It may seem I am bathroom crazy over here at the moment but we have three more bathrooms to talk about on the Trullbrook project and this one is hands down my favorite! The master bath. It has a neutral color palette but is far from boring with special touches and every detail considered. But before we get to the design… here’s the before photos (a special mention to the dark brown carpeting because you know I love a carpeted bathroom. ew).

You might be wondering how all these different angles could possibly be in one bathroom and the answer is, it is actually three different tiny little rooms that make up one full bathroom. The result is a lot of wasted space, a weird flow and confined quarters that feel more like a powder room than a master bath. Here is the current floorplan to give you a better idea of what we were looking at when they first purchased the home.

And the plan…

By tearing out a lot of walls, moving everything around, and adding some large windows we were able to create a spacious master worthy of its’ name.

My biggest struggle with this space was the one thing the homeowner said was a must have and that was a giant drop-in oval tub. When I think of a built-in oval tub, the 80’s immediately come to mind. We joked that she was going to have a swan faucet to match, but the girl likes her baths and no matter how hard I tried to convince her to get a freestanding, she wasn’t having it. And I get it, the heart wants what the heart wants and who am I to try and deprive someone of something they feel so passionate about? So off I was to design around it and make sure the space looks like this decade and not too Dynasty. But really, as far as drop-in oval tubs go, it is actually a great one with clean lines and, so far, it is all shaping up very nicely.

THE INSPIRATION

Recognize the bathrooms? It’s always nice to dive into a client’s pinterest board and see my own designs as some of their favorite spaces. Now the trick was to get a similar vibe but in a new unique way. (see the original posts here, and here)

And a couple other inspiration bathrooms that were on her board that I loved…

I mean, that shower… I die!

Top bathroom by Tamaraa Magel // Second bathroom by Maggie Pierson

A soft palette, round shapes, simple tile in interesting patterns, some sort of terra cotta, gold fixtures, storage in the vanity, a built-in makeup vanity and a unique marble slab were a few other items on the want list that I was definitely on board with. And here is a peek into the selects for the finishes.

We did a basket weave pattern on the walls, finding the right size tile for this pattern turned out to be a much harder search than I had initially thought. Finally we found it here and bonus it is SUPER affordable. I found the x + o terra cotta tiles glazed in white and fell in love. No two are the same, the glaze is slightly transparent in places so the terra cotta color can show through, giving it color variation and the best kind of textural quality that can only come from something handmade. More on the board are a simple chandelier for over the bath, oval vessel sinks, and that oval tub for two.

Once we landed on the floor and wall tile it was time to go slab shopping. We found quite a few contenders but landed on the gorgeous warm taupey colored vein marble. Quick tip when you are slab shopping…

Take your tile with you as well as any wood finish swatches etc that will be next to it, so you can see how they all work together. That might be a no brainer for some but the real tip is when you are holding the tile next to slab (and this goes for testing paint swatches and looking at wallpapers etc) make sure to hold the tile on the same plane that it will actually be installed. The two photos above are the exact same slab, holding the exact same tiles. See how in one photo the tile looks light and brighter than the slab and in the second it is darker? It’s all about how the light hits it and if your tile is going on the floor and your slab will run perpendicular to it, hold the tile next to it that way. It’s best to assess the color on the actual plane the surfaces will sit. This is the same reason you want to hold paint swatches up to a wall instead of going over them lying flat on a table.

Next up was designing a custom nearly 9 foot vanity to go with the slab.

His and her sinks and cabinets are connected making one long countertop to incorporate a place for a stool/makeup vanity in the center. Jaimi used to own a beauty company so she has quite a collection of product and wanted loads of drawers to accommodate. I designed the cabinets to look like three doors and three drawers on each, to give it a clean modern look but the two cabinets that flank the opening in the center actually house a million little drawers. Ok not a million but the right one has 9 little drawers for small items like make-up, serums, brushes, etc and the one on the left has two more small and two big drawers, all hidden behind the door.

And finally here is a rough idea of how it will all come together.

It’s pattern mixing and it’s most subtle and finest (see my tips on tile pairings/pattern mixing here) and, I know I say this every single time, but I really can’t wait to see it all come to life.

See all the posts on the Trullbrook Residence here.