Grand Tour: Master Bath
October 5, 2009
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I’m a big believer in making your home your personal refuge from the world. I’d rather spend my money on feathering my nest than taking a grand vacation. Those new to this blog should know that we expanded our home in a (nightmarish) remodel back in 2006, but never got around to finishing the master bath, mostly due to lack of funds. Over the past year, we’ve slowly been finishing the space. And this past weekend, we put the finishing touches on the master bathroom. Yippeeeeee !
Five years ago, before we expanded our home, our master bathroom was not a pleasant prepping area. At least not for me. It was so so very tiny. So small that Mr. CG and I were elbowing each other and quarreling over counter space. I finally resorted to primping in the children’s bathroom. But not any more darlin’. All of that has now changed.
We’ve purposely doubled the size of our bathroom and budgeted in room for a separate primping zones. One year ago, the space you’re about to tour was nothing more than sheetrock and a plywood floor. At last, at last, at last it is finished !
Welcome to our sanctuary. Away from the world. Away from the kids !
Come on in !
Oooh la la, I feel like I’m living in the lap of luxury in here. We had the cabinets custom made. They are alder wood with a walnut stain.
We topped the counters with inexpensive cultured marble instead of the real thing. Frankly, I prefer it. Cultured marble is so much easier to clean and maintain. The mirror is the Florentine by Hitchcock Butterfield.
I doubled up the hardware on the center drawers to make them look more like a dresser.
Mr. CG’s side of the vanity:
He takes his mouthwash straight up. Tee hee hee.
I chose the overmount sinks for their ridge detail and oval shape. Fixtures are Price Pfister.
I planted an orchid in a champagne bucket for extra glamour.
La toilette is hidden behind a door. Love that !
Of course, you’ve seen the bathtub zone before.
This discount chandelier over the tub is a favorite detail.
This spa shelf was one of my transformations from a few months back where some tacky thrift store brass objects met up with my can of spray paint. Read all about it here.
And you’ve also seen the master shower before. Whew, was this a chore to tile !
Still no shower door, but that will come later.
I’m a big fan of the shampoo bottle insets and Oceanside glass tile stripes.
This pair of towel hooks are another favorite detail.
You can see all the up close details and tour the inside of the shower right here.
Oh my, just when you think you’ve seen it all. You haven’t even seen the best part ! Here is the crème de la crème. It’s my own personal vanity. For over a decade I’ve dreamed of an old Hollywood style vanity with tons of glamour where I could powder my nose and paint my little girl’s toenails. This vanity is just a dream come true for me. This is my absolute favorite spot in my home.
Oh my goodness, could you just fall over backwards from all of that storage? There’s tons of it. I share it with my step daughter and this is our girly primping zone. All of our beauty products are housed right here.
Kitchen drawer dividers serve their purpose in our vanity:
I sewed this slipcover for this vanity bench that I found on Craigslist.
This silver octagonal mirror is a favorite detail.
Here is a daily reminder of my blessings: two lovely daughters, now 17 and 5 years old.
My favorite silver trimmed shell holds jewelry at day’s end.
These $3 dollar thrift store sconces were once gold, but I spray painted them and hung them on my wall for added atmosphere.
Now if only I could keep these little munchkins preoccupied elsewhere.
But it’s totally not happening.
Double vanity. Plenty of elbow room.
And they lived happily ever after.
The paint color is my own custom blend. 1/3 Behr ‘Mountain Creek’, 1/3 Restoration Hardware ‘Silver Sage’ and 1/3 ‘Swiss Coffee’ white. It looks a little pastel blue in many of the photos but in reality, it is much softer and more gray.
So there it is, the whirlwind tour. It’s quite a big change from a year ago! And it is a dream come true for both of us. After ten years of marriage, it’s nice to have a little sanctuary to call our own. At least, until we’re invaded by you know who.
Tags: bath
Oh wow! I could stay in there for days! My MIL has been wanting to help me revamp our master bath but it seems mike such an undertaking. But after looking at yours I may have to take her up on it! Thanks for the inspiration, as always!
W-O-W!! I want to say you are a lucky gal but actually it all sounds well deserved and a long time coming…Enjoy every moment….btw-where did you ge the towel holders-I hadn’t seen those before…gorgeous detail.
I totally just drooled on my keyboard! I love it all! FABULOUS job!
It’s all so beautiful! I especially love how the mirrors reflect each other. Oh, and that shell on your vanity!
Who wouldn’t love a bathroom like this. It’s every girl’s dream!!
It’s amazing! Now you have a W.C (water closet), just like the French :)
Lovely…thanks for giving us all inspiration. Holly at lifelaughlatte.blogspot.com
Oh my! Way better than any hotel bathroom I’ve ever seen! I love the vanity. It would be so nice to have a well-lit place to put on makeup where I didn’t worry about my mascara wand dropping into the sink!
gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!
Words can’t even begin to describe how envious of you I am. ;)
That vanity is to die for!! I would kill to be able to sit and do my makeup without bumping into T. The sconces are such a nice touch too. Such a glamorous retreat!!!
We share our tiny (TINY!) bath with the girls…our house was built in ’77, so you know it’s small! I’d love to get some ideas from you someday on ways I could make it pretty…’cause that is so not what I think when I look at it now. :s
Great job, Kate! :)
Gorgeous bathroom! I’ve only recently discovered your blog and it’s great. I’m thrilled to find another Northern California blogger!
