After retiring and becoming empty nesters, this California couple decided they wanted to stay in their home for the long term. To do so they knew they had to address future mobility issues with improvements to their dated primary bathroom.
For help they enlisted designer Penny Lorain and project manager Matthew Laughlin. The remodeling team replaced the curbed shower and imposing built-in tub with a curbless shower that offers enough room for a walker or wheelchair. A low sink and a separate makeup area also can accommodate a wheelchair. Opening up the former water closet gave the couple more room to maneuver. Wood-look tile on the walls and floor adds warmth and style, while blue glass accent tile provides a pop of color.
For help they enlisted designer Penny Lorain and project manager Matthew Laughlin. The remodeling team replaced the curbed shower and imposing built-in tub with a curbless shower that offers enough room for a walker or wheelchair. A low sink and a separate makeup area also can accommodate a wheelchair. Opening up the former water closet gave the couple more room to maneuver. Wood-look tile on the walls and floor adds warmth and style, while blue glass accent tile provides a pop of color.
After: The remodeling team removed the former components and knocked the space back to the studs. They flipped the location of the tub and shower and created a wet-room-style setup with a curbless entry that can accommodate a wheelchair or walker if needed. “It makes it look larger and also made the maneuverability much better,” Lorain says. “Not everyone will need a wheelchair. But it’s not uncommon to use a walker, even temporarily, after an injury or surgery.”
Knocking down the former water closet wall and opening that space up helped create an airy layout. Chestnut-look porcelain tiles wrap the wet-room area and, along with the maple-look porcelain floor tiles, add plenty of warmth. The floor tiles have grooves that help prevent slippage and “replicate the feel of a traditional Japanese slatted-wood floor,” Lorain says.
Accents of polished blue glass tiles add color. “We wanted to add some color to the otherwise neutral wood-tone palette,” Lorain says. “They also have a translucent quality that reflects light,” Laughlin adds.
A new custom double vanity in textured light white oak laminate has a lower sink with knee space underneath for a wheelchair in the future. The coordinating makeup area at the right also includes plenty of knee space below.
Shower wall tiles: Cypress in Natural, 9 by 48 inches, Happy Floors; floor tiles: Elan Ribbon Maple, 24 by 48 inches, Soho Studio; blue accent tiles: Brook Stacked in Sky, Soho Studio; wall paint: Alpaca, Benjamin Moore
Knocking down the former water closet wall and opening that space up helped create an airy layout. Chestnut-look porcelain tiles wrap the wet-room area and, along with the maple-look porcelain floor tiles, add plenty of warmth. The floor tiles have grooves that help prevent slippage and “replicate the feel of a traditional Japanese slatted-wood floor,” Lorain says.
Accents of polished blue glass tiles add color. “We wanted to add some color to the otherwise neutral wood-tone palette,” Lorain says. “They also have a translucent quality that reflects light,” Laughlin adds.
A new custom double vanity in textured light white oak laminate has a lower sink with knee space underneath for a wheelchair in the future. The coordinating makeup area at the right also includes plenty of knee space below.
Shower wall tiles: Cypress in Natural, 9 by 48 inches, Happy Floors; floor tiles: Elan Ribbon Maple, 24 by 48 inches, Soho Studio; blue accent tiles: Brook Stacked in Sky, Soho Studio; wall paint: Alpaca, Benjamin Moore
The vanity and makeup areas have concrete-look quartz countertops. On the vanity, seen here, two undermount white sinks are paired with widespread faucets in a matte black finish. “The sinks are a relatively shallow depth, which allowed for knee space underneath,” Lorain says. The faucets coordinate with matte black cabinet pulls and other black details.
Each mirror has a defogger feature and LED lighting. “They add light all around you instead of just above you, which eliminates shadows on your face,” Lorain says.
Countertops: Metropolis Gray Della Terra quartz, Arizona Tile; mirrors: Angelo, Fresca; faucets and towel ring: Trinsic in matte black, Delta; hardware: flat rail pull in flat black and half circle backplate in flat black, Top Knobs
Each mirror has a defogger feature and LED lighting. “They add light all around you instead of just above you, which eliminates shadows on your face,” Lorain says.
