Bathroom of the Week: Scandinavian Modern Style on a Budget
A designer creates a warm and airy 50-square-foot master bath in a midcentury Tampa, Florida, home
When a contractor asked designer Kelly Pederson to help him remodel this Tampa, Florida, home on a tight budget and timeline to quickly resell it, she took it on as a challenge. The 1950s ranch house had been renovated over the years in a hodgepodge of styles. It needed an update that would tie the rooms together. In determining the most appealing style for the remodel, the designer kept young professional buyers in mind. “The house lent itself to a warm Scandinavian modern style,” she says. “And black, white and wood is always a classic.”
The existing master bathroom was a tiny 24-square-foot box that they expanded to 50 square feet. See how they transformed a dingy bathroom into a bright, modern space.
The existing master bathroom was a tiny 24-square-foot box that they expanded to 50 square feet. See how they transformed a dingy bathroom into a bright, modern space.
After: Pedersen knew she had to find reasonably priced off-the-shelf vanities for all three bathrooms in the home to stick to the tight budget and timeline. “I was amazed at what’s available in ready-made vanities. This vanity is really good quality. It’s made of solid walnut wood,” she says. The wood is bookmatched, meaning the grain pattern is continuous across the drawers and doors.
Vanity: Portree collection, Karton Republic
Vanity: Portree collection, Karton Republic
The space was long and narrow, and Pedersen thought a vanity with feet would provide the right look. “It makes the room feel bigger and more open,” she says. “I didn’t want the vanity to feel too blocky.” While a wall-mounted vanity can have a similar effect, a vanity on feet lends more of a custom furniture look that leans more midcentury modern than contemporary. That was a good fit for the architecture of this home.
Find a walnut vanity in the Houzz Shop
Find a walnut vanity in the Houzz Shop
Other details of the vanity include its marble countertop and midcentury-modern-style finger pulls on the drawers. Pedersen customized it with round vessel sinks and polished chrome faucets. Historically, polished chrome probably would have been used in a 1950s ranch house, so while the silhouettes of the faucets are contemporary, the finish nods to the age of the home.
Pedersen added two beveled mirrors for symmetry. They have slightly rounded corners, which lend a subtle softness. These corners also play off the roundness of the finger pulls and the three-light globe sconces mounted overhead. The curves soften the crisp rectilinear edges of the vanity and the tile selections.
“The wall paint is Commercial White by PPG, because the contractor said that was what he had and that was what we were going to use,” Pedersen says with a laugh. Throughout the process she learned to go with the flow and keep to the tight budget and timeline. The paint wound up being a good fit. “Bright white colors and good lighting always make a space feel larger,” she says.
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Pedersen added two beveled mirrors for symmetry. They have slightly rounded corners, which lend a subtle softness. These corners also play off the roundness of the finger pulls and the three-light globe sconces mounted overhead. The curves soften the crisp rectilinear edges of the vanity and the tile selections.
“The wall paint is Commercial White by PPG, because the contractor said that was what he had and that was what we were going to use,” Pedersen says with a laugh. Throughout the process she learned to go with the flow and keep to the tight budget and timeline. The paint wound up being a good fit. “Bright white colors and good lighting always make a space feel larger,” she says.
Browse contemporary chrome bathroom sink faucets
A clear glass frameless shower enclosure makes the long narrow space feel larger and more open.
“You can make very inexpensive tiles look expensive by playing with the pattern, like the herringbone pattern on the floor in here,” Pedersen says. She sourced reasonably priced 8-by-36-inch matte porcelain floor tiles with a wood grain finish for the floor. Using such a large-scale tile in a small space and arranging it in a herringbone pattern was an unexpected and impactful move. It works all the better because it can be seen continuing underneath the raised vanity.
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“You can make very inexpensive tiles look expensive by playing with the pattern, like the herringbone pattern on the floor in here,” Pedersen says. She sourced reasonably priced 8-by-36-inch matte porcelain floor tiles with a wood grain finish for the floor. Using such a large-scale tile in a small space and arranging it in a herringbone pattern was an unexpected and impactful move. It works all the better because it can be seen continuing underneath the raised vanity.
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Likewise, she used 3-by-12-inch subway tiles laid in a grid pattern in the shower. The elongated shape is fresh and updated, while using a grid pattern is a staple of Scandinavian modern style. These tiles were also inexpensive, but their wavy edges and long proportions, and the gridded layout, lend a handmade, upscale look.
The tile on the shower floor is an inexpensive pebble tile that adds an irregular and natural-looking pattern to the mix. Pedersen wrapped the shower curb in the bathroom floor tile. The color of the pebbles ties it into the bathroom flooring for a continuous look.
The charming little wooden shower stool also adds an organic texture and shape to the space. And the wood adds a dose of warmth right where it’s needed. Small details like this make spaces more appealing to potential homebuyers. A young couple wound up buying the house after the renovations were complete.
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The tile on the shower floor is an inexpensive pebble tile that adds an irregular and natural-looking pattern to the mix. Pedersen wrapped the shower curb in the bathroom floor tile. The color of the pebbles ties it into the bathroom flooring for a continuous look.
The charming little wooden shower stool also adds an organic texture and shape to the space. And the wood adds a dose of warmth right where it’s needed. Small details like this make spaces more appealing to potential homebuyers. A young couple wound up buying the house after the renovations were complete.
More on Houzz
Read more bathroom stories
Browse bathroom photos
Hire a local bathroom remodeler
Shop for your bathroom
Bathroom at a Glance
Who uses it: A young couple
Location: Seminole Heights neighborhood of Tampa, Florida
Size: 50 square feet (4.7 square meters)
Designer: Kelly Pedersen of 7th House Interiors
Before: Pedersen diplomatically describes the original master bathroom as “not good.” She and contractor Jamal Kazbour of 21 South Development enlarged the tiny room by borrowing space from a windowless room in the middle of the house. They used the rest of that room’s square footage for a walk-in closet.
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