Bathroom
1. Curbless With Hexagonal Tile Designer: Jane Henderson Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan Size: 40 square feet (3.7 square meters); 5 by 8 feet Homeowners’ request. Incorporate space from a large hall closet to create a full bathroom for a college-age son. The clients found designer Jane Henderson by searching for a pro on Houzz. Shower entrance. No curb. Black hexagonal floor tile runs continuously through the space. Other special features. Gray and white wall tile in the shower creates a striped effect. Charcoal-colored grout adds contrast. Matte black plumbing fixtures complement the floor tile. Designer tip. “We specified a sleek glass panel door that swings in as a space saver,” Henderson says. “To make the space look larger, we specified a wall-mount vanity. Creating an open space below the bathroom cabinets allows for light to move throughout the bathroom. We associate that light with more room in the space we are in.” Wall paint: Simply White, Benjamin Moore
“Uh-oh” moment. “Originally we had an operable window, but since the gas meter needed to be placed within 3 feet of the window, we created a frosted fixed-glass window for light and privacy,” Wylie says. “There was also a lot of coordination done when installing the tile so that there was the illusion of perfection. We worked with the tile installer to tweak the sizes of a few of the tile cuts in order for grout joints to line up with windows and other elements.” Designer tip. “A bathroom does not have to be huge to feel airy and spa-like,” Wylie says. “Using some simple tricks with space planning, natural light and mirrors, a bathroom can feel great. Also, editing the palette to minimize the amount of materials, colors and textures creates a more timeless, effortless look. You can always add color and trendy elements in things that are not as permanent as tile and countertops.”
Wheelchair-Accessible and Well-Edited Designer: Maggie Wylie of Point B Design Group (architect) Location: Austin, Texas Size: 128 square feet (12 square meters); 8 by 16 feet Homeowners’ request. “The shower needed to be [accessible per the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA] without looking ADA,” architect Maggie Wylie says. “We also needed to account for a caretaker to be able to aid in bathing and wanted to maintain elegance but also make it pragmatic.” Walk-in-shower. “This is a roll-in shower with sliding glass doors rather than a swinging door, so it is easily accessible,” Wylie says. “We included a bench, which is tucked behind the solid wall where all the plumbing components live, to make the space visually as clean as possible.” Black penny tile covers the shower floor, bench and shower head wall, creating a nonslip surface. Wylie cut down 12-by-24-inch gray ceramic tile to 6 by 24 inches for a “cooler proportion,” she says, on the bathroom walls and floor and part of the shower.
The 2019 U.S. Houzz Bathroom Trends Study includes responses from more than 1,300 registered users of Houzz who had completed a master bathroom remodel in the past 12 months, were working on one or were planning to start one in the next three months. Size Matters — for the Shower When it comes to remodeling the master bathroom, homeowners aren’t necessarily looking to create a larger room. In fact, homeowners renovating their master bathrooms are twice as likely to increase the size of their shower (54%) or change their bathroom’s layout (45%) than they are to augment the size of their bathroom (22%). A large majority (78%) of homeowners renovating their master bathrooms keep the bathroom’s size about the same.
Shower Ledges Instead of Niches Everyone needs a place in a shower for soap and shampoo bottles, and a niche does an adequate job. But niches are somewhat difficult to handle from a design and construction perspective, because they have to be recessed between wall studs. This requires extra planning and preparation. Meanwhile, you have to consider what you will use to tile the interior of the niche and how you will finish off its edges. That’s a lot of work for a small area that sometimes isn’t even big enough to hold large bottles of shampoo and conditioner. A shower ledge is much more straightforward and requires a build-out of only a few inches into the shower space. Run it along the length of your shower stall, as designer Katy Popple did here, and you’ve got tons of space for shower essentials. Cap it with a piece of your bathroom vanity countertop material and call it a day.
