Before and After Master Bath

What to do with this big old fashioned tv cabinet in a master bath?

Rip it out.



Put a mirror in it's place to reflect the light from the window into this dark space.

Pretty tilework in the shower.

More pretty tilework and an etched glass window for privacy.

My wonderful intern, Kristen, is graduating this weekend!  I'm very happy for her and thrilled to have been part of her education.  She helped me so much this semester. I know she has an amazing future ahead.

Congrats, Kristen!

After photos - Miro Dvorscak

Linking to:

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

Design Plan for Modern Bathroom

Although I'm doing a lot of bathrooms lately, they don't all look the same.  I practice client driven design and this project and the one in my previous post definitely show the wide range of styles on the boards right now.  (By the way, client driven design doesn't mean client dictates and I do exactly as they ask, it means that I try to achieve the end result that they desire whatever the style, with my methods, tools, and creativity.)

This fun bathroom is for a young couple who wanted something fresh and modern.  She wanted a rectangular tub and a spa-like ambience.  He wanted a bigger shower and they both wanted to update this tired space.  This project is about to start construction and it should be a dramatic change.

Here's the view of the bathroom from the master bedroom now.

This is her side.  She doesn't use a stool, so we'll be doing away with that feature.

His vanity and the adjacent small shower.  We'll be expanding it a bit and taking some space from his vanity area.

Yes, definitely ready for a remodel.



I decided to play up the rectangular shape and do a strie, 12 x 24 porcelain tile floor that goes up the walls with a band of glass and marble mosaic to get some interest and detail.  I like the banding up where you can see it with the modern sconces on top to really show it off.  Satin nickel cabinet pulls and plumbing fixtures add some gleam and more linear style.  Stained wood cabinets will add some warmth to the tiled space with the modern edge of a quartz countertop.  A little soft color will create a spa-like ambience.

Finish selections



We'll also be doing some new bedding in the master bedroom with a matelasse bed covering and pillows in that nice geometric from Kravet.  The Emerald Green slate from Thorntree in Houston will be the fireplace surround. Soft gray paint colors will continue the scheme from the bathroom.

I'm so happy to get this modern bathroom into my portfolio......in a couple of months!

Design Plan for a Bath Remodel

I'm working on several bathroom remodels currently, two have started construction just this past week.. I thought I'd share a peek at one of the designs.

CAD drawing above, we do those so that revisions are really fast and easy.  Well, I don't do them, my intern does them.  I don't know how and have no desire to learn.  I'm just glad these young designers know their way around this software!

Before

At first, the homeowner just wanted to paint the existing cabinets, build a higher one on the left, change out counter and backsplash and do something special with the mirror.  Well, you know how projects have a way of growing! I encouraged them to take out the furr down and do a larger mirror to go up to their 10 ft. ceilings.   As you can see, the mirror reflects a lot of light into the bathroom..  They wanted to keep a large mirror too, so if you're going to go big, you should really go oversized!

The homeowner was really tired of painted cabinets and decided to go with stained wood.  While I love a painted cabinet, I do think the contrast will be very rich in this bathroom.  We will pick up the color of the wood floors in the master bedroom to use on the cabinets.

Master bathrooms should always blend well with the adjacent master bedroom.  The homeowner has dark wood furniture in the bedroom and a beautiful yellow/gold color on the walls in there that they love.  That was the jumping off point for the finish selections for the bathroom.

We selected new bedding for their dark framed wood bed.  That colorful floral linen is from Kravet and will cover three 24" sq. down pillows on the bed.  They'll be piped with that dark purple velvet from Brentano.   We'll also do a small acent pillow in the velvet.  The gold matelasse will be the plain base on the duvet cover. 

This seagrass rug will be under the dark wood frame bed.

Bathroom finishes - the flooring is Zin limestone 18 x 18 tiles from MCA Systems in a brushed finish, laid on the diagonal.  It feels fabulous on your bare feet and has such interesting fossils and shells imbedded in it.  We'll do it in the polished finish in slabs for the counters, then add some detail with an onyx and glass mosaic backsplash that will travel all the way around the gold finished mirror frame. That gold finish is just a sample of a technique, the color will be tweaked to fit our scheme on top of a more curvy moulding.

The shower area will be remodeled to take the tile to the ceiling with a rainshower head. 

We're adding crown moulding so we're dropping the ceiling 6" at the shower for the crown to run in front of the wet enclosure.

Before  - Tub

Here's what I'm hoping will happen with the tub.  They were going to keep the tub when we started and change out the surround to tile.  Again, projects have a tendency to grow!  They're thinking about this freestanding option.  I'm kind of liking a big wood framed mirror on this wall to reflect the light and add some of the dark wood element to this side of the bathroom. 

 I love freestanding tubs and I think this one would be beautiful there.

Should be all finished in about 6 to 8 weeks.  Check back to see how it turns out!

More Project Photos

After - Living Room

More before and after photos of my remodel project today.  I posted previously HERE and HERE about this job.

Before - Living Room 

That big chunky crown at the window really bugged me. It divided the view in half. I also didn't care for that wide flat board surrounding the arch. Simpler, smaller mouldings painted the color of the walls take your eye right out the window to the view beyond.

After - Fireplace

We kept the fireplace surround and had it finished to be similar in color to the walls.  (It was mauve before!) Adding a new, distressed wood mantel in a color and finish to match the floor brings the wood element up into the room and makes for a beefier mantel. Now she can actually put something on the mantel without worrying about it falling off.

