Mary and Dave Colemon first contacted me after Mary’s younger sister did some Internet research. After a previous successful collaboration on the couple’s kitchen, (DIY Decorating, "Smart Makeover," November 2003, Houston House & Home), they
called me back because they were stuck pulling together their master bedroom and bath.

Since we start and end each day in the bathroom, I believe the master bathroom is one of the most important (yet often neglected) rooms in a home. It sets the tone for your whole day. If the bath doesn’t function properly, your day can be negatively affected, which impacts your health, wealth and happiness. Such was the case with this project.

TIGHT QUARTERS
When the Colemons bought their home in 1979, they
didn’t realize just how tiny their bath actually was until
they began using it. It became clear that the dated and
oddly placed sinkless vanity in the bedroom was
inadequate for storage and had become a catchall.
The shower was so tiny that when Mary shampooed
her hair, her elbows hit the walls. And to access the
clothes closet, you first had to close the main bedroom
door before you could open the closet door.

Similarly, to access the bathroom’s linen closet, you had to first close the bathroom door behind you, all the while juggling a laundry basket full of towels. It was just an irritating, daily problem. “The closet door always hit the bedroom door when it was open, causing a traffic jam every morning,” Mary moans. “We just were desperate to have a workable bath and closet.”

BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS
After offering some preliminary solutions, such as
incorporating the awkward vanity into the bath,
adding recessed can lights and opening the closet door
into the bathroom area, I knew my design associate,
Amy Abbott, would be the one to solve the complicated space planning issues and create a workable bathroom within the couple’s budget. Removing the dated wallpaper and gathered window valance would immediately update the room.

Before they met Abbott, I sent Mary and Dave off
to The Great Indoors, Lowe’s and The Home Depot
to research bath vignettes they liked and to study new
plumbing fixtures, rimless glass shower surrounds and
bath storage options, all the while gathering tear sheet
specifications in order to prioritize their “wish list” for
Abbott. The couple first thought they could remodel
the space for $12,000.

“Doing research and exploring materials helped us
realistically adjust our budget upward to $15,000 and
showed us what we could look forward to at the end.
Personally, I hated the shopping homework assignment,” Dave says with a laugh. “Next time, I will hire a personal shopper.”

ROOM TO GROW
For Abbott, a kitchen and bath specialist, the space presented some key challenges. One, the entrance to the bedroom was at the end of the stair landing and the
doorway could not be moved. Second, the bedroom’s odd vanity was placed in direct line with the master bedroom door. So the question was how to incorporate
the vanity area without losing physical space in the bedroom.

Abbott solved the problem by closing in the original closet door in the bedroom and creating an angled wall that would come into the room just far enough to encompass the old dressing table space, yet still allow enough width for moving the bedroom furniture in and out. This new, angled wall created a small, private foyer
into the bedroom visible from the stairs and allowed Abbott to not only move the closet door to open into the bathroom but to create a private closet for Dave, too.

TIP: Installing a new split-paneled door to the bath and having the split doors stack onto the bedroom walls ensures maximum square footage in the bath.
“Additionally, the design allowed enough wall space to give Mary and Dave a much larger shower with a bench and longer vanity with two sinks and a countertop
cabinet, creating a his-and-hers feeling between the sinks and much needed storage,” Abbott explains.

TIP: Before beginning a bath remodel, have a professional plan in place. This will save money in the long run and keep the project on track.

Inside the lower portion of the tower are electrical outlets for his-and-her small appliances and, with no messy cords showing, the tower creates a sleek, neat appearance in the room. Once the Colemons selected “Juparana Gold” granite from American Brazilian Co., the wallpaper was removed and the bath was painted Sherwin-Williams’ “Kilim Beige.” The porcelain bath tile
from Lowe’s is a combination of 12-by-12-inch and 6-by-6-inch tiles in “Tuscan Bone” (#28525) with 1-by-5-inch Corone Pietra rope trim (#70793). Bobbitt Glass installed the custom rimless glass shower surround.

Mary admits that moving the bathroom wall and incorporating the old vanity area was hard to visualize. Closing off the bedroom closet door and moving it into the bathroom shortened her shoe shelves.

“I had a mini-meltdown when I realized that only 3.5 pairs of shoes would fit on each new shelf. But, I gained additional hanging space for my off-season clothes,” she says. “I bought shoe cubbies that fit under hanging clothes and a new clothes hamper and now I absolutely love my new, organized closet.”

Since Dave has his own double-hanging racks and shelves, both closet areas have been greatly enhanced. Seeing the closet completed, Mary is now sorry she ever doubted that it would work.

TAKING CARE OF DETAILS
“Amy not only had great architectural and design ideas, but she held my hand and gently nudged me towards color choices when it came time to paint,” Mary says with a smile. “We’d always had white walls before, and I was afraid to make a mistake. The colors we chose were still
in the ‘safe’ beige family, but they make much more of a statement than our old colors did.”

TIP: Successful baths have contrast between the floor, cabinets and countertop colors and textures...glossy with rough, dark with light.

Mary and Dave, who are terrific comparison shoppers, found the best prices for the mirrors, towel racks and 2-inch blinds from Linen’s ’N Things (using 20 percent off coupons) and the new sinks, toilet and bath hardware came from Lowe’s.

TIP: Recycling the leftover granite, the couple created custom tops for their bedside tables and a new counter for the nearby hall bath. They also were able to take the new knobs, pulls and light fixture from the “old” master bathroom and add them to the newly freshened hall bath.

And what do friends and family think of the makeover? “We had friends ask for ‘tours’ before the work was even finished,” Mary says. “They seem to like it as much as we do. There is no way we could have tackled this on our own. It was so worth it. I can’t believe we
waited almost 25 years to do this.”

___________________________________________

Joetta Moulden offers home makeovers using your own home
furnishings to create the home you’ve always dreamed of. Joetta believes your pieces that have been collected through the years are a reflection of your personality and can be artfully arranged.

Her ability to focus on your personal style and not let her own
preferences influence the design of your home makes her unique. See more makeovers on her Web site at http://www.shelterstyle.com, e-mail her at joetta@shelterstyle.com or call 713.461.2063. Her design associate, Amy Abbott, can be reached at 281.370.9975 or
by e-mail at aalw97@houston.rr.com.

___________________________________________

SUBSCRIBE to House&Home now to receive 12 months of home and garden trends and ideas.

PICK US UP at hundreds of locations in Houston, Dallas or contact your local House&Home for location and subscription information.

Click here to
view or print
the entire article
1.4mb file
(Adobe Acrobat
Reader 5.0 or later
required)

Click here
to download
Acrobat Reader