Shower Ledges Instead of Niches Everyone needs a place in a shower for soap and shampoo bottles, and a niche does an adequate job. But niches are somewhat difficult to handle from a design and construction perspective, because they have to be recessed between wall studs. This requires extra planning and preparation. Meanwhile, you have to consider what you will use to tile the interior of the niche and how you will finish off its edges. That’s a lot of work for a small area that sometimes isn’t even big enough to hold large bottles of shampoo and conditioner. A shower ledge is much more straightforward and requires a build-out of only a few inches into the shower space. Run it along the length of your shower stall, as designer Katy Popple did here, and you’ve got tons of space for shower essentials. Cap it with a piece of your bathroom vanity countertop material and call it a day.
This master bathroom in a waterfront condo was remodeled to allow the homeowners to age in place. Six Walls Interior Design and Potter Construction removed the soaking tub and created a new layout with enough clearance for a wheelchair. The shower entry (not pictured) is curbless, and the flooring is slip-resistant tile. The fold-down bench seat is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the space has sufficient room for a caregiver to assist. The natural stone shower walls have plywood blocking behind them so that grab bars can be installed in the future.
A custom shower niche with three shelves made out of white quartz provides convenient access to bathing products. The stainless steel hand rail below the niche is a feature that Stephens likes to add to all her projects. “Even if the homeowners are young, it’s a smart idea to add universal design for other family members, aging in place and resale value,” the designer says.
Relocating the linen closet to the adjacent hallway left just enough room for a corner walk-in shower. “I wanted to make the shower as large as possible,” Stephens says. “The shower door just clears the tub.” Stephens used the same blue penny tiles to cover the shower floor, walls and ceiling. “I always like to tile the ceiling above a shower. It holds up to moisture much better than a painted ceiling, which tends to peel over time,” she says.
A hidden drain system lies along the back wall of the shower. Large-format porcelain tile (2 by 4 feet) on the shower walls and on the wall opposite the vanity means fewer grout lines, creating an easy-to-clean surface, Fee says. She also used epoxy grout that’s generally used in commercial applications. The epoxy “plasticizes as it dries so it becomes an impermeable surface,” Fee says. “My goal for this bathroom was to make it the lowest maintenance while being the most luxurious. It’s very simple to clean.”
After getting started on the wood wall, Fee realized she hadn’t included any place to store toothbrushes. Hidden medicine cabinets with sanitizing UV lights neatly solved the problem. “They sanitize anything I put in there,” Fee says, whether a toothbrush or a phone. “That’s one of the things I love most about the bathroom.”
“After I started putting in all the materials, I realized there was no warmth in the room,” Fee says. She knew wood would bring that in and also provide a nice contrast to the plants she planned to install in niches. Adding a wall to make the shower deeper also gave her enough space for a really deep towel shelf next to the shower. The countertop is plain white quartz.
Once Fee settled on a style — “eclectic with some rounded midcentury modern edges,” she calls it — she had to choose materials. “One of the most important things to me is living in nature and bringing nature in,” she says. She decided to make a “living wall” of oak timbers from old barns, with niches for live plants. Porcelain floors and walls make for easy maintenance. The walls mimic statuary marble, while the shower niche and bathroom entrance are trimmed in actual statuary marble.
Other special features. Dual floating vanity that can accommodate seated and standing positions. Designer tip. “Being a design-build contractor, we are able to change design midconstruction if we see an opportunity present itself,” Leverett says. “With this particular wet room, once the walls were exposed, the thought of a wall-to-wall niche came to fruition. Although subtle in itself, the niche transformed the bathroom into a minimalist Zen retreat.” “Uh-oh” moment. “With this master bathroom, accessibility was a key component of the design,” she says. “A challenge that comes with that is creating a barrier-free entry. In order to overcome this hurdle, we cut, removed and planed existing concrete to provide the necessary slope of one-quarter-inch per foot, creating a barrier-free, zero-edge entry point. Knowing the end goal will be a wet room with ease of entry, and maneuverability in and out of the shower to accommodate an individual plus a caregiver, gives the drive to push forward without hesitation with design.”
