Now that you’re up to speed on what we’re working with, let me get to the fun stuff. The design plans! If you have missed a post or need to catch up on this series, please visit our last post [here] .

The Main Bathroom Design

I want to start with the main bathroom. In designing this space I want to keep in mind the ultimate long term user of the space. As we don’t currently have plans to sell the home, we do realistically believe that we won’t live in this house forever. Quite frankly, it’s not our dream house nor is Seattle where we want to live for the rest of our lives. So even though I’m planning to be the main person using this bathroom daily. I want to consider that it will likely be the family bath, as well as the bathroom that guests will use too. That means we need this space to have a bathtub, and we need for it to be leaning “mainstream” in design. I don’t want to say that I’m considering resale value in designing this space, but I’m also not, not thinking about it. To me, a nicely designed “mainstream” in style bathroom, is likely to be a timeless design. Looking back to the historic houses I visited over the past few years, I can safely say that a timeless bathroom is a space that has a white-ish subway tile, white marble and white plumbing fixtures. However, in order to make this space feel a bit more special and not a run of the mill, flipper designed bathroom, I’m going to lean heavily on the details and quality of the execution of these perhaps more simple style features. I am also going to add layers of interest to the space through additional patterns and colors in the textiles and the wallpaper.

The color palette is going to be a variation in warm and cool tones. Starting with the more permanent finishes in creamy off-whites for the wall tiles, to cooler gray tones in the carrara marble in the floor tiles and the countertop and baseboards. I also wanted to add some weight to the space so I’m adding touches of black, which will be seen in the floor tiles in the checkerboard pattern and the accent wall tiles. All the plumbing fixtures are going to be white, such as the toilet, sink and under-mount tub. The hard finishes will be a mix of cool tones for the plumbing fixtures and fittings and warm tones for the hardware and lighting. The soft layers will be the wallpaper that again is creamy and warm, off-white. The shower curtain will be dark with a dense Morris and Co. floral patterned textile. Lastly, I hope to have the vanity cabinet made in a stain-grade, natural oak wood. For the plumbing fittings I’m planning to go with nickel for the metal finish. That will include the whole shower system (shower head, hand shower, pressure and volume valves), the tub filler, the toilet trip lever and the sink faucet.

As a reminder of how the space will be laid out I’ve attached the floor plan, as well as a few of the elevation views below. One image is showing the south and west walls. The south walls is the small wall you see within the toilet niche and the doorway in the bathroom. The West wall is showing a front on view of how the shower will be framed out and the toilet niche. Also below, shows the elevation of the north wall and the east wall. In that image I created a quick photoshop rendering of how the colors and finishes are going to look together in the space.

Main Bathroom Drawings

Floor plan of the new layout for the main bathroom

Elevation drawings of the main bathroom South and East Wall views.

A quick photoshop rendering of the North and East wall elevations

To help us pull off remodeling two bathrooms at pretty much the same time, we are collaborating with Ferguson. Ferguson is generously sponsoring our plumbing fixtures, fittings and hardware, as well as our very luxuriously deep soaking tub by Victoria & Albert. With the expansive inventory that Ferguson has to offer I had my pick of a number of quality brands and products to choose from. For this bathroom, I decided to go with a mix of Kohler and Signature Hardware plumbing fixtures. I chose mostly based on aesthetic preference focusing on design details within each collection. By the way, mixing and matching brands is completely acceptable as long as the design elements make sense. Because I’ve decided on polished nickel as the finish for my bathroom fittings, pairing faucets and shower fixtures across brands will work. Specifically I chose a sink faucet from Signature Hardware because I really liked the proportions of the handles and the spout, while I selected Kohler fixtures for the shower trim out. I selected a Kohler Kathryn toilet, because it’s my favorite style of toilet that Kohler makes, and we already have one in our powder room downstairs. I’m most excited about the tub which is a soaking tub by Victoria Albert! I'm planning to undermount it with a marble slab top!

