Bathroom Remodel Brings Back the Midcentury Modern Spirit

This renovated family bathroom is sturdy enough for two teenage boys and stylish enough for their parents

Becky Harris September 16, 2019

Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected." I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia.

Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe... More

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A busy couple and their two teenage boys share this hall bath in their 1950s ranch house in Portland, Oregon. Due to its cramped and awkward layout and lack of storage, the family struggled with the 5-by-8-foot space and decided to fully remodel it. After having her clients fill out an extensive questionnaire, interior designer Casey Keasler had a clear sense of their style and needs for the space. They wanted the bathroom to be in a modern, minimalist style, be able to stand up to heavy use and be easy to clean. When the parents “come home from work, they want things to be simple, easy and not too precious for the boys,” she says.

Before Photo

Photos by George Barberis

Bathroom at a Glance
Who uses it: A couple and their two teenage boys
Location: Portland, Oregon
Size: 48 square feet (4.5 square meters)
Designers: Casey Keasler of Casework (interior design) and Studio Coop Architecture

Before: A tub-shower is hiding behind the door on the left. The bathroom had undergone several renovations over the years that had wiped away its midcentury modern character. And in the last one, the designer awkwardly tucked a vanity-like cabinet with counter space on the far side of the toilet, leaving the family with a small pedestal sink to balance their toiletries upon while using the sink and mirror.

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Casework

After: The layout changes included bumping out the wall to the left by 1 foot to make room to relocate the bathtub under the window. This increased the space from 5 by 8 feet to 6 by 8 feet, an 8-square-foot increase that made all the difference. There is also a new window over the tub that’s centered on the wall, emphasizing horizontality in the narrow space.

Keasler introduced a sleek skirted toilet as one of many low-maintenance features. “A skirted toilet is way easier to clean — it doesn’t have any of the bolts or pipe shapes that make cleaning other toilets difficult,” she says.

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Casework

With the layout in place, Keasler set about finding the right style. She needed an updated look that would suit her clients’ minimalist tastes and the home’s midcentury modern vintage. And she needed to find durable and easy-to-clean materials.

She added just the right dose of interest to the floor by buying one sheet of black 1-by-1-inch tiles and having the tile installer add small plus-sign shapes. It’s a graphic look reminiscent of patterns that were popular during the midcentury modern era.

The shower tile (made locally in Portland) lends a handcrafted feel to the room, and its square shape nods to midcentury modern design. The tile “helps warm the room, has a sparkle to its glaze and has beautiful variation that feels midcentury. And midrange colors are much better at hiding dirt and dust than bright white or black,” the designer says. She also used a gray grout that’s easier to keep looking clean than white.

Tile: Ann Sacks; toilet and sinks: Icera

10 Reasons to Consider 4-by-4-Inch Tile

Casework

Also warming the room are the white oak vanity, mirrors and built-ins, all custom-crafted by Maple Key. The improved storage is more than ample for these homeowners. “My clients truly are minimalists. They don’t like clutter, and they really don’t have a lot of products or things like different hair appliances to put in here,” Keasler says.

Minimalistic detailing suits the couple’s tastes and nods to the midcentury modern era. The faucets have streamlined silhouettes, and rather than adorning the vanity’s drawers with hardware, Keasler gave them simple finger pulls. The clear glass shower divider is another minimalist element that helps the room feel open and larger than it is. The vanity’s legs make the floor feel more expansive, because the tile can be seen extending underneath it.

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Casework

The clients love wooden sailboats and the work of iconic Finnish architect and designer Aino Aalto. So the complex joinery and the simple, sail-like polyethylene shades of these sconces by Brendan Ravenhill were a terrific fit for them. There is additional recessed lighting in the ceiling.

For the countertop, Keasler led her clients toward simple, clean-looking white quartz, which is strong enough to stand up to a lot of wear and tear. She continued it up the wall as a 4-inch backsplash rather than using a different tile, for an uninterrupted minimalist look.

Countertop: Caesarstone

Casework

Eighteen-inch-deep built-ins that include shelves for towels, baskets and toiletries occupy the space the tub-shower used to occupy. Below the shelves are laundry hampers, because a tight space like this cannot handle dirty clothes left on the floor. The white oak of the built-ins matches that of the vanity and mirror frames.

Takeaways

Use easier-to-clean elements like a skirted toilet, midtone tile and durable quartz countertops, and use darker grout, which is easier to keep looking clean.
When updating a home but also respecting its history, reference silhouettes, materials and dimensions from the original era.
A clear glass shower divider and a vanity with legs will make a bathroom feel more open and expansive.
A bathroom is a great place for laundry hampers, particularly when the entire family shares the space.

General contractor: Raven Builders

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