This elegant sand and sea ensuite renovation was one that has been 10 years in the making. Ever since we bought this log home, this bathroom has been on the priority list. Unfortunately, the priority list was very loooonnngg and it took this long before it finally made it to the top.
To read my previous post about the start of this renovation, click here.
I guess I shouldn’t say this for modesty sake, but it turned out even better than I had hoped! The difference between the before and after photos are quite shocking, if I do say so myself.
This bathroom had been quite a beautiful one in it’s day, 30 years ago, but now it was definitely showing it’s age. While I can appreciate what was probably an expensive accent tile at the time, I was a little over the green and pink calla lily motif. Not to mention the green grout everywhere!
Over the past 10 years I had envisioned what this bathroom could become. With large scale natural tiles with movement, a simple sleek tub and a much more streamlined vanity.
This was my design board for this renovation. Everything had to work with the partial log wall and the pine ceiling. So I wanted it to have natural elements but still be quite modern and elegant.
Warm and cool metals
As you can see I mixed warm and cool metals. This mixture was for a few reasons:
- Polished chrome is a classic finish that doesn’t date, wears well (with hard water that is a big consideration) and is also easy on the budget. So the sink faucets, the tub filler, the shower kit, the floor mounted tub filler and the shower trim are all shiny and sleek.
- I also wanted to bring in some warm metals to relate to the warm tones of the wood, so I was happy to embrace some brass tones, with the lucite and gold handles, the brass track light fixture, the mirrors and the sconces.
- I love mixing my jewellery metals and have always felt that mixing cool and warm metals in a room, just makes it that much more interesting. The key to mixing metals is to have both metals repeated at least twice in a space, that way it looks intentional.
We kept all the plumbing in the same place as the layout worked well and we didn’t want the extra expense of moving plumbing around.
Shower
The shower was a good size and in a good position. So we just added the triangular shower bench from Schluter, which was the perfect size and shape.
Originally we were just going to reuse the shower glass but there was a small accident when dismantling them when one of the pieces shattered. Just so glad it wasn’t me!
The new shower glass was an unexpected cost and it took many months to actually get it measured and installed, but it turned out as these things often do, for the best. The new glass configuration is so much sturdier and has a much tighter seal, so no water on the floor!
We have a similar river rock shower floor in another bath here which has held up very well, so it was a no brainer to do it again. I love the natural look and feel these flat river rock tiles give the shower. Not to mention that they are very soothing to stand on.
The previous shower had done well for it’s 30 years but the grout had cracked and tiles were starting to come away from the wall. The glass door was shaky and the shower floor tiles just would not become white again, no matter how much you scrubbed (thank you hard country water).
Tub
A freestanding tub and a floor mounted faucet were a dream of mine, and this bathroom allowed me to have both. The tub is amazing, it is so comfortable to sit in. Not quite as deep as it looks, this tub easily fills with hot water, and does not drain our hot water tank! It even has a little ledge to perch a glass of wine (insert heart emoji here).
We rarely used the old tub as it took so much hot water to fill it, that you ended up sitting in a lukewarm bath.
Vanity
The new double vanity was an online purchase (as we were in the midst of a covid lockdown). It ended up being a great selection. It was delivered right to our country home, right on time. It super sturdy in solid wood and painted in a beautiful classic navy. The big bonus was that it came with the marble countertop, sinks and even a backsplash. All definite pluses in Covid time.
It did come with very basic nickel knobs which I managed to replace with these gold and lucite handles. Another online purchase which worked out very well. It was tricky finding 3″ centre pulls that had smaller knobs or pulls to match.
They just elevated the vanity to the elegance I knew it could have.
The previous vanity was still in decent shape but the chipped sinks and tarnished taps were not. Also the makeup area was pretty useless. It had a mirror attached inside for makeup application but the mirror ended up pointing towards the floor so it was not useable. I ended up using it to just store my makeup.
Fixtures
I love cross handled faucets, and again this was the perfect opportunity to use them. Sourcing the fixtures took time as I had a big list of wants:
- polished chrome,
- cross handled faucets,
- floor mounted tub filler, and
- sleek shower fixtures.
Sourcing began by finding the floor mounted tub filler and lucky for me, other pieces worked as well.
And I found them all in Delta’s Stryke line. It was modern but still a bit traditional with the cross handle option. It also had great looking towel bars and toilet paper holders.
Toilet
We switched the toilet to a more streamlined one. It uses less water and its enclosed base makes it much easier to clean.
Floor
Last year, I received an email from one of my tile suppliers announcing some new tile lines. As soon as I saw it, I told my husband, I think I’ve found our bathroom tile. It was exactly what I had been picturing in my head. I quickly ordered some samples and once they came, I knew I had our winner.
I selected the polished tile for the wall and the matte finish for the floor (more slip resistant). They are 24″ x 24″ and absolutely beautiful in person.
The previous floor was heated (amazingly done 30 years ago) and it spoiled us, so we decided to put it in again but this time with a more energy efficient system.
Lighting
The new lighting included an LED brass track light (damp rated), which was a little difficult to find. We wanted to use a track light again as the electrical was through a wood beam. As we have discovered, electrical in a log home can be very tricky and expensive to relocate.
The nice thing about track lights is that you can point the heads where you want the light to shine.
The sconce lighting was a little easier to choose. I had just ordered the lucite and gold pulls, so as soon as I saw these sconces I knew they would be the perfect match.
The lighting in this bathroom previously was not good. The shower track lighting is the same throughout the house and for some reason the heads decide when and if they are working. Very strange and very annoying. I had replaced the over the mirror hollywood strip with the black uplights when we first moved in. These were a stop gap measure until we did the full renovation.
Mirrors
We went back and forth about keeping the large custom mirror. I really wanted to put eye level sconces in, as that is the best lighting for bathrooms, in my opinion. I thought perhaps we could cut into it to place sconces on the mirror. But I knew doing that would likely crack the mirror.
In the end, we decided to take it down. The plan to reuse it in our home gym, was dashed when it sadly cracked in half when being moved. Now I’m very happy with our decision to put up two gold framed mirrors. We don’t miss the larger mirror at all.
I found these mirrors, early on in the renovation, at Home Sense. Since there was talk of a lockdown, I bought them just in case. Very glad that I did that, as that is exactly what happened. I thought I might replace them once stores reopened, but we’ve been quite happy with their warm understated look.
It thrills me that after a few months of using the bathroom, we are still enjoying it so much. Every time I walk into it, I pinch myself as it feels like we are staying at posh resort! How lucky we are!
