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sochi

Master Bath (Pretty Much) Complete

sochi
11 years ago

Thanks for the help and inspiration I received on all three forums - kitchen, bath and decor, Dianalo, Cloudbase, Palimpsest, Trailrunner, Martinca, Pharaoh. les917 and so many others.

I screwed up and accidentally told my contractor to tile the back shower wall, directly across from the shower head. I had wanted to put the mirror across the whole wall, as per one of my inspiration pictures. Argh. So I had to change out the mirror as well as the sconces we had originally chosen (the Artemide Logico that Pal had suggested). Still, I'm pretty happy with our overall result.

The bathroom is tiny, only 80" x 88". I opted to forego any storage under the vanity top in order to open up the space. The only storage in the bathroom is the built-in niche cabinet above the toilet, but we have a very large linen closet directly across the hall from the bathroom door, only two steps away, so storage wasn't really necessary. The bathroom had an existing sky light, but we added a solar tube as well for the plants. Wow, it brings in far, far more light than the sky light, I'm really impressed with it. For a room with no windows, it is very, very bright.

Floor tiles: Cement Nickel by Antica

Wall tiles: Yakarta Blanco from Porcelanosa

Shower heads: Hansgrohe

Toilet: Toto (we reused the existing toilet)

Sink: Kohler

Faucet: Cifial

Vanity: live edge walnut

Sconces: Sonneman Teardrop

Shower Threshold: Caesarstone Raven

Wood floor in shower: Ipe decking (special shout out to cloudbase for all the advice on this, thanks!)

Picture above toilet: A photo taken by DH. This is a frame we had, it doesn't quite work (not rustic enough, nor big enough I think), so I'm still searching for the perfect frame. The medicine cabinet is behind this)

Here is one of my inspiration pictures:

Old bathroom:



New tiny master bath (it is tough to take pictures of such a small space, I think it looks better in person):









Comments (33)

  • cat_mom
    11 years ago

    Oh, Sochi, it turned out beautiful!! Love it! I like it even better than your inspiration pic. I hope you enjoy using your gorgeous new bathroom!

  • barbcollins
    11 years ago

    Oh Wow!

    I don't usually like vessel sink but that's beautiful, as is your floor.

    Is that a skytube back in the corner?

    Ok, I am saving your's as an inspiration picture :)

  • barbcollins
    11 years ago

    Sorry, I was so stunned by your pics, I didn't see the sentence about the skytube... ignore me...

  • treasuretheday
    11 years ago

    Oh, how I love your room! You captured the essence of your inspiration picture but I think yours has more warmth and character. The walnut counter is such a beautiful piece of art. I love mix of materials with the shower floor and your floor tile. Your husband's photo is perfect in the space.

    You have probably mentioned this before and I missed it but what is your wall color? It's so serene.

    Aren't those Solatubes great? We put one in our windowless water closet and will put one in our upstairs hallway as well.

    Enjoy your beautiful bathroom!

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    11 years ago

    I knew before I clicked on this thread that it would be spectacular, and it is!

  • cottonpenny
    11 years ago

    That's amazing! I LOVE those sconces.

  • Laurie
    11 years ago

    Wow, this is so unique. If I had a different type of home, I would SO go for something in this style. I remember your kitchen very well and the rest of your house and it fits in perfectly. Well done Sochi!

  • sochi
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks everyone.

    Treasuretheday - I forgot to post the paint colour, sorry. It is Benjamin Moore Killarney - sort of a soft, muddy or dirty green. I think I tried three different colours before settling on Killarney, I'm quite happy with it.

  • sochi
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    A few practical comments about how well the bathroom functions:

    1. Although I've only used the bathroom for a couple of months during summer, I don't feel cold at all in the open shower. This may be due to the fact that the bathroom is almost the size of some oversized showers, so the whole room warms up very well. Hopefully in winters the heated floors and the heating vent in the bathroom will ensure that we stay toasty.

    2. We opted to locate the fan in the sky light area, it seems to work very well. We have a small light up there too, I read somewhere that having a source of warmth up there may help with condensation issues. I understand that sky lights can be problematic in bathrooms, so we will keep an eye on it. It was already there though and I really didnt want to lose it.

    3. That little jog in the shower glass wall is surprisingly effective at keeping the shower water in. Only the odd drop reaches the floor, where we normally have a small rug anyway. No water at all reaches the walnut vanity top.

    4. I love the Ipe floors, they make the look of the room IMO. But they are crazy heavy! We have tiles underneath of course, so the three separate panels of Ipe must be lifted out regularly for cleaning. Not the end of the world, but this could prove tiresome eventually. DH can take them outside pretty easily though and sand them lightly to bring back the original walnut like colour when needed. I probably need a year or so living with them to know for sure if the effort is worth it, I'm sure it wouldn't be for some people. But right now after 2 months with them I LOVE them, the wood feels amazing under foot. Thanks again cloudbase!

    5. Thanks to trailrunner and others for recommending the low vessel sink. It is wide enough to contain most splashes, and low enough to be comfortable when brushing teeth, etc. I admit that I wipe up all errant drops of water on the walnut after I use the sink!

  • kmcg
    11 years ago

    What a fantastic bathroom! I shouldn't look at these things because it makes me rethink every decision about my own bath, which is a similar size. You were brave to give up storage to go with sleek and serene. I love everything about it.

  • sochi
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    kmcg, you made me think that I should have addressed the storage issue in my post above about the practicality of the bathroom.

