Between autumn 2016 and late spring 2017 — seven months in all (!) — a pair of Rice Lake empty-nesters graciously invited us into their home to take a look at a number of remodeling projects they had in mind for a number of years.  With no intention of leaving the house they had built for their family some twenty-plus years earlier, it was time to refresh the high usage spaces throughout their home.  Included on this list was the basement/guest bathroom featured here.

Objective

Following the departure of their final child from “the nest,” Ned and Suzanne desired a fresh start for their basement bathroom (that had acted as the primary bathroom for their two sons).  As you can imagine, it had been used and abused, up to and including a makeshift drywall patch for a hole we can only imagine was the size of a son’s fist.  Needless to say, the time to refresh the space was NOW!

Solution

Everything has to go! [Their words, then ours.]  Once home to a shower-tub insert, vinyl flooring, and a stock golden oak vanity, our design goals were to create a palette that was simple, clean, and timeless.  This was yet another perfect opportunity to highlight the beauty and flexibility of subway tile.  We chose to not only use the tile to surround the new tub, but to add some depth and drama as a backsplash above the vanity, as well.  The charcoal gray 12×24 floor tile was a perfect foil to the subway tile, making the modest footprint of this basement bathroom seem even larger.  For the vanity, we kept the structure in place, opting to swap in shaker style doors, paint the unit Alabaster (Sherwin Williams), and topped it all off with quartz: Cambria’s Swanbridge from their Marble Collection.  The finishing touches were all in polished nickel — a pivoting vanity mirror (Pottery Barn), matching glass drawer pulls and towel bars (Restoration Hardware), and Moen faucets and fixtures.  Subtle elegance all the way… A wonderful transformation suited for the joys of future family visits.