Bath Time

I firmly believe that a bathroom should be incorporated into the rest of the home. We spend a great deal of time in this space, and it does not need to feel completely stark and sterile, if that isn't your thing. Just like any other room, your bathroom should reflect your personal style, and most importantly, it should make you feel happy!

Since our bathroom is a shared space, I focused on maintaining a balance between feminine and masculine elements in its design. Also, because this is the only bathroom in our apartment, I wanted to create a room that feels welcoming to our guests. On that note - Welcome to our bathroom!

Lighting is a vital element in creating ambience in any room. Our bathroom came with recessed lighting, but I couldn't resist adding a set of sconces and an overhead flush-mount. Each source is hooked up to separate dimmers, allowing lots of flexibility to set the tone for any mood and cast a flattering light from every angle.

A pedestal sink is an excellent space-saver and injects a dose of classic elegance. Although our sink offers a generous expanse of counter space, we did end up losing out on under-sink storage. This challenged me to explore additional storage options, and I'm glad to say I found several fantastic solutions.

Surprise! This may look like an antique mirror from the outside, but it's actually a fully functional medicine cabinet. It offers plenty of storage for all our grooming goodies and keeps everything concealed, yet readily accessible.

Isn't this overhead fixture so fun? It turns one pretty light bulb into seven pretty light bulbs :)

Okay, I know this sounds crazy, but can I just tell you how psyched I am to finally have a normal white toilet with a tank?? Like most pre-war buildings, our old apartment had a tankless flushometer toilet. It was basically a chrome pipe sticking out of a peachy-pink bowl. Although I must admit that thing was quite the power-flusher, it was a total eyesore, and I couldn't get past feeling like I was in a public restroom every time I used it.

At the risk of sounding even crazier, I'm going to go ahead and call this toilet "handsome" - Its bold lines balance out the feminine daintiness of the pedestal sink and add structure to the room.

The glass cabinet provides allows us to store and display our prettier toiletries. I've been having so much fun styling it and making it look nice! :)

Another perk of having a tank toilet? An additional surface area for storage and knickknacks.

Wainscoting is an excellent way to add streamlined interest to your walls without tiling the entire bathroom. The rustic feel of the beadboard pairs so well with the earthy look of the slate tiles. Together, they bring warmth into in a room filled with glossy porcelain, shiny tiles, and chrome and nickel fixtures. The vertical panels end just below eye level, lending an illusion of height to the space.

Chris picked Benjamin Moore's "Wrought Iron" for the walls, and I must say he made an excellent choice! The rich color echoes the slate flooring perfectly and brings a unified look to the room. Contrary to popular belief, dark walls can actually make smaller spaces feel larger! The deep hue creates a crisp, clean contrast against the bright white details. With all the whites popping forward, the walls are visually pushed back, making the room feel bigger.

I absolutely love having a window inside our shower. The custom glass enclosure allows natural light to pass through to the rest of the room, keeping everything airy and bright.

Here's the thermostatic shower I was telling you guys about! It automatically adjusts to your designated temperature preference and delivers a delicious array of spray settings. Apartment dwellers - If you're sick of getting zinged every time somebody in the building flushes a toilet, a thermostatic shower is a total game changer.

I've never met a single person who didn't like subway tiles. These beveled beauties exude the classic look of traditional subway, with a touch of unexpected flair. Oh, and that bench is SUCH a heavenly treat at the end of a long day!

His/Hers cubbies built into the pony wall offer plenty of storage and keep our personal toiletries out of sight. These hidden cubbies really keep the bathroom comfortable and inviting for visitors, because nobody (including you) needs to see our squeegee, razors, and loofahs. BTW - Did you know that they brought back the original Herbal Essences Smooth & Shine Collections?! Total 90's nostalgia, without all the sulfates! :)

And that's our new bathroom! (Befores here) We officially wrapped up rennovations two weeks ago. It's been a heckuva journey, and I could not be happier with the way our home has turned out. But wait! This doesn't mean the fun has to end - now the decorating can start! Lots more to come, stay tuned :)

Clean Slate

I have been smitten with Tommy Smythe's kitchen ever since the moment I first laid eyes on it. Carrara backsplash, dual-tone Shaker cabs, French doors, antique paned windows, and don't even get me started on that oversized lantern. And THOSE FLOORS. I instantly fell for them and knew right then and there that we just had to have herringbone slate floors in our new home. Well, guess what! Our bathroom demo was my golden opportunity to make it happen :)

Although slate is extremely durable and low-maintenance, it is still a porous stone and not the best choice for a walk-in shower. Since I wanted to keep the flooring consistent throughout the entire room, I opted for the next best thing - Porcelain tiles from Italy that really look and feel like the real deal!

Herringbone is a busy pattern that takes up a lot of visual space. Working with larger dimensions keeps the pattern bold but subtle, and actually makes a room appear bigger! These 12x24" tiles provide tons of surface area that will be easy to maintain and keep clean.

We installed a pony wall to separate the shower area from the rest of the room.

Once the entire room had been triple-waterproofed, the shower's interior was pitched at an angle towards the drain.

Tiles were then installed in a subway pattern in order to allow water to flow smoothly toward the infinity drain.

The gorgeous herringbone pattern will run throught the rest of the room. There goes that laser again!

I chose beveled subway tiles for the walls. The way their smooth facets sparkle against the rugged texture of the floors makes my heart sing ooh-la-la.

Almost there! I cannot wait to share the finished room with you. Stay tuned :)

Piping Up

Once I had all the required licenses, work orders, and permits squared away, our team had a field day gutting our bathroom down to the studs! It was absolutely thrilling to see the walls come down and the floors come up to create a blank canvas for my own personal vision:

BEFORE: The square footage in our bathroom is very generous as far as New York apartments go. However, the space felt cramped and unbalanced, as though everything had been shoved to the left side of the room. Look at all that unused dead space on the right! The window was also awkwardly positioned and straddled the Jacuzzi/shower. This really, really bugged me, and I've spent many sleepless nights trying to come up with a viable solution for this aesthetic dilemma. I know, you don't want my problems. (Before photos here)

AFTER: I designed the layout to spread across the entire space. In my new floor plan, the sink is relocated over and across to the other side of the room, and the Jacuzzi is GONE! Opening up this area allowed me to add a large walk-in shower in lieu of a tub. I don't know about you, but I prefer steamy, hot showers over pruning up in a tub of soapy suds. Notice how the window now lives happily inside the shower walls! Hooray! Not only does this reconfigured layout provide a smoother flow of balance, but the entire space just feels a lot more functional and spacious.

We opened up the floor to re-route the sink plumbing across the room.

The toilet did not move, but the original round-bowl model was removed to be replaced with one with an elongated bowl. Elongated bowls are a little bit more guy-friendly, if you get my drift!

The shower pipes were also re-routed across the room so that the fixtures could sit perfectly centered in the stall. This was done purely for aesthetic reasons, but trust me, it makes total sense in the big picture. We installed thermostatic and volume control valves, which I am incredibly excited about. So gangsta.

As you can see, moving plumbing fixtures is no easy feat. I initially booed and hissed my way through all the DOB paperwork and fees, writing it all off as one big expensive, time-consuming nuisance. However, after seeing all the technical aspects involved in this project, I am so thankful we took the necessary steps to do everything the legit and legal way.

Anyway, now that all the nitty gritty details are done and over with, we can start making things pretty :) More later!