Room of the Day: From Laundry Room to Shabby Chic-Style Master Suite
A Florida bungalow addition mixes modern amenities with pieces of the past, thanks to a homeowner’s love for using old things in new ways
A slightly worn screen door and fence boards past their prime are not your usual building materials for new construction. But in this 1920s bungalow in a historic district of Jacksonville, Florida, they helped turn a master suite addition into a Shabby Chic-style oasis that feels up to date and comfortably old at the same time.
BEFORE: Suzanne and Mike Marino bought the house, with three bedrooms and 1½ baths, two years ago. They knew they’d need more space and after a year decided that the answer was transforming this 11-by-7-foot laundry room with 8-foot ceilings into a suite with a laundry room, bathroom and bedroom.
AFTER: Suzanne spent a year working with a draftsman to draw up plans for an addition to replace the old laundry room.
She wanted the new space to blend with the 1920s architecture of the house, but she also thought it should have its own identity.
While the house has original hardwood flooring, Suzanne chose three styles of porcelain tile in a weathered wood pattern for the hallway, laundry room, master bath and bedroom.
While the house has original hardwood flooring, Suzanne chose three styles of porcelain tile in a weathered wood pattern for the hallway, laundry room, master bath and bedroom.
Suzanne bought used doors for the addition and refinished them. This screen door came from an antiques store. She freshened up the paint and had it mounted as the entrance to her new laundry room.
She also bought most of the light fixtures secondhand or turned everyday items, in this case a wire basket she painted coral, into a light using a light kit.
She also bought most of the light fixtures secondhand or turned everyday items, in this case a wire basket she painted coral, into a light using a light kit.
Suzanne made the cabinets above the washer and dryer, and fashioned the sink out of an old washtub.
Crown molding added throughout gives the space a finished, more interesting look.
Suzanne’s biggest project was this barn door leading to the master bathroom. She and her husband built it from old fence boards. She spent hours removing the nails, soaking each plank in the bathtub to remove dirt and moss, scrubbing them, drying them and then sanding them before building the door. She bought the hardware online, and contractor Christina Starmer’s team installed it.
Starmer’s team installed a vintage window, another of Suzanne’s finds, at the entry to the master bath to bring more light into the room. Carrara marble subway tiles cover the shower head wall.
The porcelain tile flooring in a gray wood plank pattern lines the back wall of the shower, with patterned Carrara marble tile on the floor.
A sideboard Suzanne found at an antiques store serves as the couple’s vanity. She painted it bright coral to give it a pop and modernize it.
Vintage Vanities Bring Bygone Style to Baths
Vintage Vanities Bring Bygone Style to Baths
The master bedroom can be entered through the bathroom or the main hallway. Suzanne saved money by finding a pocket door for $12 at a construction salvage store. The main door in the bedroom is a reclaimed exterior door that Starmer retrofitted.
The ceilings in the new master suite are 12 feet high. Suzanne originally wanted to line them with hardwood, but to keep costs down, Starmer used molding to give the room more character.
The space in the master bedroom is too tight for end tables. Suzanne found these weathered cedar pieces at an antiques store. She hung wire baskets from them to hold the couple’s things.
Her favorite piece in the room is a chair she found at a thrift store. She likes to sit here and meditate or read while listening to the soothing sounds of the pond trickling outside the bedroom window.
She feels that the addition is a real sanctuary and embraces an important concept: using old things in new ways.
“There’s so much waste in this world,” and it’s not that hard to reuse old things, she says. “You just have to use your imagination and look at something differently than what it’s intended purpose was.”
Project Rehab: Armchair Goes From Bubble Gum Pink to Shabby Chic
She feels that the addition is a real sanctuary and embraces an important concept: using old things in new ways.
“There’s so much waste in this world,” and it’s not that hard to reuse old things, she says. “You just have to use your imagination and look at something differently than what it’s intended purpose was.”
Project Rehab: Armchair Goes From Bubble Gum Pink to Shabby Chic
Who lives here: Suzanne and Mike Marino
Location: Jacksonville, Florida
Size: 420 square feet (39 square meters)
Contractor: Christina Starmer of Centerbeam Construction