Number of bathrooms in home: Two full bathrooms.
Project Scope: Partial remodel. Re-tile shower wall with a field tile and an accent tile; paint walls; replace sink faucet, showerhead, tub spout and towel bars.
Total Cost: Just under $3,000.
For the complete remodeling story, read below. See more photos of the remodel here.
Katrin Atienza and her husband were planning to wait a few years before remodeling either of the two bathrooms in their newly purchased Long Island home. But a busted pipe located just below the ceiling of their first floor bathroom led to a shotgun remodeling project.
“We simply had to remodel the first-floor bathroom [because of the busted pipe],” said Katrin. “Since this was an unexpected and unplanned remodel after a series of other unanticipated renovations, our budget was very limited, and a renovation of the full bathroom was out of the question.” They had trouble finding wall tile to match the original bathroom wall tile, they decided to retile the three walls surrounding the bathtub.
During this entire process the second floor bathroom was still functional, and the toilet and sink of the first floor bathroom still worked as well. So while there was a sense of urgency to fix the troubled pipe before it caused flooding or mold, Katrin didn’t feel the need to rush into choosing the new tile.
“The challenge was finding a unique, contemporary tile that wouldn't clash with the old half of the bathroom,” she explains. “It took us two months to find the right tile.”
The completed project used a Ceramica Magica base tile with a rectangular shape and soft cream color on two of the three walls. The piece de resistance was the accent tile which Katrin described as “an amazing combination of marble with clear and frosted glass backed by a beige striped pattern.”
Inspired by the look of bamboo and the cascading appearance of a waterfall, the accent tile covers the showerhead wall and makes a horizontal stripe across the other two, creating “a modern yet soothing, relaxing, spa-like space.”
Katrin also added several accessories to complete her new bathroom, including a modern, single-handle sink faucet, a tub faucet and a rain showerhead.
Finally, the bathroom was painted Cottage White on one side, and Pepper Spice on the other (both paints from Behr). “The Pepper Spice picks up the brown shades in the marble and makes our vanilla color base tile pop,” said Katrin. “It adds definition, warmth, and character to the bathroom while tying the old and new half of the bathroom together.”
Read about the one thing Katrin really wanted (but had to postpone for now) in the Bathonista Blog.
