Master Bath

This was originally a medium-sized hall bathroom and a small bedroom. The bathroom was the only full one in the house and the bedroom was smallish with no closet. After agonizing over how to fit two bathrooms (a master and a hall bath) and a closet into the space - which was made difficult by the proximity to the stairs and the existence of three windows - we decided to do one extra large bathroom and keep the door to the hall while adding a door to the master. 

The bathroom was gutted - no easy feat since it was COVERED in tile - and the wall between the rooms torn out. The carpet in the bedroom came up, as did the hardwood floor under that. We saved all of the hardwood and have used it to patch where necessary in the rest of the house, an unanticipated bonus. 

This room is over the kitchen, so while the ceiling was ripped out below, we sistered all of the joists, meaning we added another beam to all of the supports underneath the floor. Originally I wanted a claw-foot iron tub, which is why we had them done, even though after the fact a contractor told us that this house was so overbuilt (which is a good thing) that we could put the tub on the roof and there wouldn't be any problems. But still, you could teach an elephant to dance in here and it wouldn't hurt a thing.

This door we are looking through in this picture was originally a wall. 

This is the view from the bedroom. This is what you see when you are lying in bed and the door is open. The door on the left leads to the private WC.

I like that the WC has a window (that opens!). It makes the room feel less claustrophobic. It also has the typical high ceilings of the rest of the house and a transom over the door to allow light.

We put in laminate flooring because it would be impossible to match the hardwood, and we wanted it to be waterproof but aren't big fans of tile on the floor. (It's freezing cold and everything you drop on it breaks!) The floor was laid on an angle. The contractor said it makes it look fancier. ;)

I chose pedestals because my husband is messy. Yes, I like the sculptural element, yes, they are very pretty, but mostly, it's because if he has a flat surface available, he will cover it with something.  These have enough space to keep soap or set down a make-up bag, but not enough to hold clutter.

The mirrors pivot to accommodate any height, and there is a glass shelf beneath them to hold toothbrushes, moisturizer, etc. The basket between holds rolled up towels, which I'll admit I prefer to a closet (though there is a linen closet just outside the door).  I like using practical, usable elements in an artistic way.

The vent pictured is dead now, but I never closed up the hole entirely (it's closed inside the wall). The rerouted vent is just to the right behind the door. Added perk: if you hang towels on the back of the door or on a rack on the wall, the wall vent keeps them warm! 

Walls are Pike's Peak Grey by Benjamin Moore.

Here you can see the master bedroom through the open door and the transom window over the WC door. The wooden thing hanging over the tub is a printer's drawer I found in the attic of an old studio I worked at. 

The window behind the chair is new and not a perfect match, but it was here when we moved in and I couldn't justify replacing a new window just to get the color to match perfectly.

The tub is jetted and makes wicked high bubble baths. The base surround is beadboard, with tile around the tub. It is big enough to fit 2 adults comfortably, or 3 lanky children. The window over the tub overlooks the back yard but it doesn't open. Bummer. I want to put Roman shades on them, but I haven't found a fabric I like and since the house next door is vacant, it's not a huge issue right now.

If you're wondering why we have a chair in the bathroom, I'll tell you. 

Because it's pretty. 

Because it makes me feel frightfully decadent. 

And because it's nice to have somewhere to sit while you're talking to someone doing something in the bathroom while you do nothing. My kids sit here and talk to me while I put my make up on, I sit here and talk to my husband when he gets home late and goes through his flossing, brushing, shaving routine. I sit here and read while my three-year-old takes a bath - they can go for ages but if I left her alone, the house would be covered in bubbles. The match to this chair is in the master bedroom and both were in the study at our old house.

This is the best part. This is a double shower. Heads at either end, tiled ALL THE WAY TO THE CEILING, bench in the corner. This baby was built for tall people. Or for people who just hate bumping their hands into the showerhead when they wash their hair. 

The heads have removable centers so they can be handheld. You can also use the 'rain' portion, which encircles the removable bit, or turn on a combination of both. I like to turn on both sides and revel in the luxury of it all. 