Before - Living Room Fireplace

We removed those sconces beside the fireplace.  The homeowner really wanted to hang her art and there wasn't much wall space in this house!  The wood floors made such a tremendous difference in the feel of this house.  The warm white on all the walls, ceilings, and mouldings freshened everything up.

After - hallway

New wood doors and bronze hardware were added.

Before - hallway

After - Master Bath



Limestone on the floor and counter introduces some nice texture in the bath.  Kept the details very simple here.  The statement is coming.

Before - Master Bath

After - Tub

Directly across from the entrance....the beautiful, sculptural tub with an exotic pendant.  We had plenty of room for the limestone ledge behind the tub after tearing out the large cultured marble surround.  The curve of the ceiling is repeated in the tub and the bulbous shape of the old Moroccan fixture. You should see the pattern of light it creates at night.

Before - Tub

Excess mouldings and columns were removed to reveal the nice bones of the room.....a soft, curve to the ceiling and a roomy bathing alcove.



Now for the special place for the cats!

Before - the unused knee space

After - Kitty litter box is enclosed in the cabinet

The cats have their opening to pass in and out through the wall.  Just open the cabinet doors and remove the litter tray for cleaning!

Lots of nice little visual moments in this house.  I'm so happy to add this one to the portfolio!

Many thanks to Susan Fox of Love Where You Live blog for featuring a recent bathroom reno project!  Susan is a field editor for Meredith Publishing and she does such a great job describing design work.  Please check it out!

Bathroom Mirrors and Lighting

Master Bath Remodel Project  - onyx mosaic tile behind mirror

I've been doing a lot of bathroom remodeling design in the last few years.  How I handle the mirrors is always a key element in the design of the space.  I like to use two different approaches now, never being particularly fond of the typical fixture posted on the wall right over the mirror and the sink.  I use sconces when I can, it provides nice lighting directly on the face. One approach I like is using a framed mirror with sconces and some kind of special wall treatment on the wall behind the mirror, tile or wallpaper, to add a custom look and luxurious feel to the space. 

Showhouse Bathroom - Spring 2011 - wallpaper behind custom framed mirror

Powder Bath Remodel - glass mosaic tile behind mirror

Powder Bath Remodel - light emperador marble tile behind custom mirror

In this powder bath above, the marble on the counter just continues up the wall and accentuates the verticality of the space.

Master Bath Remodel - dark emperador marble slab splash with inset wood framed mirror

I love the tiled wall in the image below from AD. Lighting, mirrors, cabinet all seem to float on that tile.

Shelton, Mendel, and Assoc. - Architectural Digest





Sometimes there is no room for sconces beside the mirror, clients don't want to go to the trouble to relocate j-boxes and do sheetrock work, or they just want a lot of mirror.

My Bathroom Remodel

In my bathroom above, I put the sconce on a large mirror.  I didn't want to break the vanity area up with two framed mirrors and wanted the space to feel bigger so I went wall to wall mirror.

Master Bath Remodel

In this bathroom remodel above, I left the j-boxes where they were and took the mirror higher.  It sort of doubles the lights in the room, reflecting the fixture back into the space.

More examples by other designers of fixtures on mirrors.  It really allows for a bigger mirror, makes things feel more spacious, and brings more light into the room.

Traditional Home

David Kleinberg - Architectural Digest

Donna Livingston - Architectural Digest

Kippie Leland - Schumacher website

That sconce on the mirror just got doubled!

Doing some kind of special treatment at the mirror and vanity lights creates a custom look in a bathroom.  Your eye always goes there, so why not make it special?

I've moved! Check out my new blog at Designed w/Carla Aston!

Time To Remodel

It was time to remodel this small master bath.  The dark wallpaper, small shower, and lack of storage prompted these clients of mine to renovate.  These cultured marble shower boxes were very popular in homes built around 20 years ago. 

Sorry for the dark photo.  Here is the vanity inside the bathroom. 

Tub area, not used, except for maybe drying clothes.  Why not put a large shower here?

Her vanity had to remain outside the main bathroom.  Small master closet is just opposite her vanity.

The closet doors were a problem.  They swung out into the small space and annoyed the husband, but she loved the mirrors and wanted to leave the doors open.  They also needed better use of that closet space which fortunately had a high ceiling.

After remodeling, they have a lovely new bathroom with lots of great storage, beautiful updated finishes, and fixtures.

Looking into the main bathroom through her vanity area.  Mirrored upper cabinets brought more storage and reflected natural light into the space. 



We moved the shower to the tub area and changed out the window for privacy.  All the finishes were kept light to visually enlarge the space.  The beautiful onyx tile provided some nice detail and interest.  The antique brass fixtures bring out the warmth of the tile.

Beautiful marble at the counters, shower threshold, window sill, and shower seat.  Marble shelves in the shampoo niche too.

Looking back into her vanity area.  You can see the new closet doors in the cabinet mirrors.

Sliding barn door style hardware was hidden under crown moulding. The doors don't swing out anymore and the mirrors are always available!



A beautiful rolling Putnam ladder works well in the closet to access high storage.  It pops snugly into a niche in the back of the closet when not in use.

I love how this traditional bathroom turned out.  My clients are happy too!

If you need a beautiful bathroom designed just for you, contact Aston Design Studio.

All "After" Photos by Miro Dvorscak


Participating in the Open House Party at No Minimalist Here