Another great thing about working with Ferguson is that I had a specialized showroom representative who is deeply knowledgeable about the product offerings. Hannah (at the Seattle downtown showroom) has been extremely helpful and collaborative to work with on this process. I spent a good chunk of time at the showroom making sure to touch test, hold and look at all the selections together. I was also able to test out shower heads to get an idea for how each of them works!

Below is the collection of products I selected for this space. All of these are available through Ferguson and Build.com. I would recommend for anyone who is interested in any of these products, but feel like you need to see them in person to make an appointment at your nearest Ferguson showroom with a showroom representative through the link below.

Make A Showroom Appointment

Main Bathroom Links

Widespread Sink Faucet - Signature Hardware Pendleton 1.2 GPM Widespread Bathroom Faucet with Pop-Up Drain Assembly

Thermostatic Shower Trim - Kohler Bancroft Double Metal Lever Handle Thermostatic Trim

Transfer Valve - Kohler Bancroft transfer valve trim with metal lever handle

Shower Head - Kohler Bancroft 1.75 GPM Multi-Function Shower Head

Shower Arm - Kohler MasterShower 7-1/2" Wall Mounted Shower Arm and Flange

Hand Shower Hose - Kohler MasterShower 60" Hand Shower Hose with Swivel Base

Hand Shower Holder - Kohler Classic Adjustable Wall Mounted Hand Shower Holder with 1/2" Connection from Bancroft Collection

Sink Basin - Signature Hardware Myers 21" Vitreous China Undermount Bathroom Sink

Soaking Tub - Victoria and Albert Kaldera 60" Drop In, Undermount Volcanic Limestone Soaking Tub with Reversible Drain and Overflow

Tub Drain Kit - Victoria and Albert 1-1/2" Tub Drain Kit - with Overflow

Toilet - Kohler Kathryn 1.28 GPF One-Piece Elongated Comfort Height Toilet with AquaPiston Technology - Seat Included

Trip Lever - Kohler Kathryn Vertical Trip Lever

Pocket Door Hardware - Baldwin Santa Monica Privacy Pocket Door Lock from the Estate Collection

Primary Bathroom Design

In the Primary Bath I want to be a little bolder with my choices. That’s because this bathroom is the added bath and I feel like since it’s off the primary bedroom it can be a little more fun. It’s smaller, it will only have a shower, no room for a tub and the oddness of the roof angle makes the space overall just feel more casual and funky than the main bathroom. The way that I’m going to accomplish a slightly bolder look is to… you guessed it! Install the Kohler Classic 1930s colorway of the Peach Blow for both the toilet and the sink! To pull the pinky-peach color into the space and make it all seem to flow well, the floor tiles will be in a rosewood marble, which has variations of pink, brown and deep red tones mixed into a cooler base stone that pairs nicely with carrara marble. Which I’ll again be using for the countertop and accent stone pieces that flank the shower opening. The wall throughout the room will be lined in beadboard paneling painted in a warm taupe-beige, which will pair well with the shower tiles. The shower tiles will be a mix of square 4 x 4 tiles and 3 x 6 subway tiles in a color called urban putty. The hardware, lighting and the plumbing fixtures will be in unlacquered brass, which I’m very excited about. And finally, the soft finishes will be in warm floral patterns that feature both soft pinks, deep reds, browns and dark blues.

Below is the primary bathroom floor plan drawing for reference as well as two renderings I had done by artist Polina Meteyko to show how the finishes and colors are going to come together in the space.

Primary Bathroom Drawings & Renderings

Now that I’ve shared the design plans for each space, I can share more of the behind-the-scenes process! Which includes my visit to the Ferguson showroom, the demolition phase of each space, and of course process posts along the way. The next blog post will be shared a few weeks from now, when I’ll check in and share the project update, once we’ve reached the milestone of the tile installation. At that time I’ll also break down the tile layout, how and why I have decided to make them different from each other, I’ll give you a hint: it has something to do with budget! As well a great deal of referencing inspiration from historic homes. At any rate, I promise I will share all about it. If you’re interested in more up-to-date progress I am planning to share that over on Instagram, so be sure to add us to your favorites if you don’t want to miss out on the process.

Cheers!

Lauren

Part 4: The Design Plan