It’s GORGEOUS! I love all the little touches, like the champagne bucket and photos of the girls. Just beautiful.
Lovely :) DH promised we will make-over our ‘builder’s special’ master bath this winter – I can’t wait. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for thrift store finds that I can paint for all those lovely touches you add.
I am not sure we can be friends anymore…I am green with envy. I have a feeling my bathroom looks a lot like your before pictures. UGH! So I am going to have to wait 3 years like you did to get this dream?
P.S. Did you figure out your facebook?
**GASP**
It took my breath away…gorgeous! Every single bit of it. *sigh*
Enjoy!
Simply Beautiful! Congrats to you on the exquisite bathroom and SITS Day! We recently re-did our kitchen, and our bathroom will be in the future (after we finish paying off the kitchen, Ha!) I know what you mean about the elbowing in the bathroom! We have a bathrom, that is about the size of a large walk in closet, and we are always on top of each other in the mornings before work. If you have ever seen “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House” with Cary Grant, I always think of that movie and the bathroom/closet scene in the beginning.
I connected to you through another blog.
I look at this and wonder…. How much of this was picked out by your husband?
Hi Tom,
Great question. We collaborate on a lot of design. I don’t purchase anything major without his approval. We have very similar tastes. The hub participated in much of the selections, from the stain, style, and height of the cabinetry to the mirrors to the light fixtures. He even picked out the hardware. Some of the smaller details, like the listello tiles or the accessories were left to me.
- Kate
Seriously, that is the most gorgeous bathroom I’ve ever seen!
Beautiful!!
Quick question – in the special “toilet room”, is that a stripe paint treatment on the walls? It looks great!
Ohh What an amazing bathroom, how many pretty details. I love it.
Congratulations
Hugs
Charo
Wowie, girlie, just when I thought it couldn’t get any better and it does! That is just stunning, what a lot of nice details you’ve pulled together for that spa bath. I have more work to do on mine and your white listello tiles have given me some great ideas. I love your floor tiles too. I’d love to rip out the teeny white tiles on the floor of my bath too.
Your bathroom is absolutely amazing!
It is really beautiful! :)
I am GREEN with jealousy!
Thank you for sharing….think I’ll go get the sledge hammer and take a bath…..apart.
Oh, girl. Congratulations. What a beautiful space. I am glad for you! I think my favorite things are the decanter holding the mouthwash and the champagne-bucket planter. You are so clever!
And I must say I admire your taste in shampoo. . . at least I think I spied Burt’s Bees products in that beautiful shower. Those are made right here in my hometown of Durham, NC!
I believe that someday I will need a dual sink in our bathroom. Someday….
Love yours. I’ll just drool over yours for now. =)
Oh this is LOVELY Kate! So serene and bright and pretty. Just gorgeous!
Love the shower, bathtub, it all looks fantastic.
It is beautiful, I’m green with envy. We had a large master bath in our last house, but not here. We have 3 baths, so the master is all mine…but, it still doesn’t have atmosphere. I love, love, love your shower.
Sue
OH never mind i found it!
Beautiful Job! I love it all!
Love the chandelier over the tub! just gorgeous!
Very beautiful!
Holy cow!! This must be what bathrooms in heaven look like!! :)
Absolutely love the vanity area!!! Bathroom is oh so lovely! Great job!
Magnificent, Kate! I scored a pair of identical sconces from my mother-in-law’s basement, along with a matching mirror, sprayed them (Heirloom White, what else?) and hung them in my daughter’s bedroom. I had to take the candles out because she kept trying to eat them, but they sure are cute! :)
[...] is the highboy on my hub’s side. Our old master bath beveled vanity mirror didn’t fit the new master bathroom, so I just turned it on its side and put it behind the highboy to pull more light into the [...]
I would LOVE to have your bathroom! How luxurious! It is so spa like and serene.
[...] experience with Price Pfister. You can find their faucets in my kitchen, my guest bath, and my master bath. I’ve always been pleased with the design and performance of these faucets and I know you [...]
Passed on a blog award to you, but I’m sure you don’t need that to tell you that you’re awesome! Thanks for all the inspiration and I love following your “centsational” adventures!
[...] The entire master bathroom was finally finished this year. Want the tour? Click here. [...]
Lovely home great ideas I will be back.
Absolutely gorgeous!! No doubt about it – you have thought of everything! I’ve gotta ask – did you make the window treatment over your tub? I love it’s simplicity but how the corners gather make it so much more elegant than the standard roman shade…and how to’s or where to find it?? I’m sure it is simple but I’m just too challenged! lol
[...] Over the last three years, we’ve slowly finished the house. It wasn’t until 2009 that we finally installed the master bathroom – you can read all about it here. [...]
I LOVE your bathroom! We have the same faucets, too. One of my favorite details? The mouthwash in the pretty bottle. I’m totally going to steal that idea. :)
Really amazing! So many pretty details. I have the same sink in my master. Love the colors you used and the chandelier over the tub is just the right size.
I love that you think of every little detail – right down to the mouthwash in the decanter. The tile in the shower is gorgeous and may be my favorite part, but the whole place even comes through as a sanctuary on the computer :-) Barbara