LD CAPE HOME REVEAL! Our Master Bathroom Design Details! Part 1
It’s been a hot minute since I’ve blogged! It’s been pretty hectic over here for the last few weeks, and I really had to take a step back and prioritize because there is only so much that can be done in a day!
It was my birthday just a couple of weeks ago, and we had a small group of friends and family over. We wanted to do some updates to our home and just wanted to make sure that it looked it’s best!
So, the house was deep cleaned (okay, I didn’t do that, I hired a cleaner), BUT, we did a TON of landscaping work, new painting projects, restyling décor, and so much more. So, I just couldn’t get into the creative mood to write. And that is why this blog post has been so delayed!
Let’s not forget the most exciting part of our LD Cape Home updates…the master bathroom! We actually started the design process last year. The bathroom, well, it needed help. Like, a whole lot of help. I hated showering in the shower that I would shower at our gym shower after my workouts as much as I could. (One because I hate being sweaty and driving in my car all sweaty, but also because of our shower).
Now, I’m being a little dramatic, but the bathroom was pretty bad. It just wasn’t taken care of from previous owners. No matter how much I cleaned that bathroom, it somehow never seemed fully clean to me, which is very bothersome. The biggest thing about the bathroom is that the roof leaks. Full disclosure, we still haven’t figured out the cause. So, if you can help us out and know how and why our roof is leaking through a knot in the wood, that would be very, very appreciated! Haha
So, let me get back to the design, because that’s what we all care about. Our existing bathroom was a weird shade of a powder blue, some stained faux marble floor tile, a messed up painted vanity, and a shower insert that had seen better days. The lights were outdated, and the ceiling fan/light was just bad. And, somehow, Mike and I manged to not get existing photos (besides the video I took when we bought the house!)
Originally, we had decided that we were going to keep the original layout for plumbing and cost purposes. The bathroom is so small, that there weren’t too many other options anyways. The only thing we were going to change for the layout was doing a full glass shower door instead of a curtain.
But, once Mike started gutting the bathroom, we quickly realized that we were going to have to replace the plumbing. It was done, and was basically at it’s end. So, we took that as an opportunity to do an ideal layout. So, we actually switched the toilet and shower locations. So, the toilet is across from the vanity, and the shower takes up the entire back wall with the window. This actually gave the shower an extra 14” in length and really opened up the room to allow for a shelfing on the vanity side, too.
The goal for the bathroom was the same as the rest of our LD Cape Home. Since we live in an 1870’s home, we want to keep the classic integrity of the home. We want to update it, but we don’t want to make it too modern. How do we do this you ask? I like mixing in some modern elements with tile and fixtures, while juxtaposing them with vintage elements like dressers/artwork/décor.
We also are very cognizant about each time we do a renovation or updates, to do it in the most sustainable and energy savings way. For instance, we put in radiant floor heating for the bathroom, used natural materials for the finishes, went with water saving fixtures, and are using non-toxic paint from Clare.
Here are some inspiration images that I really love!
VIA AMBER INTERIORS
VIA HERE AWAY TRAVEL
Clare has been a go-to of mine for paint for the last year and a half. I have worked with them in the past, and they are great! One, the customer service is amazing. But, they also have such a nice selection of paints. It’s really your go-to paint colors, so you don’t need to be searching though hundreds. We’ve used Whipped on our first floor, and that’s the same color that we are going with this time, too. It has a nice hint of warmth so the space won’t feel too stark.
The original wall tile we got from Cle Tile just didn’t work out. I won’t get into it, but the tile we ordered was definitely not what was pictured online. The tile was supposed to be terracotta, but it ended up being purple. (Purple is my least favorite color!) So, we ended up going with the marble tile from Riad Tile. I’m actually really excited about the switch. In our original plan, we were going to have a full glass shower, but we actually ended up drywalling half of it, and adding in an arch for the door. This made the room darker, so the lighter wall tile will help keep the space brighter.
For the floors, I wanted a slate/concrete look. So, we got our tile from Cle Tile and it’s a very basic charcoal 8x8 cement tile. I think both tiles are modern, yet have a traditional element to them, which is exactly what I wanted! So, it all ended up working out. The shower is playing off the fact that we live at the beach. We went with a pebble tile from Tile Bar.
We were lucky with the vanity. My parents were going to use this old dresser that my dad converted into a vanity for their bathroom renovation. But, they ended up going in a different direction. So, we took it, and are going to use it for our space now! As much as I love marble, I didn’t want to have the maintenance on it. I decided on a custom concrete sink (that Mike is going to make). This will give a more handmade, vintage feel to the space.
As I mentioned earlier, the shower door is just a basic glass door. I wanted to add some architectural elements to the space. We also were able to raise the ceiling from 7’ to 8’. So, we used that extra space to add an arch in! I think this gives the space so much life and is nice to see that right when you walk in.
For the lights, I haven’t found any that I’m in love with. So, this is actually something that I’m going to make! I wanted a ceramic sconce, but I want to have larger bulbs so that they illuminate enough. I was inspired by these from 1stDibs, but I think I will rotate them 90 degrees, so the ceramic is on the top, not on the wall side.
I’m a sucker for some contrast with brass, so all our fixtures will be brass. We opted for Delta fixtures for the faucet and shower head. With the shower head, we wanted one that was water saving. The same thing goes for the toilet. We went with a Kohler dual flushing water saving toilet.
Mike has all the rough hard labor and ground work done for the space, and now he is going to be putting up the drywall soon! I’m so excited to see how this all comes together!
Stay tuned for part two of this series! I’ll go into more detail and even share my sketch-up model and the exact selections of the space!
xx
-Han