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White Paint and Patterned Tile Freshen Up a 5-by-11-Foot Bathroom

A designer uses a light palette and hardworking cabinetry to update a couple’s 1970s hallway bathroom

Jeannie Matteucci October 1, 2019

Houzz Contributor. Home design writer and lifestyle reporter with a love for stylish spaces, smart lighting and a good decaf dry cappuccino.

Houzz Contributor. Home design writer and lifestyle reporter with a love for stylish... More

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In 2007, Jason and Shannon Langer moved into Shannon’s childhood home. The busy tech-industry couple worked with design pros to remodel the 1978 home in phases over the years. More recently, they remodeled the dated beige guest bathroom down the hall from their master bedroom. Shannon gets up early and likes to use the hallway bathroom rather than the master bathroom so her morning routine isn’t so disruptive to Jason.

For help, they turned to designer Holly Bero, whom they had hired when they remodeled their kitchen a couple of years earlier. Bero used a bright, neutral palette, played with pattern and texture for a fresh look, and incorporated hardworking cabinet storage to efficiently organize and hide Shannon’s beauty products.

Before Photo

“After” photos by Mochie Snyder of Jon + Moch Photography

Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: Jason and Shannon Langer, who both work in the tech industry
Location: Kent, Washington
Size: About 55 square feet (5.1 square meters); 5 by 11 feet
Designer: Holly Bero Interiors

Before: The Langers thought the beige tones in the existing 5-by-11-foot bathroom gave it a “blah” feel. And an awkward half wall with a curved cutout separated the vanity from the toilet and the shower-bath area, making the room feel smaller than it was. “My mom had done some surface updates, but it was pretty much the same since the 1970s,” Shannon says.

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H. Bero Interiors

After: Bero took the bathroom down to the studs, replaced the drywall and updated the plumbing and electrical. She removed the half wall to allow for a larger vanity and to create an airier layout. “A lot more light gets into the whole space now,” says Shannon, who used photos from Houzz to help her and Bero come up with ideas for style, materials and more.

The graphic black-and-white distressed porcelain floor tile was the jumping-off point for the new design. From there, Bero introduced crisp white walls (Pure White by Sherwin-Williams), white wall tile laid in a chevron pattern, black accents and a slate-gray vanity.

An existing skylight that had been upgraded during a previous roof renovation lets natural light pour in.

Wall paint: Pure White, Sherwin-Williams

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Before Photo

Before: The original 1970s cabinet included a laminate countertop. The top-mount sink was added later, but the raised edge made it difficult to clean the sink and countertop. “It also made the small amount of counter space feel even smaller,” Bero says.

H. Bero Interiors

After: The new solid wood slate-gray vanity features a Carrara marble countertop, chrome hardware and concealed adjustable hinges for a smooth look. “We liked the detail of this vanity,” Bero says. “It has an almost furniture quality to it. We wanted something that softly accented the floor and brought some color in.”

H. Bero Interiors

A rectangular mirror with a matte black frame hangs above the vanity. “It was about a play of black and white,” Bero says. “I wanted something to pop off the crisp white wall.”

A lean LED light fixture with a brushed-nickel finish and nice detailing balances the long length of the mirror and provides illumination for the vanity area.

H. Bero Interiors

A rectangular predrilled undermount sink and a wide-spread faucet with a solid brass cast body and brushed-nickel finish complete the vanity.

This view also highlights the glazed white 2-by-9-inch tiles individually set in a chevron pattern, with a light gray grout and black pencil tile for the trim. “I wanted something that would add texture and detail to the wall,” Bero says. “The gray grout gives enough color difference to accentuate the chevron pattern.”

Faucet: Mylan, Delta

H. Bero Interiors

In addition to drawer storage, the vanity has two paneled doors that conceal pullout bamboo trays with dividers. The top shelf of the cabinet includes heat-resistant metal bins for storing blow dryers, flat irons and other hair tools. There’s also a power strip for charging blow dryers and more. “I love my products,” Shannon says. “I told [Bero] I need a lot of storage, that it was definitely a requirement. This has allowed me to organize my products, like a special cube just for my lipsticks.”

H. Bero Interiors

The tiles in the chevron pattern used for the wall behind the vanity were done before the freestanding vanity was added, for a finished look when the cabinet doors are open.

H. Bero Interiors

This view of the bathroom looking toward the door to the hallway highlights the patterned-tile floor and the paneled wood door, which is painted the same crisp white as the walls. This attractive paneled door replaced a generic-looking flat door, adding definition and character. “I’ve been storing that door for quite a few years, waiting to put it in,” Shannon says.

The toilet was also upgraded to a more appealing design, and it saves water.

Toilet: Archer, Kohler

H. Bero Interiors

Bero continued the chevron-pattern tiling and black pencil trim on the wall opposite the vanity. “The pattern has such rhythm to it. Leaving that wall bare wouldn’t work, because it needed something to stand up to it,” Bero says. “I love the idea of the matte black pencil trim that creates a line that leads you into the space. It adds that detail and interest that makes the room.”

The framed art on the wall adds a touch of color and picks up the white and black accents used in this bathroom. Bero “sent us a couple of choices, and my husband and I picked out our favorite,” Shannon says. “She really helped us with all the finishing details, from the shower curtain to the soap pump.”

Before Photo

Before: This photo shows the existing shower-bath combo, including its beige tiles that were cut off well before the ceiling line, making the space feel shorter and incomplete. “My mom had put in one of those old brass enclosures, but it was drilled to the tub, so we had to take it all out,” Shannon says.

H. Bero Interiors

After: Bero used the same chevron-pattern tile around three walls and all the way to the ceiling to help visually heighten the room. The couple went with a new shower curtain instead of glass, to avoid having to scrub the glass clean.

H. Bero Interiors

Bero put a shower niche on the wall opposite the shower to avoid having water sitting inside the niche. She detailed the area with polished white-and-gray marble mosaic tile with a touch of black in an elegant pattern; it adds a nice decorative touch to the shower and ties into the marble used for the vanity top. “This bathroom is full of detail and texture,” Bero says. “It shows [that] a room doesn’t have to be full of color to be interesting. When you pay attention to details, you elevate the design.”

Now Shannon has a bathroom that makes the day ahead seem less daunting. “It just has a better energy when I go in there,” Shannon says. “I just feel happy in the morning now.”

Niche tile: Florita, Wall & Tile

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