Bathroom of the Week: Fresh Style and an Airy Layout
A design and remodeling team transforms a couple’s dated bathroom with a new palette, better storage and a roomy feel
Jeannie Matteucci
May 4, 2021
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
After 27 years of living with carpet on their master bathroom floor, Mike and Janet Bryant had had enough. “I couldn’t stand it any longer,” Janet says. “I had retired, and we had been putting it off, and I finally had time to work on this project.”
The carpet was the most significant source of frustration, but it wasn’t the only one. The Bryants had grown tired of the limited storage in the low-slung double vanity, the chocolate brown walls, the hulking built-in tub and the narrow shower stall. Armed with years of ideas collected from Houzz, the couple hired designer Brittney Heiser and Alpental Construction to create a brighter bathroom with more storage, fresh style and an airy layout. The now spa-like space has a hardworking vanity, freestanding tub, roomy shower, calming color palette and, best of all, no carpet.
The carpet was the most significant source of frustration, but it wasn’t the only one. The Bryants had grown tired of the limited storage in the low-slung double vanity, the chocolate brown walls, the hulking built-in tub and the narrow shower stall. Armed with years of ideas collected from Houzz, the couple hired designer Brittney Heiser and Alpental Construction to create a brighter bathroom with more storage, fresh style and an airy layout. The now spa-like space has a hardworking vanity, freestanding tub, roomy shower, calming color palette and, best of all, no carpet.
“After” photos by Brandon Heiser of Heiser Media
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: Mike and Janet Bryant
Location: Bellevue, Washington
Size: 144 square feet (13 square meters)
Builder: Alpental Construction
Designer: Brittney Heiser of Heiser Designs
Before: Carpet covered the floor in the previous bathroom, including the step up to the massive built-in tub that took up a lot of visual and physical space. The tub made the shower stall feel jammed into the room. A soffit above the shower didn’t help things. Plus, chocolate brown walls, brass accents and plain white square tile gave a dated look to the space. And the low-height vanity offered limited storage.
“It was a classic old bathroom, very traditional, with a lot of millwork,” Heiser says. “They’d done updating in other areas of the home, but this space wasn’t touched.”
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: Mike and Janet Bryant
Location: Bellevue, Washington
Size: 144 square feet (13 square meters)
Builder: Alpental Construction
Designer: Brittney Heiser of Heiser Designs
Before: Carpet covered the floor in the previous bathroom, including the step up to the massive built-in tub that took up a lot of visual and physical space. The tub made the shower stall feel jammed into the room. A soffit above the shower didn’t help things. Plus, chocolate brown walls, brass accents and plain white square tile gave a dated look to the space. And the low-height vanity offered limited storage.
“It was a classic old bathroom, very traditional, with a lot of millwork,” Heiser says. “They’d done updating in other areas of the home, but this space wasn’t touched.”
After: Heiser and the Alpental Construction crew stripped out the carpet, built-in tub, worn-out vanity and shower stall and soffit.
Fog-colored field tile in a glossy finish with a handmade look covers the walls that wrap around the shower, tub area and vanity. Large-format (12-by-24-inch) porcelain floor tiles in a similar color cover the floor. “Tile is more durable than having painted drywall,” Heiser says. “It protects the drywall and is easier to clean. I also like to use tile on the walls because it makes a big impact in the space.”
The soft gray tones of the tile join the dark, warm gray vanity color (Bear Creek by Benjamin Moore) to create a soothing atmosphere. “I’ve been looking at Houzz for years and started ideabooks for a bunch of different spaces,” Janet says. “I gathered ideas for this bathroom from Houzz too. Brittney actually created a special ideabook that I added photos and comments to, to help her in the gathering of the materials for this bathroom.”
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Fog-colored field tile in a glossy finish with a handmade look covers the walls that wrap around the shower, tub area and vanity. Large-format (12-by-24-inch) porcelain floor tiles in a similar color cover the floor. “Tile is more durable than having painted drywall,” Heiser says. “It protects the drywall and is easier to clean. I also like to use tile on the walls because it makes a big impact in the space.”
The soft gray tones of the tile join the dark, warm gray vanity color (Bear Creek by Benjamin Moore) to create a soothing atmosphere. “I’ve been looking at Houzz for years and started ideabooks for a bunch of different spaces,” Janet says. “I gathered ideas for this bathroom from Houzz too. Brittney actually created a special ideabook that I added photos and comments to, to help her in the gathering of the materials for this bathroom.”
Find a bathroom designer near you
Before: The former off-white vanity sat below standard countertop height. The Bryants had long ago outgrown its storage capacity. Oval drop-in sinks and a tile top made it difficult to clean. “Because it wasn’t a full overlay vanity, it was less functional,” Heiser says. “It was shorter than what we have now, and the interior of the drawers was smaller.”