Awesomely Accessible Designers: Eddie and Julie Leverett of One Eleven Location: Las Vegas, Nevada Homeowners’ request. A minimalist master bathroom that feels light and airy and provides comfortable wheelchair accessibility. “From the early design phases, we took accessibility into account,” says designer Julie Leverett. “And because this was an inherent part of the design, rather than an afterthought, the universal design features blend seamlessly, adding beauty to the master bath rather than detracting from it.” Wet room. Frameless glass enclosure with curbless entry. Beige porcelain tile running floor to ceiling on three walls. Wall-to-wall niche. A 60-inch drop-in soaking tub with additional insulation for energy savings. “By reorienting the bathtub, we gained the necessary room to comfortably combine the bath and shower areas, capturing the wet room style perfectly,” she says. “The wall-to-wall niche not only adds functionality for both the shower and the bathtub essentials, it brings both areas together as one, which is an ideal representation of a wet room.”
Elegant Enclosure Designer: Jamie Daniel of Boyce Design & Contracting Location: Atlanta Homeowners’ request. Upgrade a master bathroom to create a more open and bright design. “They were looking to incorporate some updated transitional elements that would also complement the traditional style of their home,” says designer Jamie Daniel. Wet room. Frameless glass enclosure. Deep soaking tub. Multiple polished nickel shower heads with body jets and sprays. Mirrored marble mosaic tile running floor to ceiling on three walls and on the white quartz-topped shower bench. “The desire for an expansive oversized shower while still incorporating an updated freestanding tub — a necessary element in any master suite — was the inspiration for the layout,” Daniel says. Other special features. White marble tile floor. Crystal chandelier.
Bright Idea Designers: Lori Dennis and Sara Plaisted Location: Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles Homeowners’ request. A spacious, open bathroom with lots of natural light. Wet room. Large-format floor-to-ceiling ceramic tile that’s laser printed to look like stone. Floating bench. Recessed niches. Shower controls on wall adjacent to shower niche. Large glass divider “meant to really just go away,” says Dennis, whose client found her through the Houzz pro directory. “This bathroom is all about the natural light, and the materials are just a subtle background.” Designer tip. “We wanted this room to be very modern, so the windows are a little bit of an unusual shape, very horizontal to have a fluidity with the horizontally laid tile pattern,” Dennis says. “Uh-oh” moment. “When we finished, the floor was just a little bit more slippery than we had hoped for, and since it’s such a large area that has water on it, we needed to address this,” she says. “We used teak mats on top of the tile to make the area less slippery.”
Cheery Cherry Designers: April Collins and Mark Janke of The Cabinet Gallery Location: Lindon, Utah Size: 47½ square feet (4.4 square meters); 9½ by 5 feet Homeowners’ request. A bathroom with a natural wood vanity. Space saver. The tight-knot, rustic cherry vanity has a false drawer front and two doors, creating expansive and efficient storage in a compact cabinet. Special features. Frameless glass shower divider. Porcelain tile floors, shower walls and recessed niches. Designer tip. “It’s good to make suggestions and guide your clients, but ultimately you have to listen their needs, desires and wants,” designer April Collins says.
Space savers. The designers removed the tub and extended the shower area all the way to the adjacent wall to create a larger shower area. Floating shelves add storage. Transitional Bathroom by Spazio LA Tile Gallery Spazio LA Tile Gallery Special features. Porcelain shower wall tiles set in a geometric pattern. Floating shower bench. Designer tips. Extending the wall tiles to the other two walls tricks the eye into seeing a larger space. White walls create contrast with the shower area, setting it apart. “Uh-oh” moment. The tiles didn’t come in a pattern, so the designers had to do a lot of planning ahead before setting the tile to get the geometric lines just right. Wall paint: White Diamond, Benjamin Moore
An antique elmwood bench contributes to the farmhouse flavor of the room. Transitional Bathroom by Marci Goulart Interior Design Marci Goulart Interior Design A print by Janet Turner, an artist and a longtime professor of art education at the nearby California State University, Chico, hangs next to the shower. “The owner has collected her pieces over the years,” Goulart says.
