as continuous as possible, and they cut mitered edges so that we didn’t have to use Schluter strips.”
“The tile installers paid very careful attention to detail and took the time to do things right,” LaBruna says. “They composed the wall tiles in a way that made the pattern look as continuous as possible, and they cut mitered edges so that we didn’t have to use Schluter strips.”
“Before, my clients had a bench in their shower. All they really used it for was to store shampoo bottles and for her to prop her leg up when she was shaving,” LaBruna says. “I suggested we not let a bench take up space and that we install a statement wall-to-wall niche instead.” The niche has dimmable LED lights that illuminate it from above.
In addition, she added a shaving niche beneath it, sized just right for a foot. “I am finding that lots of my clients are requesting these now that they know about them,” LaBruna says.
The floor of the shower is a mixed-marble pebble tile. The curbless shower’s floor slopes toward a linear tiled-in drain.
In addition, she added a shaving niche beneath it, sized just right for a foot. “I am finding that lots of my clients are requesting these now that they know about them,” LaBruna says.
The floor of the shower is a mixed-marble pebble tile. The curbless shower’s floor slopes toward a linear tiled-in drain.
The toilet room has a new Toto toilet with a bidet seat. LaBruna used a wallpaper that picks up on shades seen in the bathroom wall’s tile. “This is a really beautiful wallpaper from York. It’s vinyl gold textured paper,” she says. The artwork is a pair of two shadowboxes with little pearlescent shells arranged inside.
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Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: West Palm Beach, Florida
Size: 175 square feet (16 square meters)
Designer: Julie LaBruna of Sunny Interior Design
Before: The former bathroom hadn’t been updated in some time. The shower, located outside this photo’s frame to the left, had been ripped apart to fix a leak. The corner tub’s surround was clunky. The homeowners found they never used the makeup area on the left side of her vanity (seen here in the mirror’s reflection), so that was wasted space.
“My clients were very open-minded about the design,” LaBruna says. “They wanted it to feel luxurious and warm and not lean too modern.” She came up with a plan that felt cohesive with the transitional style of their home.
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