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emilymch

finished bathroom - sleek & modern master bath!

emilymch
13 years ago

Our contractor still needs to do a second coat of trim paint, put the handle on the pocket door, and give the floor a good scrub, but it is done enough that I couldn't wait any longer to take some pics and post them!

This is our master bath, which we added by borrowing space from the large master bedroom and closets. It was previously a 1.5 bath house, now officially a 2.5! Our bedroom is now smaller, but it was completely worth it.

Here are the details:

- floor & shower tile - 12x12" slate (special order from Home Depot), cut down into 3x6" subway tiles for the shower area.

- niche tile - 2" honed carrera hexagons from stonetiledepot.com

- carrera threshold at shower and door

- tile on wall behind vanity & toilet - teeny tiny white glass mosaic tile from okglasstile.com

- toilet - Toto Aquia II with Toto Washlet s300

- vanity, sink faucets, medicine cabinets - Ikea

- shower door - Vigo frameless sliding door bought on Overstock.com

- shower faucets - Hudson & Reed

vanity lights(I don't think you can see these in any of the photos) - Artemide talo mini in white

wall color - silver satin, Benjamin Moore

trim color - Anthem White, Valspar

Anyway, on to the pictures!

view from the bedroom:

vanity & toilet:

standing in the shower looking back towards the door. It is impossible to get a photo of the shower without getting terrible reflections in the glass door! The dark tile also makes it hard to get a good photo of the whole thing. Anyway:

shower detail:

niches & hand shower:

floor detail:

mosaic tile detail:

Comments (58)

  • annkathryn
    13 years ago

    Just beautiful - congrats on a great job.

  • gryane
    13 years ago

    Looks great! So nice to see a modern bathroom on here. And great to see those ikea elements working so well in the space. I especially love the mirrored medicine cabinets above the vanity. Great idea. Congrats!

  • nopushover
    13 years ago

    Great looking modern bathroom. Excellent choices. Thank you for sharing.

  • johnfrwhipple
    13 years ago

    Wow - Sleek ands Sexy!

    This bathroom should be uploaded to Houzz.com. Same with the last finished bath as well.

    Check it out. www.houzz.com

    Share it with even tradesmen, designers and home renovation junkies...

    Solid work.

    JW

  • clg7067
    13 years ago

    I really love it! I wish I could get an IKEA vanity, but I only have 36 inches maximum.

  • cinnamonsworld
    13 years ago

    Fantastic job! Shower tile especially is really nice. Everything is!

  • emilymch
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks everyone!

    karena - yes, the medicine cabinets are from the Godomorgon line. They are really great - very high quality. Everything is mirrored - outside & inside. Plus they're huge! I had our contractor put outlets inside each one, too, so we're able to plug in our electric toothbrushes and keep them hidden. The bathroom itself is 13'x5' - long and skinny. It makes it pretty hard to get photos of it, but it feels quite spacious when I'm in it. Of course, my husband and I are used to sharing a 5'x8' bathroom, so the extra 5' are downright luxurious!

    pricklypearcactus - I can't find a particular brand name for the slate. It was special order at Home Depot, and I think it was called Hampshire Slate. It is gauged, and is almost not at all flaky. It comes in 12x12" and 16x16" tiles, but we had our guy cut them down into 3x6" subways for the shower area. I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

    wi-sailorgirl - thank you! What other details do you need? I meant to say above that I am VERY impressed with the Vigo shower door. It was a big splurge for us, and I'm really happy with it. The rolling mechanism is incredibly smooth and quiet. It is very solid and heavy, but a breeze to open and close. I really love it.

