Our house was built in the late 1960s. When Bray and his brother bought it 14 years ago, they remodeled all the main living spaces. We now have a big wide open front half of the house where you can see from the front door to the backyard pool. Perfect for kids.
When we bought the house together when we married, I remodeled the guest (now kids) bathroom. We bought a new AC. Then a new roof. Then we refinished the backyard. The master bathroom went untouched.
We’re gearing up for a bathroom remodel.
What do I know about a massive remodel of a master bathroom (plus)? Very little.
If you’ll walk with me through the front door of our home, you’ll pass the dining room on your right. Walk a little further (no walls) to the living room on your left and the open kitchen your right. Then, after a few steps, you’ll see the big playroom with backyard beyond it and on your left is the hall to the bedrooms.
Wanna walk through? Well, okay, but in that open hall you’ll also see the entire laundry room. Because it’s not enclosed. There are the washer and dryer sitting in the walkway to the back half of the house.
No idea what is happening there. Behind the laundry room/hall is the master bathroom and to the left of the master bathroom is the master bedroom.
The master bath has a plastic shower stall with glass and gold trim. It has two smallish closets. It has one long vanity with ONE sink and a massive 1970s mirror with bulkhead lighting.
The footprint from where the hall/laundry starts to the back wall of the master bath is 23 feet long and 11 feet wide.
My hope, budget permitting, is that we can knock down the wall between the laundry and the master bath and reconfigure everything.
This is what I need. An enclosed hallway. A new (small) half bathroom. That’s right, our four bedroom house has TWO toilets. I need three toilets, friends. A laundry room not open to the public. A vanity with two sinks. One big master closet. A tile shower with glass enclosure.
My design words? Classic. (Above all, classic.) Timeless. Simple. Sophisticated but durable. This is supposed to be an ADULT bathroom so I’m not making kid concessions. Except I know my kids are always going to be in there.
My colors? Primary color is gray. Lighter bluer gray. I know gray is an impossible shade but tackle it I will. With ivory and possibly navy accents.
I’ve started on some design inspirations but haven’t seen anything that reflects exactly what’s in my head. These two ideas (I’ve been trolling Houzz and Pinterest) get close to the feel I want (except no dark wood and our layout would be different):
So here’s where I need your advice.
Who has gone through a remodel? What do you wish someone had told you on the front end? I start interviewing architects/designers this week, what do I ask them?
What do you love about your bathroom? What do you hate about your bathroom? If you could (or did) change one thing about your master, what is it?
Also, I won’t have a ton of space for my laundry area, what recommendations do you have?
Where did you get your best supplies (tiles/lighting/etc.)?
This is a BIG project and I’d love your collective wisdom. If we can do the project in the budget we’ve set, I’ll let you come along for the bathroom remodel ride in case any of you are considering do it too.
Here are the pros in our bathroom:
– higher counters, no leaning far to wash face/get ready.
– separate vanities & sinks for hubby and me
– enclosed water closet (toilet space) with door
– large linen closet
Here are negatives
– tile in showers is awful! The mildew and mold are a constant struggle. I would opt for marble slabs or anything besides tile.
– our shower door is glass, but has seams. Now I would upgrade to seamless.
– Hands down, two shower-heads is a must that we didn’t do.
– Closets can always be larger.
Have done 2 bathroom remodels. First priority for me was that I like to sit down to put on my makeup so creating that space was important. Hubby wanted a big, high water pressure shower so that was his thing. Start the design with what is a priority for each of you and the rest can fall into place. If you’re not married to a bath- then forget that space- that space alone for a big tub could be re-purposed for your half bath sq footage. If you only get one closet -I have. A idea on how to split that space so you each have your “space ” with the same 4 walls. Will have to draw it for you. Good luck! – oh I have 4 different gray colors of paint in my house. You are welcome to come look if you would like.
I think you are right – my “thing” is lighting! I can’t stand the lighting for my make up right now, so you’re right to make sure to prioritize the really important stuff.
High counters is a must – we have low counters now and we’re both tall, that’s one BIG fix we need.
Instead of trim on the floors around master bath, we used tile. We ditched the tub (old jetted one) and enlarged the shower. Love our vanity, espeically the soft close drawers. Love our countertop. Reused mirrors, chandelier, vanity lights. Went very neautral (not gray though). We used a designer since we had to reconfigure the bathroom.
Goodluck
Soft close drawers – what a great idea, yes!
Here are some general ideas, plus some things that would make your home handicap accessible for the future. I was thinking “parents” in terms of future, but then, I fell apart and wish I had them!
1. Put plywood sheathing behind whatever surface you are using for your shower, so that you can put grab bars anywhere and not have to worry about studs.
2. Shower big enough so you could add a shower stool if needed.
3. Possibly adding a shelf/bench for shaving legs- built into the wall/corner.
4. Zero entry shower. Some are configured that you don’t even need a door. Personally, I hate squeegy-ing glass doors each time. Shower curtains can be laundered and/or replaced. (Even a very low step would be helpful.)
5. Enough shower cubbies for hair/bath products. Make sure they are tall enough to fit your bottles and not placed in a position to get blasted by the shower spray.
6. Enough room around the toilet so that you don’t have to do contortions to clean around it.
7. Absolutely – enclosed toilet space! (With an enclosed cupboard/shelf to keep extra TP and feminine hygiene things.)
8. We used a cultured marble product for the shower stall. Walls, ceiling, floor. (The floor has a textured surface.) So much better than scrubbing grout.
9. Exhaust fan/light/heater on separate switches.
10. Wider doorways. (36″) (Wheelchairs, walkers, washing machines, dryers…all fit easier!)
When we built our addition, we put in a big tub. Now that I have fallen apart, I am unable to get in/out of that tub. I would love one of those step in seated tubs that are advertised!! Oooh La La! Funny what becomes more important as life changes. Function over form! If you are starting fresh, maybe you can have both.
There are several things I would never have thought of – thanks Julie!
The one thing I love love about my master bathroom is my giant jacuzzi tub. I soak in there. I read in there, deep condition my hair, use masks that need time to dry. I let the jets melt away all the aches and pains from my workouts. My kid takes long bubble baths and plays in the tub. And I have a beautiful Turkish chandelier over the tub which makes me feel like royalty.
It’s my own private paradise (although it does fit two for romance purposes!) I use it almost every day.
And the little extras make a master bathroom so nice- high end thick towels and essential oils to scent them add the spa effect effortlessly, as do nice candles. A master bath to me isn’t just a place to get clean. It’s a retreat.
We don’t have room for a bathtub but I do so remember fondly my days of soaking and reading pre-kids!
Well, I guess I will chime in on the Laundry area, too.
-Hanging rod near the dryer to have hangers ready to go.
-Hanging space for clothes just out of the dryer or for those non-dryer items.
-Clothes sorting buckets. I do not want all sorts of mixed up clothing/towels/damp/dry items in a big pile. My buckets are not fancy: just 13 gallon kitchen plastic trash cans labeled: dark, light, kitchen, and bath (unders, washcloths, towels) . Easy peasy to toss a load in the wash because they are already sorted. Before my children started doing their own laundry, they were responsible to get their clothes to the right bucket.
-Fold out ironing board. (I don’t have one, but maybe I would iron if I didn’t have such a big production to get my ironing board/iron out.)
-Laundry sink – pretreating stains, rinsing….
I don’t think I’ll have much space in the laundry room but these things sound amazing!