Part Three - The Roman Tub Remodel - The Rest of the Story

The process of designing a bathroom can take weeks or months depending on the complexity of the remodel. It’s a very interactive process where the homeowner is required to make decisions regarding tile, cabinets, countertop and hardware selections as well as all the plumbing fixtures selection. It can be overwhelming for many clients and my task is to keep everything on track, make it as stress free as possible and keep everyone focused on the end result.

Before I begin the rest of the story lets recap the concerns expressed by the homeowner in this project. In the shower/tub area: remove the tile lip around the rim of the tub, replace the shower curtain with glass but still protects privacy, need a place for shampoo, need to upgrade the shower equipment. In the sink vanity area: need an updated look and need more storage. In Part 1 there are pictures of the old Roman tub layout if you need to see what it looked like before the remodel.

The major concern in this shower/tub combination area was the lip that outlined the rim of the tub thereby creating a safety issue for the homeowner. The picture on the left shows how we eliminated that risk by simply making the tile flush with the steps leading down into the new shower/tub area.

The shower curtain and white rod also just had to go.  Shower glass was used to replace the old shower curtain.  Privacy is often a request when it comes to the glass in the shower area  and an easy way to address that concern is with a frosted glass or with etched glass.  In this case the glass is frosted up to the 78” and then clear to allow for light to enter the area.  .  As you can also see in this photo we tiled up to the ceiling within the shower area.  If you have an 8' ceiling it is often best to tile to the top so you don’t have that tile line to clean. 

 A tile design can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be.  I work with the homeowner to pick out the best tile for their space because the options are endless. If you decide to go with natural stone rather than a slab that adheres to the wall then you need to pick out a stone that comes with a variety of shapes and compatible colors.  On the floor of this shower are the 2x2 tiles that have the same color combination that we have on the walls and the 18”  tiles for the flooring.  These same 2” tiles are also used to add drama to the 12” wall tiles throughout the enclosure.  This is a simple yet very effective way to dress up your shower.  The old design did not include a space for things like hair shampoo, so in the redesign we placed the shampoo nook into the outside wall of the enclosed shower.  A nook is normally about 3 ½” deep and can be as high as you need it to be although I have not designed anything greater than 36” tall which gives you three shelves.  All design is based on the needs of the client so if you need more than one shelf we can incorporate that in the design process.

With a small bathroom maximizing space is also a critical endeavor.  In this remodel there were several aspects that we could improve upon to do just that.  Here are the details:
 
1.  Fulloverlay Door  -  a frameless door style which allows you a bit more room within the cabinet because there isn't a faceframe.  This is the Pacific Crest Crystal Arch door in a Brandy finish.
2.  Mirrors were built on-site by the installer using trim pieces that  I ordered from Pacific Crest to match the cabinetry.  This gives a more furniture look to the space.

3.  The center cabinet goes from countertop to ceiling and is actually recessed 3" into the wall.  This provides the much needed space for storage and still allows adequate space on the countertop.  Because it is recessed and because it is mostly glass it is less intrusive in the space and more appealing to the eye.

                                                      4. Vessel sinks provide greater access to the storage area within the cabinet below.

I just love it when the design that is on paper becomes reality. It's so much fun to see that look in the homeowner's eye - the look that said's "Yes, this is it. This is what I wanted." 

This concludes the saga of the roman bath remodel.  I hope you enjoyed it and I hope that you got a few tips that will prove helpful to you in the future.  If I can help you with your kitchen or bath remodel just email me via my contact page.

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