Broadway lights over the large mirror cast the room in a dingy glow.
Broadway lights over the large mirror cast the room in a dingy glow.
After: The new custom full overlay paint-grade maple double vanity includes nine soft-close drawers and two large cabinets. “We had an electrician put an outlet inside one of the cabinets so I could plug in my hair dryer,” Janet says. “I also have a caddy in there for my hair dryer and curling iron that helps keep things off the counter.”
Polished nickel knobs and pulls coordinate with polished nickel mirror frames, three LED sconces and a towel ring.
A water closet is to the left of the vanity.
Vanity: custom, Hyland Cabinetworks; vanity hardware: Transcend Ascendra knobs and Transcend Ascendra pulls in polished nickel, Top Knobs; mirrors in polished nickel: Varaluz; wall sconces: Indeco in polished nickel, Kichler; towel ring: Purist, Kohler
Browse bathroom vanities in the Houzz Shop
Polished nickel knobs and pulls coordinate with polished nickel mirror frames, three LED sconces and a towel ring.
A water closet is to the left of the vanity.
Vanity: custom, Hyland Cabinetworks; vanity hardware: Transcend Ascendra knobs and Transcend Ascendra pulls in polished nickel, Top Knobs; mirrors in polished nickel: Varaluz; wall sconces: Indeco in polished nickel, Kichler; towel ring: Purist, Kohler
Browse bathroom vanities in the Houzz Shop
The widespread faucet also features a polished nickel finish. The sinks are rectangular undermount style. “We wanted to maximize the sink space but also make them feel more modern,” Heiser says.
The countertop is polished marble-look quartz. “It’s much easier to clean than the grout on the tile, and it’s beautiful too,” Janet says. The style coordinates with real marble accent tiles used near the bathtub and in the shower.
Faucets: Purist, Kohler
The countertop is polished marble-look quartz. “It’s much easier to clean than the grout on the tile, and it’s beautiful too,” Janet says. The style coordinates with real marble accent tiles used near the bathtub and in the shower.
Faucets: Purist, Kohler
A white 60-inch freestanding tub takes up less physical and visual space than the previous built-in tub and allowed for an expanded shower. “That’s my favorite part of the bathroom,” Janet says. “I love opening up the door and seeing that tub and the niche behind it. I consider it a beautiful focal point.”
Bathtub: Wyndham Collection
Bathtub: Wyndham Collection
Calacatta Oro marble tiles in a chevron pattern accent a long niche behind the bathtub. “Marble is great to use in a niche as an accent,” Heiser says. “Natural stone has certain characteristics you can’t find in manufactured stone. We wanted to have it visually stand out and be a focal point.”
The floor-mounted tub filler and handheld sprayer are also polished nickel.
Tub filler: Purist, Kohler
The floor-mounted tub filler and handheld sprayer are also polished nickel.
Tub filler: Purist, Kohler
Before: A basic brass-and-glass enclosure framed the narrow shower, which was made more cramped by the soffit. “It was a small shower, and there was nowhere to put shampoo bottles or soap,” Heiser says. “It didn’t function for them at all.”
After: With the soffit and built-in tub removed, Heiser was able to create a taller, wider and deeper shower. A frameless tempered glass enclosure keeps things light and airy.
The shower floor is marble mosaic basketweave tile. “If we went with the same color as the bathroom floor, it would have felt too monochromatic,” Heiser says.
The shower floor is marble mosaic basketweave tile. “If we went with the same color as the bathroom floor, it would have felt too monochromatic,” Heiser says.
Calacatta Oro marble tiles in a chevron pattern also line the new shower niche. “It’s definitely more convenient than having the shampoo on the shower floor,” Janet says.
The shower hardware is polished nickel.
The shower hardware is polished nickel.
This wide view of the bathroom shows the door to a linen closet to the right of the shower.
Ceiling paint: White Dove, Benjamin Moore
Ceiling paint: White Dove, Benjamin Moore
Before: This floor plan shows the layout of the previous bathroom, with the built-in tub in the upper right corner and the shower below. “You can see how large the tub deck was and how small the shower was before,” Janet says.
After: By eliminating the built-in tub and going with a freestanding tub, Heiser was able to give the Bryants an airier layout with a larger shower. “We achieved our goal of creating a beautiful, tranquil and light-filled space with a spa-like feel,” Janet says. “It was a huge improvement to our home.”
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More on Houzz
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Shop for your bathroom
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Lovely, fresh and contemporary. How do clean behind the freestanding bath?
What was used for the floor?
I am puzzled as to how one would turn the water on for the new tub. Do you stand in the tub to turn it on? Doesn’t seem very user friendly. Maybe I’m missing something. However, it is certainly a beautiful bathroom.