2020 Washington Metro DC Chapter Contractor of the Year (CotY) Award from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) for Best Bathroom Renovation
The homeowner had renovated or decorated every other room in their empty nester home… except the master bathroom. During a European vacation, they were inspired by the creative designs of their hotel rooms and bathrooms. They came home determined to refresh their master bathroom and make it an inviting space, as well as a space where they could age in place.
THE CLIENT NEEDS: While the homeowners wanted an updated bathroom, they also want the room to be more light, open and airy. In addition, since they plan to “age in place” in this home; they wanted to make the bathroom safer for them as they age.
While the after floor plan is not too dissimilar from the before floor plan, there were a lot of significant changes that resulted in this master bathroom working better for the homeowner. The following slides demonstrate those important changes.
The BEFORE bathroom was dark and dated. Dark tile and low ceiling in the shower made it feel closed in. When the door to the toilet room was open, access to the vanity was restricted.
The AFTER bathroom is much brighter and inviting. The no-threshold shower is safe for aging in place; the river rock is beautiful and slip-proof. The glass shower walls create the open feel that the homeowners wanted. The matte black channel trim on the shower walls creates a theme in the bathroom renovation. It is repeated on the round mirrors at the vanities, the fixtures and the matte black doors. Note the swing out toilet room door has been replaced with a pocket door to make the vanity more accessible and improves the traffic flow in the room.
The BEFORE soffit over the master shower made the shower feel even smaller, closed in and darker. The BEFORE shower door trim was thick and heavy.
SUPERIOR CRAFTSMANSHIP:
When the soffit was opened, it served no purpose, so it was easily removed to provide additional ceiling height. Crisp white crown molding creates a polished, finished look in the AFTER bath. The AFTER matte black channel, surrounding the new glass walls, creates a light but secure fastening system.
The BEFORE shower curb and small shower door may create an unsafe situation for an older person.
CREATIVE SOLUTIONS:
The new AFTER no-threshold walk-in shower with no shower door is not only attractive; but meets the clients’ desire to have a safer shower as they age.
The homeowners had a difficult time embracing the no-threshold design. They feared that water would flood the floor and the shower would be cold. Now that they’ve used the shower, they realize that the new design works perfectly.
SAFETY & LIGHTING ADDRESSED:
AFTER… the large niche in the shower is perfect for holding soaps and all bathing needs. The shower controls are conveniently located within easy reach of the shower opening; safe, functional and beautiful. More recessed and bright sconce lighting also create a beautiful yet safe environment for the homeowners as the age and their vision becomes more challenged. In addition, we installed blocking for future grab bars. (see inset photo)
BEFORE: The vanity was wedged between the shower and the toilet room door. If someone was standing at the vanity when the toilet room door was opened, they would be hit.
The AFTER vanity is relatively the same size as before but replacing the shower walls with large glass panels and changing the toilet room door to a pocket door make a huge difference in how spacious the room feels.
A challenge we overcame: The new James Martin vanities came with stockier feet that were not in keeping with the overall design. We replaced them with lighter brushed nickel legs to raise the vanity height to 36 inches and to accentuate the lightness of the space.
The new toilet room pocket door saves space.
BEFORE: Heavy columns, dark tile and an unnecessary soffit made the tub feel like it was in a cave.
Before Tub & Tile
AFTER: A free-standing tub provides the functionality they client wanted in a much more pleasant configuration. A free-standing, matte black faucet also has a hand-held spray device to increase the functionality of the tub.
The AFTER tub and second vanity repeat the matte black accents. The continuity of the round tub and vanity mirrors are purposeful to soften the overall design.
Before Vanity
ADDING SYMMETRY:
Removing the bulky tub area allowed us to better center the vanity on the wall. Moving the vanity to the left also allowed us to retain the existing linen closet while creating a new niche to house glass shelves for decorative storage and more light.
DETAILS THAT OVERCAME A CHALLENGE:
Finding frosted glass that didn’t have a green tint proved to be a challenge. The grey tone glass plays off the gray in the Calcutta Bianca tile floor beautifully.
ADDITIONAL OBSTACLES OVERCOME:
The stone vanity top was delivered with a defect, twice! In order to avoid further delays, our carpenter had to clamp down the top until it was able to be adhered properly to the vanity.
Secondly, we do a lot of renovations on production-built homes in the area. Construction quality on some of them is poor. In this home, the master bathroom floor was significantly out of level. We had to reframe the floor with engineered trusses so that the tile floor would be level.
Before
After: The homeowners were so thrilled with the renovated bathroom that it is now the last and most exciting stop on their house tour. When visitors come to their home and want a house tour, they used to just shut the bathroom door and avoid the space. Now, they love to show off the space and the tremendous transformation from dark and dated to light, airy, open and safe space.
Lastly, it is always a challenge to do a home renovation while the family is living in the home. The homeowners wanted to stay in their master bedroom adjacent to the master bath during renovation.
We took extra care to put up dust walls (heavy plastic secured with zip poles) and used a negative air pressure fan to create a dust free zone.
The clients are very happy with the finished product and the overall customer care we provided. The master bathroom turned out exactly as they hoped and met all their needs both for now and in the future.
Award Winning Remodelers in Northern Virginia – Bowers Design Build has specialized in providing the best overall experience in the remodeling industry since 1990. Bowers Design Build specializes in Northern Virginia Remodeling and Northern Virginia Custom Homes. Our numerous industry remodeling awards have been great, but the true measure of our success has been high marks in overall customer satisfaction
Service areas: McLean, Arlington, Falls Church, Vienna, Oakton, Great Falls, Alexandria, Fairfax County and Middleburg.
Specializing in: Northern Virginia New Custom Homes, Northern Virginia Whole House Renovations, Northern Virginia Kitchen Renovations, Northern Virginia Master Bathroom Renovations, Northern Virginia Interior Renovations, Northern Virginia Basement Renovations, Renovations for Aging-in-Place and Northern Virginia Outdoor Living Spaces.
