Bathroom of the Week: Smart Storage and a Fresh Look
A design-build team helps Arizona homeowners declutter and get organized in a bright transitional room
This Arizona homeowner, an artist, was ready to freshen up the bathroom she shared with her husband. Years of adding products to the space and not having enough places to hang towels and bathing suits had left the room in a cluttered state. She worked with Mike LaPine and Janet Jackson of design-build firm Alliance Contracting and interior designer Cynthia Flottmann of Roux Design Studio to create an open and airy space with transitional style and new storage solutions to help her and her husband stay organized.
After: The most important new element is the 96-inch-long vanity, which helps the homeowners stay neat and organized. Not having an open makeup area meant more room for storage. The nine drawers offer more efficient storage for bathroom items than the old setup did — the second drawer in the center accommodates hair appliances and has an outlet inside. The beveled mirrors conceal two recessed medicine cabinets.
A couple of other details worth noting are visible in the mirrors’ reflections.
On the left is a long row of hooks mounted on a piece of reclaimed wood to hold towels and bathing suits. On the right is a stylish ceiling fan. “The fact that it is in a spherical cage gives it more of a light fixture look,” Jackson says.
A separate toilet room is located across from the vanity.
A couple of other details worth noting are visible in the mirrors’ reflections.
On the left is a long row of hooks mounted on a piece of reclaimed wood to hold towels and bathing suits. On the right is a stylish ceiling fan. “The fact that it is in a spherical cage gives it more of a light fixture look,” Jackson says.
A separate toilet room is located across from the vanity.
The overall style mixes traditional and modern elements, resulting in a transitional style. The client is an artist and she loves matte black finishes and the way they provide contrast. So the plumbing fixtures, cabinet hardware, lighting and other accessories are all matte black. They bought the towel rings and other accessories on Houzz. “These faucets are traditional in style, but the matte black finish updates them,” Jackson says.
Flottmann found the digitally printed porcelain tiles with a fleur-de-lis motif for the floor. They add a graphic punch that pleases the homeowner’s artistic eye.
The countertops are a hardworking quartz that resembles marble. The clean, thicker-than-standard edge adds a modern element to the mix. Mixing traditional Shaker-style doors with modern slab-front drawers also contributes to the transitional style.
Towel rings: Bradford series, Residential Essentials; counters: Calacatta Valiente quartz, Arizona Tile
Flottmann found the digitally printed porcelain tiles with a fleur-de-lis motif for the floor. They add a graphic punch that pleases the homeowner’s artistic eye.
The countertops are a hardworking quartz that resembles marble. The clean, thicker-than-standard edge adds a modern element to the mix. Mixing traditional Shaker-style doors with modern slab-front drawers also contributes to the transitional style.
Towel rings: Bradford series, Residential Essentials; counters: Calacatta Valiente quartz, Arizona Tile
Before: The tub surround and translucent glass shower surround made the room feel cramped.
After: The bathtub and shower stall remained in the same locations. But the use of a freestanding tub and clear glass on the shower enclosure makes the room feel airier than before.
The new layout fits within the original footprint of the room. “Fitting a freestanding tub into the layout was a challenge,” Jackson says. By relocating the pony wall between the shower and bathtub she was able to fit it in. This was the only wall that had to be moved during the renovation. Jackson was able to add 6 inches of depth to the shower stall, gaining approximately 4 square feet inside.
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The bathtub’s shape adds some pretty curves to the room. A reclaimed-wood floating shelf gives the homeowners a spot to display a few favorite things. It’s made of reclaimed wood in the same tone as the towel hook piece, which together add warmth to the room.
Using a traditional element like subway tile but choosing an enlarged size is another way to get the traditional-meets-modern look of transitional style. These large subway tiles are 8 inches by 20 inches. Gray grout makes the pattern stand out and works well with the wall color. The grout color is Frost by Mapei and the wall paint is Cloud by Dunn-Edwards Paints. “This is a warm gray that changes color throughout the day,” Jackson says.
Browse white freestanding bathtubs
Using a traditional element like subway tile but choosing an enlarged size is another way to get the traditional-meets-modern look of transitional style. These large subway tiles are 8 inches by 20 inches. Gray grout makes the pattern stand out and works well with the wall color. The grout color is Frost by Mapei and the wall paint is Cloud by Dunn-Edwards Paints. “This is a warm gray that changes color throughout the day,” Jackson says.
Browse white freestanding bathtubs
The shower surround is semiframeless. This was an aesthetic choice. The designers felt that a streamlined channel for the glass would lend a cleaner look than using clips for frameless glass. The black channels pick up on the black handle, shower fixtures, tile edging strips and black hexagonal tiles on the shower floor.
The designers sized the niche around three of the floor tiles and added tempered glass shelves. They edged the niche in Schluter strips that play nicely off the glass channels and other tile edges.
“This homeowner is such a bundle of positive energy, she’s such a pleasure to work with,” Jackson says. “They didn’t like having all of that stuff around in the old bathroom, it just kind of happened over time. This room is much more reflective of their personalities.”
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“This homeowner is such a bundle of positive energy, she’s such a pleasure to work with,” Jackson says. “They didn’t like having all of that stuff around in the old bathroom, it just kind of happened over time. This room is much more reflective of their personalities.”
More on Houzz
Read more bathroom stories
Browse bathroom photos
Hire a bathroom designer
Shop for your bathroom
Bathroom at a Glance
Who uses it: This is a couple’s master bathroom
Location: Chandler, Arizona
Size: 150 square feet (14 square meters)
Contractor and designer: Mike LaPine and Janet Jackson of Alliance Contracting and Cynthia Flottmann of Roux Design Studio
Before: The biggest issue in the bathroom was a lack of storage. This photo shows some of the additional storage pieces the couple had added over the years.
While Jackson is an interior designer herself, she often enlists outside collaborators. Cynthia Flottmann of Roux Design Studio served as the interior designer for this project. She came up with a smart storage and organizational strategy by asking questions. These included what the homeowners needed and depended on having in here, what was stored in here that they didn’t need to have in the bathroom and how they used the room. This gave her an inventory of everything that had to be stored and a good sense of how the couple needed the room to function, allowing her to plan accordingly.
The homeowner shared that no one ever sat at the vanity in the makeup table area, that drawers for hair appliances would be beneficial and that the couple needed lots of hooks for towels and bathing suits.
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