Bathroom of the Week: Traditional Style in a North Carolina Home
A designer right-sizes a badly proportioned room to make it comfortable, elegant and functional
Sometimes a room’s scale can be too big. While this is a good problem to have, it often takes the intervention of a savvy design pro to rectify the situation. “This was a two-story bathroom with 20-foot ceilings, a huge Jacuzzi tub, a small shower and cabinetry that was badly laid out,” designer Lisa Jones says. Her solution was to lower the ceiling, come up with a layout that was visually pleasing and right-size all the elements. She added ample and visually pleasing storage, expanded the shower stall and used elegant finishes that suit the home’s traditional style.
After: Jones took the ceiling down to 10 feet to make the room feel more comfortable and pleasingly proportioned. Then she added a beautiful glass ceiling light.
One of the biggest interventions was replacing the Jacuzzi with a 6-foot-long freestanding tub with an elegant silhouette. It serves as a focal point in the space.
Bathtub: Victoria + Albert; tub filler: DXV
One of the biggest interventions was replacing the Jacuzzi with a 6-foot-long freestanding tub with an elegant silhouette. It serves as a focal point in the space.
Bathtub: Victoria + Albert; tub filler: DXV
The designer replaced the leaded glass window with one that was a better fit for the traditional style of the house. Roman shades in a beautiful botanical fabric add a soft element in the room.
Browse white freestanding bathtubs
Browse white freestanding bathtubs
Before: This photo shows how awkward the high ceilings looked compared with the height of the doors. There was an Alice in Wonderland effect in which the ceiling made a lot of the elements of the bathroom look too small.
The shower had a curtain rather than a glass enclosure, and it had a plastic surround.
The shower had a curtain rather than a glass enclosure, and it had a plastic surround.
After: The new larger shower stall measures 8 feet by 4 feet. “I like to use the same tile on the bathroom floors and shower walls,” Jones says. “This is a very traditional home, so we chose a tile that looks like Calacatta marble. But we used porcelain for easier maintenance.”
She also chose polished nickel fixtures to suit the home’s style. “I like a shiny nickel because it adds more depth than a brushed finish does,” Jones says. “And you can mix gold with it — it works well with the golds and browns in the Calacatta-like veining in the tiles.” She chose gold finishes for the sconces and cabinet hardware. “Things are more timeless when there’s a mix. I use trendier finishes on things like hardware and sconces because they are easier to switch out than plumbing fixtures if they want a change. Plumbing fixtures are an investment, and polished nickel will stand the test of time,” Jones says. She also notes that polished nickel fixtures from different brands will consistently match, while many other finishes will vary from brand to brand.
While the homeowners didn’t want to install grab bars inside the shower, Jones had the shower framed to accommodate them in the future. “The builder blocked the wall out for grab bars and we gave the homeowners a little map of where they should go if they ever need to install them,” she says.
She also chose polished nickel fixtures to suit the home’s style. “I like a shiny nickel because it adds more depth than a brushed finish does,” Jones says. “And you can mix gold with it — it works well with the golds and browns in the Calacatta-like veining in the tiles.” She chose gold finishes for the sconces and cabinet hardware. “Things are more timeless when there’s a mix. I use trendier finishes on things like hardware and sconces because they are easier to switch out than plumbing fixtures if they want a change. Plumbing fixtures are an investment, and polished nickel will stand the test of time,” Jones says. She also notes that polished nickel fixtures from different brands will consistently match, while many other finishes will vary from brand to brand.
While the homeowners didn’t want to install grab bars inside the shower, Jones had the shower framed to accommodate them in the future. “The builder blocked the wall out for grab bars and we gave the homeowners a little map of where they should go if they ever need to install them,” she says.
The shower has a rain shower head, a regular shower head, a handheld wand and four body jets. It also has a bench, concealed from the rest of the bathroom by a tile-covered pony wall that matches the bathroom floor and shower walls. “This provides privacy for the bench and hides any overflow bath products the homeowners may want to store on it,” Jones says.
The benchtop is white quartz and the front is tiled to match the shower walls. “I like to bring a shower bench down to the floor. This is a big shower so it didn’t need the open look of a floating bench,” Jones says. There are also dual sets of niches in the shower, one for each homeowner.
“At first my clients thought they wanted a steam shower, but after asking them questions, I determined they just wanted a really hot, steamy shower. There’s a difference,” she says. By extending the glass shower enclosure to the ceiling, the shower can feel a lot like a steam shower without the extra expense. The section of glass over the shower door can be tilted for ventilation when needed.
The benchtop is white quartz and the front is tiled to match the shower walls. “I like to bring a shower bench down to the floor. This is a big shower so it didn’t need the open look of a floating bench,” Jones says. There are also dual sets of niches in the shower, one for each homeowner.
“At first my clients thought they wanted a steam shower, but after asking them questions, I determined they just wanted a really hot, steamy shower. There’s a difference,” she says. By extending the glass shower enclosure to the ceiling, the shower can feel a lot like a steam shower without the extra expense. The section of glass over the shower door can be tilted for ventilation when needed.
Jones designed one long double vanity that provides pleasing symmetry. A pair of towers with drawers on the bottom maximize storage space. The countertop is white quartz and the plumbing fixtures are polished nickel.
“I would usually take the cabinetry to the ceiling, but with 10-foot ceilings this would have been too much,” Jones says. “We ran crown molding around the top of it instead. And the crown molding helped frame the large mirror. I love a big mirror. It makes a room feel more open and it helps people who are aging in place see better.”
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“I would usually take the cabinetry to the ceiling, but with 10-foot ceilings this would have been too much,” Jones says. “We ran crown molding around the top of it instead. And the crown molding helped frame the large mirror. I love a big mirror. It makes a room feel more open and it helps people who are aging in place see better.”
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One of the towers has a magnifying makeup mirror that pulls out, and they both have outlets hidden inside for items like electric shavers and toothbrushes. Inside the other cabinets is a hair appliance drawer with an outlet inside and a charging drawer.
The vanity has recessed lighting overhead, and Jones also added decorative sconces to the sides of the towers, leaving the large mirror open.
Browse bathroom lighting in the Houzz Shop
Browse bathroom lighting in the Houzz Shop
Before: There were two separate vanities flanking the Jacuzzi in an awkward way. And the separate water closet was so badly configured that the door couldn’t swing completely open.
After: Jones expanded the water closet space into an adjacent bedroom closet behind the bathroom to create enough room for the door swing. The homeowners opted for a tricked-out toilet with a bidet.
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Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: Wake Forest, North Carolina
Size: 200 square feet (19 square meters)
Designer: Lisa Jones of Kitchen & Bath Galleries
Contractor: Frey’s Building and Remodeling
Before: Two separate vanities butted right up against the very large Jacuzzi’s surround. “And the gaudy leaded window needed to go,” Jones says.
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