BEFORE
Photo by Darla Powell
So, look at this space. Here is my sad, little guest bathroom before pic — dated, builder grade, Formica cabinets, Saltillo floors and original 1989 sexy, butter cream colored tub with (semi) matching shower tiles and toilet.
I know. You’re thinking, “Darla! Why would you even mess with this greatness?!” I put on my sunglasses slowly, look off into the distance and reply, "I like to live on the edge."
OK, so needless to say (and yet here I am saying it) it needed a total gut.
My first pain point was the tub shower combo. This being a guest bath, I decided my guests didn’t need to luxuriate in a butter cream tub. They were getting a shower only and this would be the MAJOR change in the space.
THE SHOWER
Now that the butter cream tub and tiles were dispatched to ugly bathroom heaven, we needed to add a shower pan for the new design. I wanted a seamless and curbless entry. Not only are zero entry (curbless) showers extremely sexy, they are great for anyone concerned with AGING IN PLACE. No trip hazards. This wasn’t my main concern here as I am waaaay too young to worry about that (cough cough)! Stop laughing.
The Palette
My master bathroom remodel was all contemporary and classic, glam and glitz (you can read about that here - AN 80'S BATHROOM MAKEOVER ) so I wanted the guest bath to be earthy, warm and cozy. More casual and welcoming.
I chose a marble tile mosaic for the shower floor and a travertine-look porcelain tile for the shower walls from Porcelanosa called Travertino Beige. The main flooring is also from Porcelanosa (can you tell I love me some Porcelanosa?) and was chosen for the entire house remodel which you can read more about here: A 90's KITCHEN MAKEOVER. And here: DON'T BE SCARED TO REPLACE YOUR TILE FLOOR
Now, ordinarily, I wouldn’t recommend a stone floor for your shower as they can be problematic with cleaning — even when properly sealed. This being a guest bath, however, meant that showers happened here maybe once a week (if that) so I went for it. Because pretty.
Porcelanosa Travertino Beige Goes Up
The Vanities and such
I like a house to tell a story and I like to use some consistent features throughout just to tie in the overall picture. So, I chose the same style and color of floating vanity for this guest bath as I chose for the master. Even though the overall aesthetic is ENTIRELY different, there is still an anchor that ties the big picture together. Hey! It makes me happy. The fixtures are all Moen 90 Degree in chrome.
The Mirror
This is a goodie I found at Restoration Hardware which has since been discontinued (Boooooooo!). (I think they have some smalls left)
The Lights
Another Restoration Hardware goodie and NOT discontinued (Yaaaaaaay!).
The Grand Edison Open Caged Sconce
The Glass
For the shower enclosure, I chose frameless glass but with no door. Just a half open situation. My reasoning here was I felt that dealing with a door in a tight space would be just too awkward. The opening and closing in front of the toilet and into the towel rack ... ugh. Who needs that in their life? I liked the idea of a less is more approach anyway and, unless you're a herd of water buffalo (or my partner's 12-year-old daughter), the half enclosure does its job quite well.
The final After and before
We are pretty happy with the finished result and a whole heck of a lot less embarrassed to invite friends over!
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Thanks for reading. I'll see you next week!