(See comment about decadence above.)

This is the view from the shower. That's the door to the hall and the painting here is from Goodwill - I think it was $8 or somewhere around there. The little set of drawers (it's not really a dresser) has chalkboard on the front of the drawers, so they are labeled for easy organization: Hair, Make-up, Nails, etc. The jewelry box on top was purchased on our honeymoon in the Carpathian Mountains.

This is the wardrobe I had built in. It was supposed to go all the way to the ceiling, but there was a miscommunication with the contractor. And about the shaker cabinet doors that aren't shaker at all...
Don't even get me started on the light above that was supposed to be inside and that I now have no idea what to do with.

The best part is the shoe drawer on the bottom. Two individual drawers behind one giant cover. It holds 20 pairs of shoes!!! The out of season ones are stored. ;)

Scrub a dub dub!

When we moved into the house this was the only bathroom downstairs. It faced an outside door and was right next to the kitchen, technically where my refrigerator is now. The toilet is in what used to be a closet. See the framing? Our best guess was that because the couple who lived here was elderly and could no longer use the stairs, they rigged this for them. At least, I hope that's why they did it...

So it got gutted. Thankfully. But we didn't want guests (or ourselves - I'm a bit lazy) going upstairs to use the loo all the time, so we had to find space for a bathroom on the main level. The obvious (and really only) choice was the living room. We carved out a space in the corner by the stairs and put in a new bathroom.

Because of the shape of the room (a long-ish rectangle), it's hard to get it all in one picture.

I got tile at a discount place in Columbia - I don't know what it's called but I was told to find it by following the water tower, so there you go. 

I'm not sure if the green stripes were wise or not. Feel free to weigh in on that. Since I saved on the tile and tub, I went with a higher grade faucet and shower head - I HATE cheap bathrooms. The tile stretches higher than usual. Partially because I'm a little tall and I hate feeling like a giant in spaces, but mostly because the higher the tile goes, the less likely you are to have water damage to the drywall surrounding your tub.

That shower curtain is actually a big patchwork of pieces, almost like a finished quilt top, that I got at a yard sale 7 years ago for $2!!! It's been a tablecloth, curtain, and now shower curtain. Waste not, want not.

The sink is a table that I bought at a yard sale for $10 8 years ago. It had zebra painted legs and a giraffe spotted top. I painted it white and used it as a night stand for years. I was looking for something different for this bathroom, but I couldn't find a base I wanted, so I painted it green and had the contractor drill holes in this table. The bowl is an individual piece bought at Lowe's - $80, I think. The faucet was pricey at $125, but isn't it pretty? The cost of the entire vanity was only $215, and you can hardly find one cheaper than that, and definitely not a custom one that no one else has. There's a little bit of storage beneath for towels or a basket filled with random bathroom supplies. And the beauty of the green base is that it is solid wood so it can easily be repainted to change the color scheme.

The small shelf behind the faucet holds soap and candles and folded hand towels. It was made to hide the plumbing for the sink.

Both the walls and trim in here are white, Marscapone by Benjamin Moore. It's one of my favorite whites and is used in several places throughout the house. It's clean without being cold, simple but not bland, and somehow warm without actually becoming cream. I recommend it all the time and it hasn't failed me once.

The floors are wood, which is fine for a guest bath or simple powder room, but for a bathroom that gets a lot of wear, I wouldn't recommend it. Or maybe just not if the people using it aren't neat freaks. I always check it after anyone takes a shower to make sure there is not water on the floor. I am seriously considering painting it to give it another coat of water-proofing. The poly on it is pretty thick, but still...

The toilet is in a little nook. It gives it a feeling of more privacy and creates more maneuverability around the tub. The commode is that new two-option low-flow kind, so it saves water and refills faster, etc. The switch on the left is for the fan.

Because this bathroom is next to the living room (I know, not an ideal location but options were limited), the walls are insulated. You can't even hear the shower running when the door is closed.

And of course what bathroom is complete without a little Audrey?