    Also LOVE the washlet. I had never used one before, but was pretty sure I'd love it, and I do.

    pharaoh - Thank you! I am also a bit worried about the potential for calcium deposits on the tile and the black grout. I guess we'll see what happens. I was a little worried that it would be too dark in that corner - like a big black hole. And it IS dark - but it is also really dramatic. The lighting in the rest of the room is bright, and the fact that the rest of the room is light in color helps. The IKEA vanity is really great - I'm very impressed with it. We mounted it on the wall, which I love. And the plumbing setup is really cool - it is pushed to the back of the cabinet in a neat way, which lets both the top and bottom drawers be fully utilized for storage. We need all the storage we can get, so I'm really happy about that.

  • rookie_2010
    13 years ago

    Very sleek looking, well done! I love all your choices and the different shapes and sizes of all the tile, what a great way to add subtle interest! This belongs in a design mag. Thanks for sharing!

  • emilymch
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    P.S. wi-sailorgirl - I bought the blue shampoo bottles from sunburstbottle.com and put my shampoo into them. A little nutty, maybe! But I couldn't stand the thought of ugly shampoo bottles in my nice new shower. They're just plastic bottles, and were very reasonably priced.

  • dedtired
    13 years ago

    Wow!!!!

  • karena_2009
    13 years ago

    Thank you for sharing and posting your pictures ;-).

  • Stacey Collins
    13 years ago

    Yay!! I am so happy for you, yillimuh.... it looks fabulous!!!
    I really love that you cut up the slate 12x12s into subway size. It's a really cool and unusual way to use slate, I love it.

    You know , we had that EXACT Ikea vanity for about a week.... almost used it in our bathroom but then decided to go custom. It's a great piece. About wall-mounting it, does Ikea say that's OK to do? i.e. did you not have to add some sort of reinforcement or brackets or something? I wouldn't have thought it was designed to hold loads that way. I'm interested in the mechanics of how you did that.

    Anyway--- it looks super. And you really made an elegant bathroom in that problematically skinny space, congratulations!!

  • emilymch
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks Stacey!

    I had no idea that the IKEA vanities could be wall mounted, but then I went to the College Park Ikea and saw several displayed that way. Also, all of the Godmorgon vanities in the 2011 catalog are shown wall-mounted - so I think it is okay! Plus, they discontinued those great stainless steel legs that you used for your vanity. (Although that may have just been a temporary thing, because I saw some in the store recently. There weren't any when I was ordering my sink, though.)

    The vanity came with L-shaped brackets that our contractor used to attach it to the wall. I know that he blocked the wall so they're all attached to studs, but I don't think he did anything else special. The brackets attach on the left and right sides of the sink cabinet, plus on the center divider. I think there are 6 brackets all together. It feels very solid and sturdy on the wall.

  • pharaoh
    13 years ago

    Please post photos of the monsoon head. I know there is one lurking above :)
    I love the slate 3x6, what a clever idea! I am planning a japanese wabi-sabi bathroom and want to use a very earthy, non polished and non modern flooring/cladding in the bathroom. Black slate is at the top of the list. Also sandstone (in the non wet areas)...

    I want to hear about your black slate after you have used it for a while...

    Still in awe :)

  • vampiressrn
    13 years ago

    Looks great, I agree, sleek and sophisticated. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

  • judithn
    13 years ago

    Love the bathroom. The mix of materials, every single choice. Perfect! Question about the Godmorgon mirrors for you -- did your contractor have to cut a hole in the cabinet back to pass the electrical outlet into it? My DH has an electric toothbrush too and I veto's the expensive Robern cabs, couldn't afford them. If I could get electric into a Godmorgan I'd be so happy! If there was a trick to doing that, please share. Also, the Godmorgen medicine cabs have that line down the middle -- I was wondering if the smaller doors with the line down the middle was annoying at all? I had been thinking I couldn't use them because I wanted a much wider piece of glass but after seeing yours, I'm reconsidering. Thanks so much for posting your b-room and I hope you enjoy using it! Thanks!

  • coolbeansw
    13 years ago

    Add my name to your bathroom's list of admiring fans!