A new oversize shower nestles into the corner opposite the vanity (on the same wall the toilet and shower-tub had shared). Goulart capped the shower walls with the same quartz used for the vanity counter. Penny tiles complementing the colors of the hexagonal floor tiles cover the shower floor and niche. The homeowners had indicated that they wanted a Japanese soaking tub in the master bath, as well as a large walk-in shower, but there was room for only one. “They already had a hot tub,” Goulart says, “so [we decided to] do the big shower.” The existing floor joists prevented the use of a linear drain, so they couldn’t do a curbless shower.
Green, Black and White in a Top-Floor Bathroom The top floor of the Frahers’ renovated Victorian row house includes a bathroom with a fixed roof light above the shower to bring in natural light. The HERRINGBONE SUBWAY TILE PATTERN has a dynamic effect, and the faucets and towel bars feature the floor’s Kelly green accent. The sink is a custom dark gray concrete to match the sink in the second-floor bathroom.
Shower. The new shower stall is 30 by 60 inches. It features a fixed glass partition that looks like divided panes. (The partition sits on the outside of the shower so it’s easier to clean.) Tile. Black and white dominate the tile color palette. In the shower, the designer used double hexagonal ceramic tile for the floor and subway tile with a dark grout for the wall. She used an encaustic cement tile in a more ornate graphic pattern for the rest of the bathroom floor. Because she stuck to the same color palette and paired similar shapes and patterns, the two floor tiles can play off each other cohesively. Read more about this bathroom Floor tile: Bristol, Cement Tile Shop
“Uh-oh” moment. “Getting the slabs for the shower to the site and having them cut by our tile installer in the client’s garage definitely made us lose some sleep,” Bellaire says. “The slabs were 48 by 96 inches and only a quarter inch thick, so they had to be treated with utmost care.” Wall and floor tile: Euro Tile & Stone; bathtub: Ariosa in black, 66 by 36 inches, Maax; light above tub: Desmond three-light semiflush in polished nickel, Hudson Valley Lighting; vanity pulls: Mulholland pull in satin nickel, Amerock Hardware More on Houzz Key Measurements to Make the Most of Your Bathroom The 10 Most Popular Bathroom Makeovers of 2018 Get bathroom design ideas Shop for bathroom products
Designer tip. “Going bold with a classic black-and-white pattern adds drama without overwhelming the space,” designer Jason Bellaire says. “Even a lower-priced bathroom can have the same drama by going bold with a patterned floor.”
Canada Chic Designers: Jason Bellaire and Denise Hulaj of StyleHaus Interiors Location: Ottawa, Ontario Size: 170 square feet (16 square meters) Homeowners’ request. A stylish and dramatic bath that harmonizes with the rest of the house, in a black, white, gray and dark wood palette. Special features. Large-format (24-by-24-inch) black-and-white graphic floor tile. Large floor-to-ceiling glass-enclosed shower. Porcelain shower wall tiles in black with white veining. White-and-matte-black bathtub. Custom white oak vanity stained iron gray. Lacquered vanity tower (color is Secret by Benjamin Moore). Quartz countertop.
“This bathroom is about 10 feet by 10 feet, with a 6-foot-long bathtub and a 6-foot-long shower stall,” Mechaley says. “We laid it out so that there would not be any wasted circulation space.” The toilet tucks into the right of the shower stall, across from a double vanity.
“This bathroom is about 10 feet by 10 feet, with a 6-foot-long bathtub and a 6-foot-long shower stall,” Mechaley says. “We laid it out so that there would not be any wasted circulation space.” The toilet tucks into the right of the shower stall, across from a double vanity.
