“Renovation is perpetual in our property,” says furniture seller and seller Brad Ross. He and his wife, Tiffany, are inspired by trips abroad and want to attract international styles dwelling. They’re also experts at scouting classic pieces and architectural salvage. During this bathroom’s renovation, the high price of glass enclosures, a serendipitous experience with a reclaimed French pocket along with the couple’s love of Paris inspired the bathroom’s classic Parisian style. The bathroom is shared by their three kiddos, Adan, Eli and Lily.
Job: A bathroom renovation in Texas
Cost: Around $1,500
Time: About a week, such as a few evenings
Before Photo
The bathroom had a standard bathtub-shower combination. At first Ross just wanted to tear that out and replace it with a shower with a glass enclosure.
DURING: But once he got started with the demolition, he couldn’t stop himself. “While I was in doing this I decided to take out everything, including the cheesy MDF cabinet along with the linoleum floor,” Ross says. He had some supplies such as tile left over from his master bath renovation, which cut down on prices.
“When I got the estimate for the glass enclosure, it was more than the whole renovation needed cost me up to there,” Ross says. He stumbled upon the French pocket at architectural salvage dealer Orr Reed in Dallas and knew it would be a great fit.
To safeguard the door from the water, Ross sealed the wood with many coats of an oil-based primer and paint, and added a shower curtain indoors. “We also enjoyed the romantic Parisian expression of the French door with the curtain on the back,” he states.
Replacing the linoleum floor with black and white tile made a large design effect, as did utilizing subway tile in the shower stall. Both are classics that will match many styles rather than go out of style.
Flooring tile: 2-inch octagonal white matte with black dot, Daltile, Home Depot; wall tile : 3- by 6-inch white subway tile, Daltile, Home Depot
The Rosses had experimented with using a dresser in their own master bath as a vanity. An old sewing machine cabinet found on Craigslist was just the correct match here. Ross added a custom 1-inch marble slab with a bullnose edge to the very best to make an elegant counter and backsplash.
A mirror found at a resale store matches the marble’s tasteful look, as do the vanity’s glass knobs.
Tip: If you’ve chosen a piece of furniture that does not appear to have space for the faucet on the back, try turning the faucet on an angle, as Ross did here.
Granite: H and D Granite + Granite; faucet: Lowe’s
The cabinet swings open for simple access to the pipes. Ross cut a hole in the back to match the pipes through. He used a fundamental gray Krylon spray paint and completed the bit with Minwax’s Polycrylic clear coat.
Lindsay von Hagel
The last result is a bathroom that’s tasteful, open and bright and matches the household’s swanky classic tastes.
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