Often times there is a moisture issue that needs to be addressed which prompts the make over; like a leaking shower pan or toilet or  rotted cabinets or mold issues. Perhaps it’s a damaged sink, toilet or  floor tiles that require attention. It is not uncommon for one problem spot to effect another element of the room, opening the proverbial can of worms.  For example, the new cabinet that has a smaller ‘foot print’ than the old cabinet, exposing a huge gap in the floor. The point is, you may end up spending a little more  money than you originally anticipated for the job. That is why planning and foresight are so important.

In the case of the room pictured below, it was important to the home owners, to remove the giant back to back his and her vanities from the middle of the room. No problem. This requires relocating plumbing and electrical a new floor, some drywall work and painting, as well as new cabinetry and lighting. With all that, there was still a huge savings because the toilet, tub and shower where left as they were. In the end the home owners were able to have exactly what they were looking for, an open space  with a lot of light and fresh feeling.

If you are considering relocating plumbing and/or walls, of course you are looking at much more labor and expense. In a small bathroom these are not usually on the agenda unless you are thinking of expanding the bathroom into a neighboring room or closet. In some instances a person will want to remove (or add) soffits, rearrange the lighting and exhaust fans which will call for some minor drywall work.

In the case of the two jobs pictured below, bath tubs were removed and a shower put in their place. Obviously, this calls for the removal of the tub, relocating the drain in the floor and recapitulating the diverter plumbing. If this were the only tub in the home, I would advise against it because, the day will come when you will wish you had a tub to soak in.

Each of these jobs required new ceilings due to the changing of ceiling exhaust fans and removing soffits and new lighting arrangments. Aside from that, the only other drywall work was to the walls due to removing those gigantic wall  mirrors, relocating outlets and switches, relocating the plumbing to accommodate for the larger vanities and the removal of the side wall medicine cabinets. All the tile in the bathrooms were replaced including the floor tiles and the marble window sill. The photos were taken prior to the frame-less glass door installations.

A final note of caution. A lot of people are getting rid of those old wall to wall mirrors and medicine cabinets and replacing them with ornamental mirrors and larger vanities with lots of drawers in lieu of a medicine cabinet. I just want to point out that if you decide to remove these large mirrors by yourself , it can be done. I remove them on my own all the time. Just know that they are extremely heavy (you may want to enlist a helper). Also know that they are not safety glass, when broken they turn into shards and can cause serious damage to you and your property, ie. flooring, counter tops and tubs, etc.

Gent's Bath

Gent's Bath

Gent's Bath

This one (above) was a total tear out and reconfiguration of all fixtures,floor, walls and lighting. Only the toilet and shower are in the same locations as before. I designed this to accommodate a nine foot vanity with double sinks,two linen cabinets,two reach under storage and nine full sized drawers. Added six foot medicine cabinet assembly (mirrored inside and out).There is plenty of storage. Oh, and a separate, built-in linen closet (overkill on the storage). New shower stall with 1/2″ frame-less glass enclosure with a saloon style swinging door and added a Whirlpool tub where the plumbing was reversed so that the spigot wasn’t hidden behind the linen cabinet.

Gent's Bath

Gent's Bath-2

Gent's Bath

Again, I’m using the mirrored medicine cabinets and the solid wood vanities with custom granite tops(above).This is another gentleman’s bath. I remodeled this entire house including all the 7″ crown molding upstairs and downstairs (I’ll post that some other time). We saved the master bath for last. I think it was worth the wait.

This one (below) was done for single mom-type professional powerhouse lady. It’s another total tear out, down to the studs. I broke out the floor to re-configure the plumbing. She was willing to sacrifice counter space in order to gain space for a shower/tub where the tiny shower stall once stood, in the corner. This is not a very big space for a master bath but I squeezed it in. I don’t know how.

Lucky Lady

Lucky Lady_2

Lucky Lady_3

This is my tile pattern that I like to use when a customer wants an old world feel. Because of the limited space I incorporated  nooks into the walls for places to set things. I’ve noticed that a lot of women like the gun metal or dark bronze tone fixtures while men tend to opt for the satin nickle. At the time this photo was taken,we were waiting for my glass guy Sean, to come with the frame-less tub surround.

This is another professional, single mom, master bath(below). On this one she did not want to replace the vanities or tub. Not a lot of demo, just the shower and floor. My challenge was to translate all this plastic cultured marble into something that made sense, with the new tile. This is where paint color can really go to work for you.

Mothers Master Bath

Mothers Master Bath

Mothers Master Bath

Mothers Master Bath_4

We’re waiting for the shower surround here,too. In this picture you can see how I made the transition from the tub back splash (under the window) continue right through the shower’s tile pattern.

I’m not a hundred percent loving the white cabinets. Overall the job looked pretty good.

……..and that’s what I did on my summer vacation.