Bathroom of the Week: Brighter and Breezier With a Wet Room Setup
A designer transforms a muted Tuscan-style space with lighter finishes, a new shower and a more open layout
Lance and Chelsea Baird liked the large size of the primary bathroom in their 2003 Frisco, Texas, home. But something had to be done about the ornate Tuscan style and angular layout, which included a large built-in tub in the middle of the room with a partition wall blocking off a corner shower.
Seeking a brighter, more open space that reflected the modern farmhouse style they created in the rest of their home, the Bairds hired designer Katherine Milljour. She removed the tub and the partition wall setup and squared off the room’s dimensions to create a cleaner layout with a spacious wet room area. White walls, tile and countertops brighten the room with fresh style. Custom alder vanities and an alder linen cabinet add warmth, while black details bring a touch of contrast.
Seeking a brighter, more open space that reflected the modern farmhouse style they created in the rest of their home, the Bairds hired designer Katherine Milljour. She removed the tub and the partition wall setup and squared off the room’s dimensions to create a cleaner layout with a spacious wet room area. White walls, tile and countertops brighten the room with fresh style. Custom alder vanities and an alder linen cabinet add warmth, while black details bring a touch of contrast.
After: Milljour knocked the space back to the studs and eliminated the built-in tub and partition wall. She then squared off the previously angled water closet to create a cleaner look.
A spacious glass-enclosed wet room combines the shower and tub functions in a light and airy arrangement. “It’s great that we can close the wet room door and the kids can splash around in the tub as much as they want,” Chelsea says.
Warm, soft white walls (Snowbound by Sherwin-Williams) with white ceiling and trim (Pure White by Sherwin-Williams) join white 12-by-24-inch porcelain floor tiles and creamy white shower wall tiles to give the room a bright, fresh look.
The matte-finish flooring is laid in a herringbone pattern with light gray grout for a graphic element. “We just liked that it was a clean look and not super busy, but it still had interesting movement throughout the tile,” Chelsea says.
Flooring: Sterlina in white with matte finish, 12 by 24 inches, Emser Tile
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A spacious glass-enclosed wet room combines the shower and tub functions in a light and airy arrangement. “It’s great that we can close the wet room door and the kids can splash around in the tub as much as they want,” Chelsea says.
Warm, soft white walls (Snowbound by Sherwin-Williams) with white ceiling and trim (Pure White by Sherwin-Williams) join white 12-by-24-inch porcelain floor tiles and creamy white shower wall tiles to give the room a bright, fresh look.
The matte-finish flooring is laid in a herringbone pattern with light gray grout for a graphic element. “We just liked that it was a clean look and not super busy, but it still had interesting movement throughout the tile,” Chelsea says.
Flooring: Sterlina in white with matte finish, 12 by 24 inches, Emser Tile
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Two custom alder vanities add warmth and feature Shaker-style fronts with black pulls that coordinate with other black details in the room. “We designed the cabinetry to give the look of a floating vanity without the large gap for items to get lost beneath,” Milljour says.
An oversize custom black-framed mirror hangs over each vanity. “We went with large mirrors instead of smaller because the scale of the bathroom is large,” Milljour says. “We also knew the wet room glass would be across and we wanted those to complement it.”
Aged brass sconces with sleek white silk shades flank the mirrors and go with champagne bronze faucets, shower fixtures and other details.
Milljour updated the water closet, on the right, with a new toilet but kept the former door and painted it white to match the trim. “The molding on the doors was so pretty, we didn’t want to go back in with a new door,” she says.
She also kept and updated the double doors on the left, which lead to the couple’s primary closet.
Custom vanities: Alder in British Tan stain, Shaker door and drawer fronts, faux floating detail, Benedettini Cabinetry; sconces: Trenton in aged brass, Crystorama Lighting
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An oversize custom black-framed mirror hangs over each vanity. “We went with large mirrors instead of smaller because the scale of the bathroom is large,” Milljour says. “We also knew the wet room glass would be across and we wanted those to complement it.”
Aged brass sconces with sleek white silk shades flank the mirrors and go with champagne bronze faucets, shower fixtures and other details.
Milljour updated the water closet, on the right, with a new toilet but kept the former door and painted it white to match the trim. “The molding on the doors was so pretty, we didn’t want to go back in with a new door,” she says.
She also kept and updated the double doors on the left, which lead to the couple’s primary closet.