  • emilymch
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Judith, it was very easy to add the electric outlets to the cabinets! The entire godmorgon cabinet is mirrored inside and out, but only the doors are actual glass - the rest of the cabinet is some kind of mirrored foil finish laminated onto fiberboard. The finish is really great though - I didn't realize it wasn't glass until I tapped on it. This makes it really easy to cut through the back, because you're not cutting through glass. The cut edge was a bit rough, but it gets covered by the switchplate cover, so no big deal.

    I don't mind the seam down the middle of the cabinets - although I guess in a perfect world I'd like one big mirror. I couldn't sacrifice the storage space, though. I haven't found it to be a big deal. We have two of the 27" wide cabinets, so each door is 13.5" wide or so. It's wide enough that my whole face fits on one door panel, so if I stand slightly to the side, the seam isn't in my way at all. I would definitely get them again.

    A pic of the showerhead, you say? Sure thing!

    It is this one, from Hudson Reed:
    http://usa.hudsonreed.com/product/Hudson_Reed_Square_sheer_overheah_chrome_rain_shower_head_and_arm/287/40065.html

  • mahatmacat1
    13 years ago

    Really gorgeous. I too love all the coordinating, not fighting, tile choices. The teeny tiny white tiles are the masterstroke, although I also love cutting the larger tiles into subways. Is the slate honed?

    This is one of those rooms that seems so perfectly designed and wonderful--not flash, but self-assured and brilliantly functional. I love it...although I can never seem to restrict myself as intelligently as you have when it comes to an actual project--I keep having these outbursts of tile highspiritedness :) (you'll see when I post -- kind of a gleeful modern maximalist look, if that's possible, in our soon-to-be-finished project)

    side question: what photo program did you use? You got that professional kind of almost dimensionless-ness, shadelessness...I'm assuming you didn't bring in professional lighting, right? I'd love to raise the quality of my pics.

  • mahatmacat1
    13 years ago

    Ah, thought of a question: did you all caulk between the tiny white tiles and the sink surface? If you don't, any splashes can get down between...looks a bit shadowy so I thought I'd ask.

    I'd also love to hear, maybe a couple of years down the road, how the sink holds up. We have a Hollviken (we made it a double sink by putting faucets on the sides of it rather than one in the middle--covered over the middle thing) and it's doing great after what, something like 3 and a half years?, but they changed the materials for this new line and it would be great to know about the durability.

    Such a beautiful room. Congratulations again.

  • Stacey Collins
    13 years ago

    I was also going to ask about caulking the vanity/tile area.... as you probably know, we used OKTile's larger glass mosaics behind our (nearly identical) vanity... and we DID caulk the gap. Glad we did, too, as it does get splashed there!

  • emilymch
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks flyleft! You're sweet to compliment the photos - I wasn't very pleased with them. I didn't use any photo-editing software - just used my point & shoot digital camera. No special lighting, either.

    The slate is not honed - it is natural cleft. It is not a very flaky slate though, so although the surfaces of the tiles are a bit uneven, I don't think they'll flake at all. We've had the same tiles in our other bathroom for 2 years, and we haven't noticed any flaking.

    I didn't caulk the line behind the vanity, but I think I will do that. My contractor has to come back to do a few tiny things, so I'll have him do it when he comes back.

    Thanks for all the compliments, everyone!

  • na_praha
    13 years ago

    Your bathroom is spectacular, yillimuh. I just sent you an email; I'd love the name of your contractor if you'd be willing to share it. We're looking to renovate our 1925 bath and are in your general area. Thanks!

  • minac
    13 years ago

    Your bathroom came out great. I love the light wood with the slate.

    I noticed you have bath hooks in the bathroom. Do you remember where you got the hooks and what brand are they?

  • midwifekim
    13 years ago

    fantastic!

  • chicagoans
    13 years ago

    I missed this the first time around so I'm glad it got bumped. It looks fantastic! Love the amazing sink, and the shower tiles are so handsome. I like how the niches look like they are lit because of the lighter tile. Congrats on your 2.5!

