Bathroom of the Week: Wood Walls Warm Up an Eclectic Master Bath
An Atlanta designer tackles her most challenging remodel: her own master bathroom
When bathroom designer Michelle Fee decided it was time to remodel the master bath in her 1980s Atlanta home, it turned out to be way more complicated than designing someone else’s bathroom. “I’ve seen everything, so I kept thinking, ‘What do I choose?’ ” Fee says.
First she got stuck trying to maintain the room’s original floor plan. Then she struggled with what style to choose: contemporary or more “mountain house” like the rest of the home? Selecting materials — marble? ceramic tile? wood? — was yet another problem.
It all finally came together when she decided to slightly shrink the room, add walls — including a natural wood wall filled with living plants — for a cozier feel and an eclectic style. “Now it’s my current favorite of all the bathrooms I’ve ever done,” she says.
First she got stuck trying to maintain the room’s original floor plan. Then she struggled with what style to choose: contemporary or more “mountain house” like the rest of the home? Selecting materials — marble? ceramic tile? wood? — was yet another problem.
It all finally came together when she decided to slightly shrink the room, add walls — including a natural wood wall filled with living plants — for a cozier feel and an eclectic style. “Now it’s my current favorite of all the bathrooms I’ve ever done,” she says.
Fee says the original bathroom floor plan, the drawing at top in this image, was “very poorly laid out.” The toilet in the middle of the room ate up a lot of space, and a door next to the shower provided an awkward exit to the living room.
Fee’s new design, at bottom, closed up the existing doorways, created a new doorway by the windows and installed walls to create a toilet closet. The new design also provides a natural spot for a tub. (The original bathroom had a shower only.) The dimensions of the entire room didn’t change much (from 162 square feet to 158 square feet), Fee says, and making the room smaller actually allowed her to make the shower bigger.
Fee’s new design, at bottom, closed up the existing doorways, created a new doorway by the windows and installed walls to create a toilet closet. The new design also provides a natural spot for a tub. (The original bathroom had a shower only.) The dimensions of the entire room didn’t change much (from 162 square feet to 158 square feet), Fee says, and making the room smaller actually allowed her to make the shower bigger.
Before: The previous layout had too much space and seemed cold, Fee says.
After: Changing the layout and adding walls for a water closet gave the bathroom a cozier, more spa-like feel. Fee likes having a clean, enclosed space for the toilet so it’s not too close to the vanity.
The 30-square-inch porcelain floor tiles mimic concrete. “I wanted something plain but that had a little visual interest,” she says. “We considered pouring concrete, but the weight and durability and maintenance of porcelain far exceed concrete.”
The floors are also heated. “Porcelain is always cold,” Fee says. “The heated floor makes such a difference.”
The 30-square-inch porcelain floor tiles mimic concrete. “I wanted something plain but that had a little visual interest,” she says. “We considered pouring concrete, but the weight and durability and maintenance of porcelain far exceed concrete.”
The floors are also heated. “Porcelain is always cold,” Fee says. “The heated floor makes such a difference.”
A standard bathtub wouldn’t fit in the space between the wall and the new water closet. “Turning it at an angle would have worked,” Fee says, “but that look wouldn’t give the balance I wanted.” When she stumbled across this compact circular design, she knew she’d found the solution.
The tub is a solid-surface stone and can hold 121 gallons, so Fee added supports beneath the floor joists to accommodate the full weight of the tub (365 pounds when empty) and the water. “It’s like a humongous soup bowl,” she says.
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The tub is a solid-surface stone and can hold 121 gallons, so Fee added supports beneath the floor joists to accommodate the full weight of the tub (365 pounds when empty) and the water. “It’s like a humongous soup bowl,” she says.
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The custom vanity fits neatly into the niche between the water closet and living wall. It includes pullout drawers on either end, doors that swing open beneath the sinks and a pullout trash can in the middle.
“I love the textured wall above the vanity,” Fee says. “I didn’t want something that took away from the wood wall or plant wall, but I didn’t want something too bold, either. This is the perfect mix of simple and elegant.”
Wall-mounted faucets ensure that “everything is easily wipeable,” Fee says.
Faucets: Purist in brushed gold, Kohler
“I love the textured wall above the vanity,” Fee says. “I didn’t want something that took away from the wood wall or plant wall, but I didn’t want something too bold, either. This is the perfect mix of simple and elegant.”
Wall-mounted faucets ensure that “everything is easily wipeable,” Fee says.
Faucets: Purist in brushed gold, Kohler
“After I started putting in all the materials, I realized there was no warmth in the room,” Fee says. She knew wood would bring that in and also provide a nice contrast to the plants she planned to install in niches. Adding a wall to make the shower deeper also gave her enough space for a really deep towel shelf next to the shower.
The countertop is plain white quartz.
The countertop is plain white quartz.
After getting started on the wood wall, Fee realized she hadn’t included any place to store toothbrushes. Hidden medicine cabinets with sanitizing UV lights neatly solved the problem. “They sanitize anything I put in there,” Fee says, whether a toothbrush or a phone. “That’s one of the things I love most about the bathroom.”
The medicine cabinet on the opposite wall is concealed behind a cover customized to match the color of the wall and the brushed gold fixtures.
“You never realize how handy it is to have a mirror in the shower until you put one in,” Fee says.
The shower is controlled by a digital system by Kohler that lets the user set a favorite temperature and then push a button when ready to shower.
ShowerLite mirror: ClearMirror
The shower is controlled by a digital system by Kohler that lets the user set a favorite temperature and then push a button when ready to shower.
ShowerLite mirror: ClearMirror
A hidden drain system lies along the back wall of the shower.
Large-format porcelain tile (2 by 4 feet) on the shower walls and on the wall opposite the vanity means fewer grout lines, creating an easy-to-clean surface, Fee says.
She also used epoxy grout that’s generally used in commercial applications. The epoxy “plasticizes as it dries so it becomes an impermeable surface,” Fee says. “My goal for this bathroom was to make it the lowest maintenance while being the most luxurious. It’s very simple to clean.”
More on Houzz
Homeowner’s Workbook: How to Remodel Your Bathroom
Standard Fixture Dimensions and Measurements for a Master Bath
Get bathroom design ideas
Find a bathroom designer in your area
Shop for bathroom products
Large-format porcelain tile (2 by 4 feet) on the shower walls and on the wall opposite the vanity means fewer grout lines, creating an easy-to-clean surface, Fee says.
She also used epoxy grout that’s generally used in commercial applications. The epoxy “plasticizes as it dries so it becomes an impermeable surface,” Fee says. “My goal for this bathroom was to make it the lowest maintenance while being the most luxurious. It’s very simple to clean.”
More on Houzz
Homeowner’s Workbook: How to Remodel Your Bathroom
Standard Fixture Dimensions and Measurements for a Master Bath
Get bathroom design ideas
Find a bathroom designer in your area
Shop for bathroom products
Who lives here: Bathroom designer Michelle Fee, her husband and their two kids
Location: Atlanta
Size: 158 square feet (15 square meters)
Designer: Michelle Fee of Change Your Bathroom
Once Fee settled on a style — “eclectic with some rounded midcentury modern edges,” she calls it — she had to choose materials. “One of the most important things to me is living in nature and bringing nature in,” she says. She decided to make a “living wall” of oak timbers from old barns, with niches for live plants.
Porcelain floors and walls make for easy maintenance. The walls mimic statuary marble, while the shower niche and bathroom entrance are trimmed in actual statuary marble.
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