Countertops: Metropolis Gray Della Terra quartz, Arizona Tile; mirrors: Angelo, Fresca; faucets and towel ring: Trinsic in matte black, Delta; hardware: flat rail pull in flat black and half circle backplate in flat black, Top Knobs
The shorter length of the double vanity allowed space for a new linen cabinet on the end. Three seeded glass pendants with an embossed geometric pattern and matte black chains add accent lighting over the vanity. The bathroom also has new LED ceiling lights.
Pendant lights: Emerson, Capital Lighting Fixture
Pendant lights: Emerson, Capital Lighting Fixture
Before: Here’s a closer look at the former shower stall. “You had the curb at the front and the shower door you had to maneuver through,” Lorain says. “You also had the chrome frame that came up into the window space above it, and no space for shampoo bottles.”
After: A new soaking tub sits where the shower stood. With the old shower and water closet wall gone, the team had room to add the new makeup area.
The white 41-inch-round acrylic Japanese-style soaking tub features an integrated seat. Grab bars nearby help provide safe entry. A matte black floor-mount tub filler in the corner coordinates with the grab bars and other black finishes. A niche that spans almost the entire length of the wet room is backed by blue accent tiles.
Grab bars: Contemporary decorative ADA grab bar in matte black, 18 inches, Delta; tub: Siglo round Japanese soaking tub with trim, 41 inches, Signature Hardware; tub filler: Trinsic, Delta
Grab bars: Contemporary decorative ADA grab bar in matte black, 18 inches, Delta; tub: Siglo round Japanese soaking tub with trim, 41 inches, Signature Hardware; tub filler: Trinsic, Delta
The shower system includes a multifunction hand shower on a 24-inch matte black slide bar that doubles as a grab bar. “It’s one of the few adjustable shower bars that is designed to also be used as a grab bar,” Lorain says. “I like to think of it as an invisible accessibility feature.”
Shower fixtures: Five-setting hand shower, Trinsic valve trim and adjustable slide bar/grab bar assembly with elbow, Delta
Shower fixtures: Five-setting hand shower, Trinsic valve trim and adjustable slide bar/grab bar assembly with elbow, Delta
The now-open toilet area has a new white bidet toilet with an elongated seat for added comfort. A contemporary toilet paper holder in matte black features an integrated assist bar. Blue glass tiles accent the toilet wall. A vinyl grasscloth-look wallcovering “adds a little bit of softness and texture in a room that otherwise has hard surfaces,” Laughlin says. A floating wood shelf holds decorative accessories, and a wall cabinet provides storage for extra rolls of toilet paper.
Toilet paper holder: Contemporary tissue holder with assist bar in matte black, Delta
Toilet paper holder: Contemporary tissue holder with assist bar in matte black, Delta
Before and after: These floor plans show the former bathroom layout on the left and the updated layout on the right. By switching the location of the tub and shower, removing the walls that surrounded the water closet and choosing aging-in-place components, the team gave the couple a safe and stylish space that will last. “We managed to increase the functionally for the clients for years to come while updating the space with a cohesive and relaxing design aesthetic,” Lorain says.
Source: www.Houzz.com
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: A pair of empty-nest retirees
Location: Davis, California
Size: 125 square feet (12 square meters)
Design team: Penny Lorain (design) and Matthew Laughlin (project management) of Lorain Design Associates
Builders: Nader Faris and John Rieboldt of AMA Construction
Before: The former bathroom had a lot of dated gray and taupe tones and a chopped-up layout. The water closet stood to the right of the entrance, creating traffic flow issues. “You had to squeeze past the toilet room to get to the shower,” Laughlin says. A large drop-in tub with a tile deck ate up floor space and was crammed against the tight curbed shower stall in the back right corner. “The tub took up way too much space and was rarely used,” Lorain says. “The shower had a curb and was poorly placed.”
The aging honey oak double vanity lacked hardware, storage and style. “It was also longer than it needed to be, without being terribly functional,” Lorain says. “There was also no linen cabinet in the bathroom.”
The homeowners wanted to keep the vaulted ceiling and the fixed and operable windows that overlook a side yard.