Shelves Built-in. This bathroom combines the idea of the recessed niche with cabinetry that matches the vanity.
The wall at the end of the bathtub can be a good spot to place a recessed niche for towels.
Recessed Niches This towel nook is a compelling part of the thoughtful, clean-lined architecture of this bathroom.
Tile design
Or screen the bath with translucent glass. When a little privacy is required, translucent glass can conceal a bathroom from a bedroom yet still allow light through. It’s worth considering how obscure you want to make the partition. Sandblasting allows control over the level of opacity. Window film is an option for a DIY revamp of a partition from see-through to concealing.
In the guest bathroom, Shorina and Kozlov reprised the technique they used in the entryway by putting the shower into the space as a tiled box that, at the owners’ request, stands out from the beige-green tiles in the rest of the room.
design would be neat in a bathroom. The white cube of an entry hall creates a striking first impression. To get this effect, the team cut large porcelain tiles into pieces and arranged them into a pattern of squares. The cube offers a stark contrast to the warm finish of the neighboring areas and emphasizes the graphic design of the apartment’s interior, where clean lines dominate.
The shower area also contains details that are very clean-lined and modern. Mackey says that it’s the combination of elements — rustic details, as shown in the first photo of this bathroom, combined with sleek modern shapes — that creates a “a bit of an eclectic feel” similar to the vibe of an actual farmhouse bathroom. In the old farmhouses, pieces of furniture were often borrowed from other spaces and repurposed — a bedroom dresser might become a makeshift linen closet, for instance. The eclectic elements keep that borrow-and-mix spirit alive here. Splurges: High-end chandelier, barn hardware, custom barn detailing on the mirrors Savings: Porcelain wall and floor tile instead of stone
ohnson used a simple palette for the fixtures and finishes to showcase a beautiful botanical mural on the wall. The mural goes up like wallpaper and is protected against splashes and fingermarks with decorators varnish. “I think plants really lift a room,” she says. “I wanted this to be the centerpiece and for everything else to complement it.”
The L-shaped second bathroom in Johnson’s detached three-bedroom Victorian home felt a little cramped before its revamp. “It didn’t have a bath in it,” she says. “There was just a massive shower and a big built-in unit that housed the loo and basin — both of which made the room feel smaller.” Her plan was to make more of the space and incorporate a separate shower and a tub the kids could use.
A powder room underneath the staircase provides a colorful surprise for guests. The walls are covered in a custom mural painted by San Francisco artist Victor Reyes, who also happens to be Hollenbeck’s neighbor. “He’s so talented. I just gave him free rein to create whatever he wanted,” the designer says. The bathroom floors are covered in marble laid in a herringbone pattern to mimic the layout of the home’s original wood floors. The brass mirror above the sink is a vintage piece from the 1970s.
This Atlanta bathroom by Bradley E Heppner Architecture isn’t afraid to make a statement. The shower surround’s glossy black and white striped ceramic tiles steal the show.
This master bathroom in San Francisco features a grid shower door made with black anodized aluminum. The shower floor is covered in small Carrara marble tile.
A mix of black and white large-format tiles makes for a bold statement in this Northern California master bathroom.
Idea for bathroom ceiling
Despite embracing an old-world feel, today’s farmhouse-style homes almost always feature current fixtures and materials, especially in the bathroom. Here, subway tile with dark grout lines, a dark pebble tile floor and black finishes channel Scandinavian style. ♦︎
Floors. A quarter-inch threshold separates the 12-by-24 inch gray floor tile from the smaller tile used in the shower. Fitzgerald likes to use a smaller tile inside the shower because shower areas uninterrupted by grout make it easier to slip. Bathtub. The couple picked a curved tub that matches the curves on the accent wall behind it. Its matte finish also balances out the glossy teal tile, Fitzgerald says. The decorative bamboo tray functions as a tub deck for candles, tea and wine. It also adds warmth to the space and matches the vanity.
