Bathroom of the Week: Airy With a Warm Spa Feel for Empty Nesters
A designer updates a 1990s bath with a lighter palette, looser layout and warm vibe with fluted white oak vanities
This empty-nest couple liked the overall layout of their bathroom. But the abundance of basic 1990s finishes hardly gave them the soothing spa feel they wanted. Tired of the glass-block-enclosed shower, standard white vanities, a massive built-in jetted tub and loose and chipped beige tile, they hired designer Laura Parsons for help.
Parsons aired out the layout with a new freestanding tub and a frameless glass shower enclosure. Two custom white oak vanities with fluted fronts add warmth and a textural detail that coordinates with whitewashed porcelain wall tiles that mimic the look of thin wood slats. Gray stone-look porcelain floor tiles introduce a durable surface with visual movement. And an upgraded shower system rounds out the spa-like look and feel.
Parsons aired out the layout with a new freestanding tub and a frameless glass shower enclosure. Two custom white oak vanities with fluted fronts add warmth and a textural detail that coordinates with whitewashed porcelain wall tiles that mimic the look of thin wood slats. Gray stone-look porcelain floor tiles introduce a durable surface with visual movement. And an upgraded shower system rounds out the spa-like look and feel.
After: Parsons stripped down the bathroom and updated the plumbing and electrical.
Custom white oak vanities with a furniture-style design add warmth and a textural element with their fluted fronts. “I initially proposed we do a reeded front, and she loved it but was concerned about keeping it clean,” Parsons says. “She had an accent table in her foyer that had this fluted front, and we showed it to our contractor. He made a sample and she loved it. The crevices aren’t as hard to keep clean and give her that texture we wanted.”
The fluted detail is picked up in the whitewashed porcelain wall tiles, which have the look of thin slatted wainscoting.
The floor tiles are 12-by-24-inch matte gray porcelain that mimic the look of stone. “There is movement in that tile,” Parsons says. “Almost like waves of water.”
Custom Roman shades in a blue-gray cotton-polyester blend block heat from the summer sun and add softness to the room.
Floor tile: Nova in gray, 12 by 24 inches, Emser Tile; wall tile: Kenridge Ribbon matte porcelain wood look in white, 24 by 48 inches, Tile Bar; wall, ceiling and trim paint: White Dove, Benjamin Moore
How to Choose a Bathroom Vanity: Your Step-by-Step Guide
Custom white oak vanities with a furniture-style design add warmth and a textural element with their fluted fronts. “I initially proposed we do a reeded front, and she loved it but was concerned about keeping it clean,” Parsons says. “She had an accent table in her foyer that had this fluted front, and we showed it to our contractor. He made a sample and she loved it. The crevices aren’t as hard to keep clean and give her that texture we wanted.”
The fluted detail is picked up in the whitewashed porcelain wall tiles, which have the look of thin slatted wainscoting.
The floor tiles are 12-by-24-inch matte gray porcelain that mimic the look of stone. “There is movement in that tile,” Parsons says. “Almost like waves of water.”
Custom Roman shades in a blue-gray cotton-polyester blend block heat from the summer sun and add softness to the room.
Floor tile: Nova in gray, 12 by 24 inches, Emser Tile; wall tile: Kenridge Ribbon matte porcelain wood look in white, 24 by 48 inches, Tile Bar; wall, ceiling and trim paint: White Dove, Benjamin Moore
How to Choose a Bathroom Vanity: Your Step-by-Step Guide
Before: The looming glass-block shower enclosure butted up against the built-in tub, giving the room a crammed look.
A wall niche above the tub awkwardly included a towel bar. “Initially we were going to leave the niche and demo everything else,” Parsons says. “We ended up completely taking that out and made it a flat wall.”
A wall niche above the tub awkwardly included a towel bar. “Initially we were going to leave the niche and demo everything else,” Parsons says. “We ended up completely taking that out and made it a flat wall.”
