Bathroom of the Week: An Open Feeling in 55 Square Feet
A designer uses Houzz ideabooks to identify a couple’s love of midcentury modern and clean vintage style
Becky Harris
February 11, 2020
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
As part of a complete remodel of their modestly sized bungalow, interior designer Molly Erin Carter fully renovated this Sacramento couple’s only full bathroom. After the couple shared their online inspiration photos, including Houzz ideabooks, the designer could see that the husband was drawn to midcentury modern style. “And while his wife was too, she also loved vintage finds and a vintage look, but in a way that’s less trendy than today’s popular bohemian looks,” the designer says.
Nodding to the era with clean-lined simplicity and warm walnut was a good fit for the compact bath. Carter then helped the couple stamp it with their own style by adding personal touches.
Nodding to the era with clean-lined simplicity and warm walnut was a good fit for the compact bath. Carter then helped the couple stamp it with their own style by adding personal touches.
“After” photos by Nicole Dianne Photography
Bathroom at a Glance
Who uses it: A couple
Location: Sacramento, California
Size: 55 square feet (5 square meters)
Designer: Molly Erin Carter of Molly Erin Designs
Before: The existing bathroom was even smaller than the remodeled version’s 55 square feet. The project included adding a small laundry room, a powder room and some closet space in a small addition. Carter was able to borrow space from the bedroom closet and a hall linen closet to create cabinets for storage.
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Bathroom at a Glance
Who uses it: A couple
Location: Sacramento, California
Size: 55 square feet (5 square meters)
Designer: Molly Erin Carter of Molly Erin Designs
Before: The existing bathroom was even smaller than the remodeled version’s 55 square feet. The project included adding a small laundry room, a powder room and some closet space in a small addition. Carter was able to borrow space from the bedroom closet and a hall linen closet to create cabinets for storage.
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After: Carter homed in on her clients’ style by observing things around the house, including a great art collection and the cool little vintage finds the wife loves to collect. She culled through the artwork and found this colorful piece for the bathroom. “And that vintage shaving kit is one of the vintage finds she already had — her husband really uses it,” Carter says.
Another midcentury-modern-inspired element is the double-globe milk glass sconce with brass accents, hung off center to the left of the mirror. Recessed lights in the ceiling provide most of the illumination in the room, and the globe fixture adds a mood-lighting option.
The shelf beneath the long vessel sink is walnut. Carter designed it to line up perfectly with the square tiles she’d picked for the backsplash. The tiles and the chrome faucets have a midcentury modern look. “Wall-mounted faucets gave them more room to leave a few things on the sink, which was important,” Carter says. They can also tuck items into the cabinet over the toilet.
Browse round mirrors in the Houzz Shop
Another midcentury-modern-inspired element is the double-globe milk glass sconce with brass accents, hung off center to the left of the mirror. Recessed lights in the ceiling provide most of the illumination in the room, and the globe fixture adds a mood-lighting option.
The shelf beneath the long vessel sink is walnut. Carter designed it to line up perfectly with the square tiles she’d picked for the backsplash. The tiles and the chrome faucets have a midcentury modern look. “Wall-mounted faucets gave them more room to leave a few things on the sink, which was important,” Carter says. They can also tuck items into the cabinet over the toilet.
Browse round mirrors in the Houzz Shop
Tall new walnut cabinetry is visible in the foreground on the right side of this photo. “I knew we’d have to do a floating sink like this to make the room feel bigger,” Carter says. She made up for the loss of vanity storage with the walnut cabinets, the recessed medicine cabinet and the horizontal cabinet over the toilet.
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The clients also already had the hanging planter that Carter hung over the toilet. It adds some life, texture and color to the room.
Both husband and wife are fans of hexagonal tile, and a black option with dark grout provides contrast, isn’t too busy for the small space and is easy to keep looking clean. Carter painted the ceiling black. “I felt we needed the contrast,” she says. “The dark grout looks good against a dark surface like this. And the black ceiling creates a frame and some drama.”
Find the right white vessel sink for your bathroom
Both husband and wife are fans of hexagonal tile, and a black option with dark grout provides contrast, isn’t too busy for the small space and is easy to keep looking clean. Carter painted the ceiling black. “I felt we needed the contrast,” she says. “The dark grout looks good against a dark surface like this. And the black ceiling creates a frame and some drama.”
Find the right white vessel sink for your bathroom
Before: The shallow tub and old tile were not at all inviting for bathing and showering.
After: A new streamlined tub is a much better fit for the space. Its thin edge leaves more room to move around in the shower than the thick sides of the existing tub did. Another small detail that made a big difference was using a curved shower curtain rod. “It really makes the shower feel bigger,” Carter says.
To keep to the budget, she knew she needed to use inexpensive tile. She picked three different sizes of standard white tile at a big-box store. “We knew we needed to make the inexpensive tile look fancy so we got creative. We played around with them on the floor of the store and came up with this pattern,” she says. She alternated the three different tiles in horizontal stripes, using a running bond pattern and dark grout. The square tiles nod to midcentury modern design but the composition is fresh and unique. Carter lined up the large niches to correspond with the pattern. “I think everyone needs niches that can handle Costco-size bottles of shampoo,” she says.
Her clients found the shower curtain online and Carter gave it a thumbs up. Like the macrame on the hanging plant, the fringe detail adds just a smidgen of bohemian style.
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To keep to the budget, she knew she needed to use inexpensive tile. She picked three different sizes of standard white tile at a big-box store. “We knew we needed to make the inexpensive tile look fancy so we got creative. We played around with them on the floor of the store and came up with this pattern,” she says. She alternated the three different tiles in horizontal stripes, using a running bond pattern and dark grout. The square tiles nod to midcentury modern design but the composition is fresh and unique. Carter lined up the large niches to correspond with the pattern. “I think everyone needs niches that can handle Costco-size bottles of shampoo,” she says.
Her clients found the shower curtain online and Carter gave it a thumbs up. Like the macrame on the hanging plant, the fringe detail adds just a smidgen of bohemian style.
More on Houzz
Read more bathroom stories
Find a bathroom designer
Shop for your bathroom
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Love this bathroom! Any chance you can provide info for the alcove tub?
I would also love to know the model of the tub.
What are the dimensions for this bathroom?