Teal wall. The blue tile wall brings in the bold accent color the couple wanted and initially draws everyone’s attention. The client’s favorite color is teal, and she loved the shape of these fish-scale tiles. Together, they create a playful accent wall behind the freestanding tub. They also decided to use four different tones of teal to give the wall an ocean look. “This takes a special person to be brave enough to do because you have to love the pattern and color,” Fitzgerald says. Beyond looking great, the ceramic tiles are also durable and easy to clean. Shower walls. The rest of the walls in the room, including the shower, are made up of two kinds of white tile: one with a wave texture and another that’s smooth. The wave detailing adds depth to the space while still keeping the neutral color palette. “Wave walls are a trend, and most people like a monochromatic mix of the textures and patterns so it’s not so boring,” Fitzgerald says. Shower. Functionally, the clients wanted a walk-in shower large enough for two shower spots. At the end of the shower, Fitzgerald included a marble bench. In total, the shower takes up 33 square feet. For added storage, Fitzgerald added two ni...
As part of the new design, the couple wanted a shower with two shower heads, more storage and a vanity countertop that wasn’t laminate. They also wanted the toilet in a separate, closed-off space, which is why it’s not shown here.
Favetti cut the three mirrors out of one larger one and then applied an LED strip behind each.
Favetti dreamed of having a spacious bathroom with a large shower. The vanity is made from salvaged wood. The couple designed the lighting system in the shower to make the atmosphere even more relaxing. Bathroom fixtures and shower: Sanlingo
Subway tile grout: charcoal gray; accents: HomeSense Laundry Room by Stéphanie Fortier Design Stéphanie Fortier Design Bathroom area. Since this bathroom has been completed, the homeowners have found themselves using it almost every day. They come downstairs to enjoy the spacious shower and then return upstairs to finish getting ready. The heated flooring also keeps them coming back. Budget. Fortier kept the price tag of this project low by choosing affordable materials and working with standard sizes. “The team splurged on the custom wooden shelves around the appliances and above the cabinets, but that was possible because other design choices throughout the room were affordable,” she says. The designer chose cabinets, hardware and plumbing fixtures from Ikea and designed the room’s layout around these items.
Style. Fortier and her clients had decided on farmhouse style for the room. To create this look, she outfitted the space with Shaker-style cabinets, cup pulls for the drawers, a white apron sink, natural wood countertops and subway tiles. Black cabinets contrast with the light wood counters and open shelves and the white subway tile. Gray grout between the tile helps bridge the transition from dark to light, Fortier says.
Laundry area. The washer and dryer now have a home. The front-loading machines are enclosed in a custom-built shelf — an element that Fortier likes to use in her laundry room projects because it makes a room feel customized. The shelf also gives the family a surface for folding clean laundry and storing supplies. Wall paint: Grey Drizzle, Sico; cabinets: Ikea; cabinet hardware: Ikea; counters, floating shelf and appliance enclosure: custom-made, TD Renovations
The homeowners decided they needed a real laundry room. And because their home had only one bathroom, they decided to add one to the space. They enlisted designer Stephanie Fortier to create a more functional laundry room with a bathroom. Laundry Room by Stéphanie Fortier Design Stéphanie Fortier Design After. The homeowners asked Fortier to keep costs low but otherwise gave her a lot of freedom to come up with a design. She presented them with several possibilities. After they chose the one that best served their needs, she collaborated with TD Renovations and Eco Electrique — with whom she had worked before — to implement the design.
Door: One way she made the bathroom feel bigger was by eliminating a traditional bathroom door. A sliding barn door allowed her to widen the door opening, which gives the illusion of a larger space inside. It also created more space inside the bathroom because there is no inward-swinging door to get in the way. Finally, a barn door adds visual interest to the entire master suite.
Kids’ bath: A chestnut beam found elsewhere in the house is now part of the vanity in the kids’ bathroom. The front of the vanity is a full-size beam, and the top of the vanity continues with chestnut boards to match. The ceiling beams are original to the house.
