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Small Bathroom Remodel & Visual Space

Written by: tinagleisner

Our decorator translated the customer's ideas into warm, earthy colorsThis bathroom remodel started with the customer’s ideas – chocolate brown and lots of tile, including tiled walls up to 4 feet. The next step was a palette of colors and textures, our decorator’s interpretation of giving our customer an elegant, masculine bath.

From concept to the final results, it was an amazing journey with lots of twists and turns. Some changes were made to give the small bathroom more visual space while other changes were made to reduce costs as there are always trade-offs to be made. The customer loved the results!

The Best Plans Change During Any Remodeling Project

You might think you’ve identified all the project steps, fixtures and materials before you start a remodeling project. Regardless of the planning you’ve done, there’s always new information that causes you to re-think your strategy.

When ordering the shower base, we discovered the building codes had changed since original construction and the existing shower space was smaller than required, causing us to review our options. We could have continued with the existing tiled walls but came up with a better solution that involved removing the wall and going with a glass enclosed, neo-angle shower. The customer loved the final result as it made the room feel so much bigger!

Original Plans Changed Plan Changes
Floor tile No Installed tile recommended by decorator
Chocolate vanity Yes Original vanity on back order; couldn’t wait
Sink/counter top No Customer picked from 3 choices given
Bronze hardware No Picked faucet to match vanity & sink; remaining hardware same finish
Tile walls Yes

Replaced tile walls with lower cost, tile chair rail

  • Picked 1 of 3 chair rail, tile designs (take a peek at 3 choices)
  • Went with 2 piece design, with cove rail above the design
  • Picked smoother of 2 textures for shower tile “above the rail”
Shower pan Yes Building codes changed & shower now 36 inches (was 30)
Yes Removed wall & moved window to provide 36 inches
Yes Replaced tile shower plans with neo-angle, glass enclosed shower
Paint colors Yes

Picked from choices given to match tile colors; not original chocolate

  • Picked lighter of 2 colors for “above the chair rail”
  • Picked darker of 2 colors for “below the chair rail”

It’s difficult to capture all the details we dealt with during the project. We moved a window which meant finding matching siding (customer couldn’t tell the difference). To accommodate the larger shower, we also removed a wall and the plumbing that was there, shifted to another wall. There were a few pieces to sort out to integrate the new vanity, sink and faucet with the tile chair rail but it all worked … with some creativity and patience.

Key elements of bathroom remodel

Author: tinagleisner:
Tina Gleisner is passionate about helping women home owners LEARN about their homes, CONNECT with home professionals committed to delivering quality home products, and CREATE homes that support their lifestyle. Leveraging her experience as the owner of a handyman business, Tina created the Assn of Women Home Owners at www.HomeTips4Women.com.
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Filed Under: Bathrooms & More
Tagged With: bathroom ideas, bathroom remodel, bathroom shower, bathroom tile, chocolate dark for small room, earthy bathroom colors, neo-angle shower, remodeling bathroom, rich tile textures, small bathroom remodel, tile texture for depth, warm colors for bathroom, warm colors in a bathroom



  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_PYXVVVSSOFVHYMVTFHHJZ7B2YU Brett Aitken

    Very informative post you have shared with all of us.. Like me many people might be searching for the information on remodeling.. I have searched so much on it but your post contains a great resource related to it.. I appreciate it..
    small bathtubs



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