Bathroom Design
Before and Afters
Bathroom of the Week: A Black, Gray, Gold and Glam Attic Retreat
A kitchen and bath remodeler turns an angular attic into a sophisticated teen zone that will work for grandparents later
The existing bathroom in the attic of Janelle Helms’ clients needed an upgrade. Despite taking up nearly 200 square feet, the third-floor space, used primarily by the homeowners’ teenage daughter, had only a tub, a toilet and a tiny mirror above a tiny pedestal sink. Plus, the bathroom didn’t have a door, and the teen, whose bedroom is next door, needed her privacy. Helms, a designer with Karr Bick Kitchen and Bath in St. Louis, worked closely with the teen and her parents to reconfigure the layout. The charming retreat they created makes the most of the unique space and will work for the daughter for the few remaining years she’s living at home, then later for the homeowners’ aging parents.
The attic’s pitched walls presented the first obstacle Helms and her team had to tackle. The floor plan shown here illustrates how Helms reimagined the space to put its unique lines to good use.
“The biggest challenge was obviously the angles, with it being on the third floor like that,” Helms says. “And then with it being a large space, making sure they filled up the space and it wasn’t just a bunch of random stuff around the perimeter.”
To do that, the clients looked to Houzz ideabooks for inspiration and moved forward with Helms’ design, which included an extra-long vanity and makeup station, seen here, anchored by custom angled cabinetry. The corresponding mirrors go all the way up and add reflective brightness while also showcasing the room’s interesting lines and high ceilings. Brushed gold hardware and sconces and the glitzy crystal pendant light give the vanity area a touch of Old Hollywood glam. The teen is a dancer, and she and her friends often use the space to prep before recitals.
“She wanted it to have a wow factor and be a little bit glamorous for her so when her friends came over it’s a fun spot for them all to be able to get ready in,” Helms says.
Find a bath remodeler near you
To do that, the clients looked to Houzz ideabooks for inspiration and moved forward with Helms’ design, which included an extra-long vanity and makeup station, seen here, anchored by custom angled cabinetry. The corresponding mirrors go all the way up and add reflective brightness while also showcasing the room’s interesting lines and high ceilings. Brushed gold hardware and sconces and the glitzy crystal pendant light give the vanity area a touch of Old Hollywood glam. The teen is a dancer, and she and her friends often use the space to prep before recitals.
“She wanted it to have a wow factor and be a little bit glamorous for her so when her friends came over it’s a fun spot for them all to be able to get ready in,” Helms says.
Find a bath remodeler near you
Before: The large room had only a small pedestal sink and a small mirror.
After: The light gray custom double vanity is topped with quartz counters. Underfoot, the floor is marble-look porcelain tile. The teen knew she wanted gold accents, like the metal chair and drawer pulls, but when Helms showed her the polished nickel faucets she loved them. They decided to use both.
“We thought it would add another layer of depth to mix it up a little bit,” Helms says.
At 108 inches tall, the linen cabinet in the background of this photo posed another problem for the team: There was no easy way to get it up to the attic. The house has an elevator, so the crew sent the elevator car to the basement and loaded the cabinet on top of it from the first floor. The car then stopped at the second floor, and the crew pulled the piece off the top of the car from the third-floor landing.
Browse double vanities on Houzz
“We thought it would add another layer of depth to mix it up a little bit,” Helms says.
At 108 inches tall, the linen cabinet in the background of this photo posed another problem for the team: There was no easy way to get it up to the attic. The house has an elevator, so the crew sent the elevator car to the basement and loaded the cabinet on top of it from the first floor. The car then stopped at the second floor, and the crew pulled the piece off the top of the car from the third-floor landing.
Browse double vanities on Houzz
Before: The room had a tub but no shower.
After: Fitting in a full-size shower amid the bathroom’s angled walls was tricky.
“The middle of the bathroom had quite a bit of ceiling height, but that unfortunately is also where the window was,” Helms says. “We couldn’t just go across the back, so we added a wall to make that where the shower head would be.”
The shower features black marble tile for the walls and a quartz slab for the bench that spans its length. The shower head can be hand-held, which may prove particularly useful, along with the bench, when the homeowners’ aging parents move in.
11 Ways to Age-Proof Your Bathroom
“The middle of the bathroom had quite a bit of ceiling height, but that unfortunately is also where the window was,” Helms says. “We couldn’t just go across the back, so we added a wall to make that where the shower head would be.”
The shower features black marble tile for the walls and a quartz slab for the bench that spans its length. The shower head can be hand-held, which may prove particularly useful, along with the bench, when the homeowners’ aging parents move in.
11 Ways to Age-Proof Your Bathroom
Before: The room’s bright colors and features were fitting for a kids’ space but no longer worked for a teen. The space also needed to be set up to eventually accommodate the grandparents.
After: Black elements beyond the shower, such as the wainscoting and window frames, add texture and balance.
“We did the black wainscoting to make it pop around the perimeter so it was a nice contrast,” Helms says.
More on Houzz
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“We did the black wainscoting to make it pop around the perimeter so it was a nice contrast,” Helms says.
More on Houzz
These Bathrooms Play All the Angles
How to Remodel Your Bathroom
See more bathroom inspiration photos
Read more bathroom design stories
Who lives here: A couple and their teenage daughter — she’s the youngest of six daughters and the only one still living at home
Location: St. Louis
Size: 192 square feet (18 square meters)
Designer: Janelle Helms of Karr Bick Kitchen and Bath