  • just_julie
    13 years ago

    The whole thing is fantastic but what's -really- cool is how your niches look like they're glowing!

  • westvillager
    13 years ago

    /gasp I'm so glad I looked! That is a drool-worthy shower; the slate you chose looks perfectly serene. I prefer the clean lines of a modern look and natural stone too, which I feel like I never see here.

    Grats!!

  • mahatmacat1
    13 years ago

    how is the slate doing so far, may I ask? We considered the honed Brazilian slate too (I think that's what you have?) but chickened out, partly because my DH is a bit of a slob...went with the throughbody porcelain instead. But is it staying clean and pure-looking? How much work does it take? TIA.

    Oh, and I completely wish I had designed a shower that could use that Vigo mechanism.

  • emilymch
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    minac - The hooks are from Ikea. I don't remember their product name.

    flyleft, the tiles are doing fabulously. No issues at all with them! If I were doing it again, I wouldn't use black grout in the shower, though. Soap residue and calcium deposits have colored some parts of it lighter, so it doesn't look uniform. A good scrub fixes it, but it looks a bit messy. I think a gray would have been better. Live and learn, right? But the tiles look great - I have absolutely no complaints about them, and I still spend time just admiring them when I take showers.

  • mahatmacat1
    13 years ago

    That's wonderful to hear, thanks. I sometimes wish I were in this professionally so I could do more bathrooms than we have in this house -- I'd use that slate for sure :). Your bravery paid off.

    I had a thought re the black grout: if it really bugs you, you can paint it with grout colorant; it's some kind of permanent formula that will stay the new color, and collect less stuff. I did it around odd-shaped rock slices in my shower because I really didn't like the grout color. It looks great now and you'd never know it was not that color all the way through. Straight lines would be MUCH easier.

  • melle_sacto is hot and dry in CA Zone 9/
    13 years ago

    Beautiful! We plan to install an oak Godmorgon vanity and Odensvik ceramic sink top...can't wait :-)

  • aksld
    13 years ago

    Can you tell me how you like your Vigo frameless sliding door? We are considering putting one in our remodel.

  • bowjet
    13 years ago

    I notice you have a washlet. Very nice!!

  • chrisk327
    13 years ago

    I'll second the question regarding the Vigo, I'd love to put one in my master if A) we ever get done with the construction, and B) there is actually money left over.

    It looks really cool and pricing I think is in line with a normal frameless shower.

    did you install? was it hard?

    last comment, I think your bath turned out great, we're using the same floor tiles in our hall bath with white subway tile walls to give a more modern, yet somewhat traditonal look.

  • emilymch
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    The Vigo door is great - rolls very smooth, and is very sturdy and heavy (in a good way). Except for one thing. One kind of big thing. Recently one of the roller things fell off while my husband was in the shower. We presume that it was getting worked loose little by little, until finally it fell apart. I don't know if it was an installation error or a design flaw, and I haven't gotten around to calling the company about it. (Bad, I know! I really should do that.) We are now checking the fasteners periodically to make sure they aren't getting loose. So um, I don't know if I'd recommend it, as lovely as it is.

    I didn't do the install, and don't recall my contractor saying anything much about the install either way.

  • essdana
    12 years ago

    I heart your bathroom! Very modern and warm. And functional! I am renovating an even smaller bathroom 8 ft x 51 inches, and have a question about your Ikea vanity. This bathroom is in a rental property. Ikea's website says that wet marks should be wiped up promptly. Have you noticed whether your cabinet gets wet and if so, how frequently? Would you recommend it for tenants? Also, how has the particleboard held up--compared to plywood? My contractor is beginning demolition next week so I appreciate any advice you can give me.

  • lenagoz
    12 years ago

    Love your bathroom, especially the shower.

  • johnogg
    9 years ago

    Hi, I know this is an old post but I was actually interested to see how your godmorgon cabinets and vanity we're holding up 4 years later. I've heard some people say that water damage is a concern but we love the look so would love to get a long-term owners opinion...thanks!