After: An upgraded low-curb shower with a frameless glass enclosure and a new freestanding bathtub help lighten up the corner and make the bathroom feel more spacious.
Find a bathroom designer near you
Find a bathroom designer near you
The oval freestanding glossy white tub is made from a durable solid-surface material with finely ground natural volcanic limestone. “Using a stone instead of an acrylic also keeps your water warmer longer,” Parsons says.
Tub: Vetralla in Englishcast White, Victoria + Albert
Tub: Vetralla in Englishcast White, Victoria + Albert
A floor-mounted tub filler with built-in diverter and hand shower has solid brass construction and a brushed bronze finish.
This photo also gives a closer look at the whitewashed wood-look porcelain wall tiles. “This was not an area you would want to put real wood,” Parsons says.
The window features a quartz sill that provides a spot to set a glass of wine.
11 Ways to Age-Proof Your Bathroom
This photo also gives a closer look at the whitewashed wood-look porcelain wall tiles. “This was not an area you would want to put real wood,” Parsons says.
The window features a quartz sill that provides a spot to set a glass of wine.
11 Ways to Age-Proof Your Bathroom
In the shower, interlocking handmade mosaic glass tiles with a soft matte finish add a decorative touch to the back wall. “It just gives it some interest versus a solid wall of tile,” Parsons says. “If we used a marble tile with lots of movement in it [for the field tile], we wouldn’t have done it.”
The rest of the shower walls are porcelain tiles with delicate veining. The shower floor and niche feature white and gray stone tiles.
Upgraded shower fixtures with a hand wand give the couple a bit of the spa-like experience they wanted.
Glass tiles: Tundra interlocking mosaic in Ice Cap, Maniscalco; shower fixtures: Vero Monitor 17 series, Delta Faucet
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
The rest of the shower walls are porcelain tiles with delicate veining. The shower floor and niche feature white and gray stone tiles.
Upgraded shower fixtures with a hand wand give the couple a bit of the spa-like experience they wanted.
Glass tiles: Tundra interlocking mosaic in Ice Cap, Maniscalco; shower fixtures: Vero Monitor 17 series, Delta Faucet
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
A smaller vanity in the same white oak fluted design sits across from the shower. A recessed medicine cabinet and custom mirror also feature white oak. The vanity light in a brass finish coordinates with the wide-spread faucet in a champagne bronze finish and cabinet hardware in honey bronze. The door to the left leads to the water closet.
Vanity light: Vaughn in Heritage Brass, Hinkley; faucet: Vero in champagne bronze, Delta Faucet; hardware: Lily knob in honey bronze, Top Knobs
Shop from a curated collection of popular bathroom vanities
Vanity light: Vaughn in Heritage Brass, Hinkley; faucet: Vero in champagne bronze, Delta Faucet; hardware: Lily knob in honey bronze, Top Knobs
Shop from a curated collection of popular bathroom vanities
Before: This floor plan of the former bathroom shows how the large jetted tub (bottom right) was squeezed between the glass-block shower (bottom left) and vanity (top right). The door at the top of the plan connects to the bedroom. The water closet is at the top left. And the door situated center left leads to the couple’s main closet.
After: Parsons kept the major components in the same location but loosened up the layout with a freestanding tub and frameless glass shower. “Everything looks and feels so much more spacious now,” she says. “It felt like everything was in sections before. Now everything flows together.”
More on Houzz
Read more bathroom stories
Browse bathroom photos
Find a bathroom designer
Shop for your bathroom
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: An empty-nest couple
Location: Austin, Texas
Size: 150 square feet (14 square meters)
Designer: Laura Parsons of Parsons i.d.
Before: Many of the elements in the former bathroom rooted the space firmly in the 1990s. They included the large built-in jetted tub, glass-block tile, granite countertops and abundance of beige tile. The vanity lacked hardware and had a makeup counter the homeowners never used.
The door seen partially at the left connects to the primary bedroom. The glass-block window was in good condition and provided privacy, so the couple decided to incorporate it into the new design.