The Master Bathroom Project | The Design (Part 1)

Here is what you have all been waiting for... the Master Bathroom Remodel!

Top-down view of our existing master bathroom rendered in Sketchup

As previously mentioned in my lighting post, the hubby and I have been wanting to design a feasible version of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" on our master bathroom. We wanted to create a spa or high-end hotel feeling in our bathroom without completely ripping out our shower, tub, walls, etc. (maybe we'll get to that point eventually, but we're not quite there yet).

I thought I had a good idea of what I wanted to do. If you recall in my painting techniques post, I said that I wanted to try out the basket-weave painting pattern, so I was thinking browns and earth tones for the color palette. We went to Home Depot, picked out some brown paint color swatches by Glidden, found some cheap brown glass mosaic tiles, bought the Martha Stewart Paint Kit, and were ready to go! When we got home, seeing the samples in the bathroom said otherwise... nothing seemed to fit together correctly. I was kind of bummed.

So now what?

The answer: Google SketchUp! We rendered our entire bathroom (as is) in SketchUp from a set of floor plans that I had to draw for my Principles of Interior Design Class. SketchUp was a bit tedious at first because of the learning curve, but we got the hang of it eventually and were able to get pretty close to the real thing...

Floor plan of our master suite

Detailed measurements of the sink/vanity/cabinet area of our master bathroom

Birds'-eye view of our  master bathroom (actual photo vs. Sketchup rendering)

Ground view from the entry of our master bathroom (actual photo vs. Sketchup rendering)

Mid-level view from the entry of our master bathroom (actual photo vs. Sketchup rendering)

Sink & vanity view of our master bathroom (actual photo vs. Sketchup rendering)

Tub area view of our master bathroom (actual photo vs. Sketchup rendering)

Then we began tweaking different parts of the design based on the materials we bought and other things we liked...

Trial #1: Our original idea with brown walls, tile strip, dark wood & split mirrors
(we liked the ideas individually, just not together)

Trial #2: Gray wall (continued from bedroom), split mirrors & tile filling the entire back wall
(once again things didn't go together)

Trial #3: Blue-ish theme
(completely lost the "spa" feel)

And after a lot of back & forth and many "Save As..." operations later, we finally landed on this design!

We're doing a split paint (top gray, bottom black) & keeping the split mirror idea (now with frames) 

Pendant light hanging from the ceiling plus candle wall scones over the tub

Dark brown (Kona) cabinet refinish with additional silver handles

In sum, we are planning to:

• Paint the walls two colors: Glidden's Seal Gray (from living room) and Onyx Black.
• Refinish the cabinets to a color called Kona from this amazing cabinet painting kit that we found at Home Depot.
• Add hardware to the cabinets.
• Remove the huge mounted mirror and replace it with two smaller framed mirrors.
• Add some additional lighting over the tub and between the mirrors.

This is going to be a pretty big project for us since we've never removed a huge mirror before, never used the Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations Kit before, or never installed completely new lighting that hasn't already been pre-wired.

So where are we at now?

We've bought all the materials, and as the remodel progresses, I will be posting updates. So stay tuned! We'll be sure to highlight all of the materials that are used in the process, their ease of use (or lack thereof), and their cost.

I am super excited that we finally have a design and I hope you all find our remodel process enjoyable and inspiring!

Wish us luck!

{Rashida}

PS: As you're probably well aware by now, I am obsessed with gray. I actually really tried not to incorporate gray into this design, but I couldn't help myself.  It looked so good! It turns out, however, that grays are a trending color in the home industry! Suburban homes are now trying to look more urban! (Many thanks to the designers at Homesite Services in San Ramon for confirming that I wasn't a boring person because I like designing with gray.)

PPS: SketchUp is truly amazing! It is really simple to use once you get the hang of it, and I highly suggest trying it out if you don't want to purchase a similar 3D modeling software (ahem AutoCad). It really is the best way to iterate on your designs without having to implement them. Just watch some of the tutorials and you'll be on your way in no time!