Bathroom of the Week: Light Look With a Blue-Green Vanity
A designer brightens a small bathroom with crisp whites and adds subtle drama with black details and colorful storage
Diana de los Rios’ Craftsman-style home has been in her family since it was built in 1924. It’d been remodeled over the years, but when she and husband Nicholas Santillan and their 4-year-old son moved in in 2021, they wanted to update the rooms with a fresh and timeless style.
A big focus was the only bathroom in the house. The compact space featured a basic cherry vanity and lots of beige tile that gave it a gloomy appearance. Wanting a lighter look and improved storage, the couple turned to designer Hope Pinc. She removed a soffit above the shower-tub area and used a frameless glass enclosure on the new shower-tub combo to open up sightlines. She then brought in lots of bright white finishes to lighten the look. Black-and-white hexagonal floor tile and other black details add a touch of drama, while a soft blue-green vanity brings improved style and storage.
A big focus was the only bathroom in the house. The compact space featured a basic cherry vanity and lots of beige tile that gave it a gloomy appearance. Wanting a lighter look and improved storage, the couple turned to designer Hope Pinc. She removed a soffit above the shower-tub area and used a frameless glass enclosure on the new shower-tub combo to open up sightlines. She then brought in lots of bright white finishes to lighten the look. Black-and-white hexagonal floor tile and other black details add a touch of drama, while a soft blue-green vanity brings improved style and storage.
After: Pinc stripped the bathroom back and removed the soffit. A frameless glass enclosure gives the new 66-inch acrylic alcove soaking tub area a more open feel. “We did go back and forth about just making it a shower, but because our son is still young and I like baths myself, we went with the bath-shower combo,” De los Rios says.
On the shower walls, 7-by-8-inch white hexagonal porcelain tiles enhance the light and add a subtle pattern. White walls (Whisper White by Behr) and white ceiling and trim (Extra White by Sherwin-Williams) also brighten the room.
The flooring is black-and-white hexagonal mosaic tiles in a pattern inspired by those found in early-20th-century newsrooms. “We wanted a fun, unique pattern but also wanted to include elements throughout that were true to the original Craftsman style of the home,” Pinc says. Matte black plumbing fixtures and other details complement the tile.
Flooring: Union Mosaic in black, Jeffrey Court; shower fixtures: Contempra in black, Pfister; shower tile: Konzept in Terra Bianca glossy, 7 by 8 inches, Rocky Point Tile
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On the shower walls, 7-by-8-inch white hexagonal porcelain tiles enhance the light and add a subtle pattern. White walls (Whisper White by Behr) and white ceiling and trim (Extra White by Sherwin-Williams) also brighten the room.
The flooring is black-and-white hexagonal mosaic tiles in a pattern inspired by those found in early-20th-century newsrooms. “We wanted a fun, unique pattern but also wanted to include elements throughout that were true to the original Craftsman style of the home,” Pinc says. Matte black plumbing fixtures and other details complement the tile.
Flooring: Union Mosaic in black, Jeffrey Court; shower fixtures: Contempra in black, Pfister; shower tile: Konzept in Terra Bianca glossy, 7 by 8 inches, Rocky Point Tile
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The custom solid wood vanity is almost a foot longer than the previous one. “Because it’s the only bathroom in our house, it was important to utilize the space we have,” De los Rios says. “We thought about getting two sinks in here, but I really wanted to get more counter space. Although we made our vanity almost a foot longer, we didn’t want it to look crammed in. I’m used to living in smaller spaces, so it wasn’t a big deal to me to have two sinks.”
A soft blue-green color (Halcyon Green by Sherwin-Williams) punches up the design. “It skews more blue than green and goes with what we painted the bottom cabinets in our kitchen,” De los Rios says. “We thought that this was a nice tie-in but changed things up a little bit.”
The countertop and short backsplash are marble-look quartz.
A large cabinet with soft-close doors sits under the sink. “We can hide a small trash can there in that cabinet, as well as our bathroom cleaners,” De los Rios says.
A drawer below the cabinet adds extra closed storage. “It’s my favorite thing about this vanity,” De los Rios says. “That’s where we hold extra rolls of toilet paper. It’s so great having a dedicated space for that.”
Four drawers to the right of the cabinet offer storage for other bathroom essentials, with organizers in the two top drawers for small items like cosmetics.
A wall-mounted recessed mirrored medicine cabinet has an aluminum frame and matte black finish, with adjustable shelves inside.
Wall sconce: Astrid, Hudson Valley Lighting
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A soft blue-green color (Halcyon Green by Sherwin-Williams) punches up the design. “It skews more blue than green and goes with what we painted the bottom cabinets in our kitchen,” De los Rios says. “We thought that this was a nice tie-in but changed things up a little bit.”
The countertop and short backsplash are marble-look quartz.
A large cabinet with soft-close doors sits under the sink. “We can hide a small trash can there in that cabinet, as well as our bathroom cleaners,” De los Rios says.
A drawer below the cabinet adds extra closed storage. “It’s my favorite thing about this vanity,” De los Rios says. “That’s where we hold extra rolls of toilet paper. It’s so great having a dedicated space for that.”
Four drawers to the right of the cabinet offer storage for other bathroom essentials, with organizers in the two top drawers for small items like cosmetics.
A wall-mounted recessed mirrored medicine cabinet has an aluminum frame and matte black finish, with adjustable shelves inside.
Wall sconce: Astrid, Hudson Valley Lighting
Shop for bathroom vanities
A new white compact toilet to the left of the vanity has an elongated bowl for added comfort. “We adjusted the location of the toilet slightly to be more centered between the wall to the left of it and the vanity,” De los Rios says.
Two new white vinyl windows have frosted glass on the bottom for privacy and clear glass on top to allow in natural light.
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Two new white vinyl windows have frosted glass on the bottom for privacy and clear glass on top to allow in natural light.
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This floor plan shows the relatively compact layout of the bathroom. Light finishes and a frameless glass shower enclosure help brighten the small room, while a custom vanity (center left) maximizes storage.
“We were looking for something clean and airy,” De los Rios says. “The floor tile also ties back to when the house was built. It’s a nice combination of old and new.”
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“We were looking for something clean and airy,” De los Rios says. “The floor tile also ties back to when the house was built. It’s a nice combination of old and new.”
More on Houzz
Read more bathroom stories
Browse bathroom photos
Find a bathroom designer
Shop for your bathroom
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: Diana de los Rios and her husband, Nicholas Santillan; their 4-year-old son; and their two cats and a dog
Location: San Diego
Size: 65 square feet (6 square meters)
Designer: Hope Pinc Design
Before: Beige floor and shower tile and a dark cherry vanity with a brown granite countertop gave the former 61-square-foot bathroom a drab feel. “The bathroom had been updated in the early 2000s, so before this remodel there was a much darker color palette,” Pinc says.
A soffit over the shower-tub combo created a tight space. And a gap between the vanity and shower area wasted valuable square footage.