Custom vanities: Alder in British Tan stain, Shaker door and drawer fronts, faux floating detail, Benedettini Cabinetry; sconces: Trenton in aged brass, Crystorama Lighting
Shop from a curated collection of popular bathroom vanities
Before: In the former space, the muted single-color palette and ornate molding and cabinetwork gave a general impression of being basic and busy all at once.
After: New paint, storage and millwork give a cleaner look.
The new custom alder linen cabinet on the left coordinates with the vanities and adds warmth and storage. “There’s so much room on the bottom for towels — and space on top for things we want to keep away from the kids,” Chelsea says.
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The new custom alder linen cabinet on the left coordinates with the vanities and adds warmth and storage. “There’s so much room on the bottom for towels — and space on top for things we want to keep away from the kids,” Chelsea says.
8 Bathroom Features Homeowners Want Now
Each vanity has a 20-inch white undermount basin sink and a two-handle widespread faucet with champagne bronze finish. “We really wanted the bathroom to feel warm, so we did that by utilizing the champagne bronze, gold tones and stained wood cabinetry,” Milljour says. “We liked it light and bright, but used those items to warm it up.”
Marble-look quartz countertops and backsplashes add to the lightness.
Faucets: Trinsic in champagne bronze, Delta Faucet
Marble-look quartz countertops and backsplashes add to the lightness.
Faucets: Trinsic in champagne bronze, Delta Faucet
In the wet room, matte black penny glass mosaic flooring provides contrast and a nonslip surface. “We liked having the black accents and thought this would be a really fun spot for this pop of black,” Milljour says.
On the walls, 4-by-4-inch zellige-style tiles have varying creamy tones. “We wanted something that would give us a clean look without being sterile,” Chelsea says. “We like the variation in this tile.”
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On the walls, 4-by-4-inch zellige-style tiles have varying creamy tones. “We wanted something that would give us a clean look without being sterile,” Chelsea says. “We like the variation in this tile.”
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
A 66-inch white soaking tub features an elegant curved look. “We wanted maximum visual impact,” Milljour says. “We liked the softness of this tub as opposed to going rectangle.”
The wall-mounted faucet’s champagne bronze finish goes with the other plumbing fixtures. “We originally picked a floor-mounted faucet, but after the shower was demoed we realized there wasn’t enough room for it to fit without being crowded,” Chelsea says. “We’re really happy with how the wall-mounted one looks. It’s really the right decision looking back.”
The wall-mounted faucet’s champagne bronze finish goes with the other plumbing fixtures. “We originally picked a floor-mounted faucet, but after the shower was demoed we realized there wasn’t enough room for it to fit without being crowded,” Chelsea says. “We’re really happy with how the wall-mounted one looks. It’s really the right decision looking back.”
A nearby niche keeps bath products organized and off the floor. “We put a little LED light strip up inside the niche, and it looks stunning at night,” Milljour says.
Two hooks on either side of the tub keep towels close by. “They don’t get wet,” Chelsea says. “We weren’t sure at first, but they don’t get wet.”
Two hooks on either side of the tub keep towels close by. “They don’t get wet,” Chelsea says. “We weren’t sure at first, but they don’t get wet.”
The shower fixtures include a ceiling-mounted rain head and a wall-mounted hand shower on a slide bar, both in a champagne bronze finish.
The brighter, more open bathroom gives the busy parents the relaxing retreat they were looking for. “We really wanted to achieve a spa-like bathroom that would also function the way we wanted it to,” Chelsea says. “I really love this bathroom.”
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The brighter, more open bathroom gives the busy parents the relaxing retreat they were looking for. “We really wanted to achieve a spa-like bathroom that would also function the way we wanted it to,” Chelsea says. “I really love this bathroom.”
More on Houzz
Read more bathroom stories
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Shop for your bathroom
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: Lance and Chelsea Baird and their two kids and dog
Location: Frisco, Texas
Size: 237 square feet (22 square meters)
Designer: Katherine Milljour, who worked on this project for Huntington Remodeling
Before: In the former bathroom, a mostly beige palette made an underwhelming impression. The ornate vanities and millwork created a style the homeowners found too traditional.
Meanwhile, an imposing built-in jetted tub sat almost in the middle of the room, with a partition wall behind it separating an open corner shower. “The size of that drop-in deck-mounted tub took up a ton of floor space, and you couldn’t see the shower at all,” Milljour says. “It made the flow of the bathroom very difficult.”
An angled water closet in the back left corner further complicated the layout.