Nautical time. This children’s bath designed by Rhona Chartouni of Eclipse Designs has a nautical blue and white theme, with stripes made up of hexagonal tiles that should still be appealing as the children get older.
Watery blue. The blue and green tile paving the walls of this shower reflect its location, a marina dock in the seaside town of Sausalito, California. Multilevel glazing gives the tiles their rich variation.
The walls behind the toilet and the sink in the half bath were hand-painted by Carol Leonesio of Paint It with a tree motif that mimics the look of wallpaper.
The Azul Macaubas granite on the accent wall is reminiscent of a waterfall. Contemporary by Maria Stepanova Maria Stepanova Save Email The owner placed no restrictions on color. Stepanova and Koshcheeva chose shades that correspond to the view from the windows: Sky blue and pure white are reflected in the interior palette.
“At the request of the client, we merged the bedroom with the bathroom. The glass shower element juts out slightly into the bedroom. Transparent glass allows sunlight to enter the washroom, and lets the owners admire the horizon and the view of the city. Standing naked in front of a huge city is an unusual sensation,” Stepanova says. As shown on the floor plan, there is also a second bathroom in the apartment.
Hand-painted walls. There’s a lot to be said for all the wallpaper options these days. But few things come close to having walls hand-painted in a unique design. In this powder room, an artist created a lovely forest scene.
Statement wall in the shower. OK, a little opulence shouldn’t be ruled out. Here, a gorgeous slab of Azul Macaubas quartzite dazzles in a Barcelona, Spain, bathroom.
Consider a wet room. Curbless showers are all the rage, but if you have space, think about going with a wet-room concept in which all or most of the bathroom components sit within a tiled space. This allows water to be splashed around without impacting surrounding areas. In some homes, the sink, shower and toilet are all housed within the same tiled space, often with a drain in the center. This allows the space to be hosed down and cleaned with relative ease.
o get the distressed look on her cobalt-blue doors, Heim-Shelton stained the doors and then painted them using milk paint in four shades of blue. Before the top coat of paint, she added tung oil to give the finish more sheen. The hardware for the doors came from a 100-year-old house; Heim-Shelton painted it gold. Lessons learned: “If you like having nice things, you don’t have to be rich,” Heim-Shelton says. “Learn how to do it yourself.”
She made the teak shelves out of a 6-foot teak board that cost $150. “While watching some reno show on HGTV, I saw that it cost someone $800 to have two smaller floating shelves installed in their kitchen,” she says. “And it wasn’t even teak!” She bought the encaustic tile at half price from a company in Florida. Style muse: “Justina Blakeney at The Jungalow was a bit of an inspiration,” Heim-Shelton says. “I love color just as much as she does and knew I wanted cobalt blue for my accent.… Blues and greens just make me happy.”
4. Curbless With Natural River Rocks Designer: Alexandra Sheets Saikley of Saikley Architects Location: Mountain View, California Size: 89 square feet (8.3 square meters); 8 feet, 5 inches by 10 feet, 7 inches Homeowners’ request. A main-bathroom sanctuary with a Japanese soaking tub. Shower entrance. No curb. The floor tile, composed of natural river rocks, continues seamlessly from the main bathroom area into the large shower. Other special features. Japanese soaking tub. Porcelain 12-by-24-inch wall tiles that mimic travertine. Designer tip. “Keeping a small space simple makes it feel more spacious,” designer Alexandra Sheets Saikley says. “Vaulting the ceiling opens up the space. We used prefabricated scissor trusses, which didn’t add cost to vault the ceiling.” “Uh-oh” moment. “The height clearances were very tight for getting drainage from the shower and adjacent deck to work over the living space below, while making sure the whole thing was very well waterproofed,” Saikley says. “There was some coordination between these issues and structural issues that had to be worked out during construction.”
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