    As I mentioned, I have a large, deep closet directly across the hall from the bathroom. If I had a 'proper' sized bathroom, the closet would be in it. You can see it on the layout below:

    Also, my master bedroom renovation isn't complete, I still need closet doors and a dresser/vanity area. As you can see from the layout, this vanity area will have a sink and all my toiletries, etc., will be kept there in drawers. So it will only really be my DH getting ready in the bathroom, so the medicine cabinet + the nearby linen closet is more than sufficient.

    But I understand that in most bathrooms you would need more storage. I considered putting in a second, lower shelf of walnut, with attractive baskets for storage. We really don't need it, but it could be a solution in the future if necessary.

  • beeps
    11 years ago

    So so pretty! That vanity is beyond gorgeous. Wow. I love it all frankly, the tile, the paint color, it's so serene and lovely. Enjoy!

  • kmcg
    11 years ago

    sochi - I saw in your earlier post that you mentioned a linen closet, which I thought would be ample. But since you have this extra vanity area - you have oodles of space! Our old house had a vanity/sink in our master bedroom, and I found it very practical. It was mine alone, as my husband stored his stuff in the hall bath, and I loved having control over that area.

    Personally, I wouldn't add the extra shelf unless you really, really need to. It's so pretty the way it is.

  • gr8daygw
    11 years ago

    Awesome! Wow!

  • enduring
    11 years ago

    Just wonderful, thanks for posting your beautiful pictures.

  • hosenemesis
    11 years ago

    It's stunning. What a sense of design.
    Renee

  • sochi
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks hosenemesis! I'm happy to report that some six months after we starting using the bathroom, we still love it! It works beautifully, the ipe (best part of the bathroom I think) isn't much additional work at all.

    Plus the best thing - the lighting on either side of the mirror. I've always heard/known that side lighting is more flattering. For various reasons, this is the first bathroom I've had with properly placed side lighting. It is like magic, seriously. What a difference!

  • crl_
    11 years ago

    That is gorgeous!

  • sofla
    11 years ago

    all I can say is WOW. I was looking at your after pics still thinking they were your inspiration pics. You nailed it. The materials came together like they were meant to be. so serene and peaceful. Should be in a magazine.

  • Pipdog
    11 years ago

    beautiful, serene and organic. Love it!

  • gwlolo
    11 years ago

    Sochi,

    It looks amazing. Please tell us about the walnut counter. Where did you get it? How is it mounted? It looks long and heavy? How is it finished? I love the wood grain and the soft sheen.

  • sochi
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Hi GWlolo,

    I purchased the walnut at a local wood source shop. They typically have selections of live edge wood, usually walnut, cherry, mahogany, etc. I also have a cherry live edge desk I got from them. The walnut slab cost about $300, maybe less. It can be finished with waterlox or any number of other sealers for wood (like they use for wooden kitchen countertops). We sealed it here at home.

    It is about 7' long I think, maybe 8'. The mounts were the most expensive item, you can just see two of them in the 3rd picture from the new bathroom. We got the mounts at Richelieu Hardware, they are pretty heavy duty (we have 3 in total holding up the wood, over $100 each I think). They seem to be doing a pretty good job.

    Let me know if you have any other questions.

  • psg007
    11 years ago

    Absolutely LOVE this bathroom, it is absolutely GORGEOUS! Would it be possible to see the floor plan? Thanks and congrats on the awesome bathroom! Ly x

  • sochi
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Hi reah - thanks very much! The bathroom is about 6'8' or 203 cm by 7'4" or 224 cm. I don't have a proper floor plan, but you can get an idea from the mock up below of the whole bedroom area. It doesn't show the counter stretching across the end of the shower zone.

  • sochi
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Ops, sorry, I just noticed that I posted that picture earlier in the thread. Let me know if I can give you any more specific info.

  • selphydeg
    11 years ago

    Wow, this is a stunning bathroom.

    @Sochi, if you are here, what size Yakarta Blanco tile did you use. Was it the the 8X12 or the 12X35? Since it isn't rectified tile, how big are the grout lines?

    Thanks

  • sochi
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Hi lilymila, thanks very much! The tile is 12x24, grout lines about 4 cm (an eighth of an inch maybe?)

    Let me know if you need any other info.

  • janesylvia
    11 years ago

    What a huge change! Your bathroom is really beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

  • selphydeg
    11 years ago

    Hi Sochi, I looked at the Porcelanosa website. They didn't list Yakarta blanco being 12X24, must have discontinued or something. That would be a good size for bathrooms.

  • enduring
    10 years ago

    Hey Sochi, how is your ipe shower floor doing? Raehelen is asking about teak bench care and I thought of you and your ipe. She is having a hard time finding information on the care of teak and gets conflicting information on care when she does a web search. I referred her to this thread, thinking you might be able to help. I figured ipe and teak were similar in characteristics.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Raehelen's thread re: teak question

  • Michael Lamb
    6 years ago

    @sochi - Hi, I'm doing a new build and considering a slatted wood floor in the shower. Any thoughts or advice after having lived with yours for a few years?

  • sochi
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    Hi Mike - we still love it. In fact we moved recently and really miss our ipe shower floors. The ipe has stood up very well, no issues with mold or discolouring. Do cap the screws used to attach the rubber feet so they don’t rust and discolour the tile underneath. The drawbacks I mentioned in 2012 remain, they are a bit more effort to maintain (but rinsing off the wood quickly after each shower deals with 90 percent of the maintenance and cleaning). And they are heavy to lift out when cleaning. Otherwise I still recommend, we installed them at our cottage bathroom as well.


    Enduring, so sorry I missed your 2013 post!!


  • enduring
    6 years ago

    Hi Sochi! great that you are still around. Love all your work.

    Mike, keep the forum posted on your project, we all love watching the progress and completion of bathrooms!

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