  • lee676
    9 years ago

    I used a gloss-grey 120cm Godmorgan cabinet, wall-mounted, with the Odensvik sink, with a squared-off Phister waterfall faucet, along with the chrome handles that Ikea normally only supplies with the dark-brown woodgrain cabinets rather than the included top-of-drawer full width grips. The only difficulty with the cabinet was that I removed the protective wrap too soon, and the contractor who installed it spilled paint or sealant or some such on it and it was a bear to clean off. But once done, it's held up well and looks new. And I must add, fools everyone into thinking it's a seriously high-end piece and not something from Ikea. Pics to follow at some point when I have time.

    I'm a bit disappointed that Ikea has discontinued both the sinktop with the small round sink at the far right (on larger sizes) and the charcoal-colored double sink that had two bowls that overlapped each other, one larger than the other. Those were cool.

  • johnogg
    9 years ago

    Thanks for the info, Lee676. How long has your cabinet been installed? Does it get a lot of use? We have two small boys and this is going to be primarily their bathroom so I imagine there's going to be some serious splashing going on!

  • maria110
    9 years ago

    I bought the Godmorgon mirror cabinet as well...haven't put it up yet and it's still in the box. I'm thinking of also buying the Godmorgon light that goes over it...would you know if I would have to have the electrician change the height of the junction box? Right now it's at the standard 80" from the floor but with the cabinet being almost 38" in height it would end up right behind the cabinet.

  • pprioroh
    9 years ago

    Any chance of pics under the sinks. Really like the floating cabinets, but worry about usable space.

  • Denitza Kotov
    7 years ago

    Very nice bathroom! How do you like Hudson and Reed fixtures? I'm looking for some good quality fixtures not crazy expensive for a bathroom similar to your design. Thank you!

  • purrus
    7 years ago

    This is a long shot, but could you please tell me how many of those lights you used for your vanity? I'm considering how many of those same lights to use to light a small (5x8) bathroom, with a single 24" vanity and godmorgon medicine cabinet. Additionally, I am wondering whether you built a soffit over the medicine cabinet--it looks like you did--so that they would stick out over the front of the cabinet since it is so deep. Thank you!

  • emilymch
    Original Author
    7 years ago

    We used two of the lights - one over each sink. We did another bathroom in that house (we've since moved) - that bathroom was 5'x8', and we used one of the Artemide lights. It was plenty bright enough in there! We had the lights on a dimmer, which was really nice.


    Yes, our contractor built out a soffit above the medicine cabinets. It wasn't my first choice for how to do it, but it ended up looking really good. I wanted to recess the cabinets, but the Ikea ones are not made to do that, and the finish details were too complicated to make it work. So we decided on the soffit, which was much simpler. I wouldn't hesitate to do it the same way again.

  • purrus
    7 years ago

    Thank you so much!! Did you have any other lights in the bathroom (recessed, etc) other than maybe in the shower if the shower is a separate stall like this one?

    Very helpful post, thank you!

  • emilymch
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    IN the 5x8 bathroom, the Artemide fixture was our only light. It also did not have a window, so it really was our only source of light. The shower in that bathroom was tiled in white tile, so that helped keep the room light. Here's a few photos of that 5x8 bathroom:

    In the original bathroom in this thread, we had a recessed light above the shower. With the dark tile in the shower, plus the size of the bathroom - long and narrow, at 13'x5' - the recessed fixture was necessary to keep the shower from feeling like a cave.

  • purrus
    7 years ago

    Thank you so much!!

  • esthersp
    7 years ago

    Hi Emily,


    Thank you for the post and the pics. We are remodelling our bathrooms and considering godmorgon mirror cabinet for the master bath. Just wanted to know how the same is working for you? Is it still holding up well on the wall? Were you able to secure it onto the studs?


    Thanks,

    esther