Décor by Pamela Hope Designs
While most of you are busy with keeping children and grandchildren busy this summer, packing for summer camp or planning and enjoying your travel plans, here at PHD we are thinking a lot about bathrooms. We have more bathroom renovations right now than we have had in years. Almost everyone wants a spacious, gleaming, elegant, spa-like bathroom. Months of shutdown, lots of use and just the general wear and tear a bathroom gets can take a toll. We see lots of ugly stuff when we get into some of these projects!
Many of our projects currently involve a primary bathroom remodel. You always hear that kitchens and primary bathrooms sell a house and that appears to hold true. Even if you are not selling, having a nice bathroom improves the quality of your life. Not only is it a health and safety issue to have a safe, clean and comfortable bathroom, if it’s attractive and makes you happy, that’s even better. You begin and end your day there so make it the best it can be.
As shown below, one of our most interesting current bathroom remodels is one that was split in half by a massive shower enclosure in the center. It meant that the couple each had a smallish side and the shower really felt like a cave in the middle of the room. One of our favorite cabinets designers at K&N moved the shower to a wall, put a tub in front of the shower – a layout we are seeing more and more these days. This really opened up the space. This also allowed light from the large window to reach more of the bathroom. We are in the middle of construction on this one but hope to photograph it very soon.
Above is the “before” photo with the shower in the center of the primary bathroom.
We did a whole house paint job to neutralize the orange-red tones in the historic brick and wood floors and the abundance of wood trim. However, that was not enough to really solve their bathroom woes. Here are some progress shots after painting:
Décor by Pamela Hope Designs
Here is the layout and rendering of the new bathroom. We can’t wait to see this one finished!
Décor by Pamela Hope Designs
We finished another primary bathroom late last year. This client owned a vintage home and wanted a spa-like, Zen and natural feeling bathroom with a mammoth tub. She loves taking baths and even added the chromotherapy lighting option to her tub. We used several wallpapers with natural motifs and stone-look tile. She had already made a bold move, selecting patterned tile for an earlier shower remodel. It was pretty ornate but since it was in neutral, natural colors, it was easy to pair it with quieter floor tile and allow the shower tile to be the star.
You can see the patterned tile peeking out from the shower in the fair right in this photo:
Décor by Pamela Hope Designs
We recently finished another very large primary bathroom and bedroom as well. This was in a large home owned by a lovely older woman. She was very sweet and patient with us. She had severe water damage following the big winter storm and needed her entire bathroom and two large closets repaired and updated. We were able to honor her request to keep the original layout because that is what she was used to. We incorporated some important aging in place features like expanding the entrance to the shower and adding more grab bars. We raised the toilet level for ease of use and improved the access to storage in the closet.
The best part was that we were able to beautify her spacious bathroom and indulge her preferences for white and blue color combinations and floral wallpaper. We used a white and gray marble-style porcelain tile from Daltile for most surfaces and paired it with a Smithfield quartz counter from Cambria.
Décor by Pamela Hope Designs
To highlight the romantic wallpaper of blue roses on white – very sweet and appropriate, we painted the walls Sherwin-Williams Alabaster SW 7008 which is one of our very favorite whites and accented the antechamber by painting it Sherwin-Williams 6521 Notable Hue.
Photo Courtesy: Sherwin-Williams
Photo Courtesy: Delta Faucet
The real glamr came when we selected soft gold-hues fixtures for the plumbing, lighting and mirrors. The Lahara faucet from Delta comes in a pretty finish called Champagne Bronze.
A favorite bathroom from a few years ago includes this spa-like spot. As you can see, stone was a preferred selection and a big focal point in this home. The copper tub was a must-have too. Add a generous his and hers shower with multiple sprayers, a patio off the bedroom and a private outdoor shower and you really feel like you live in a resort year-round.
We did photograph this one! Here are some of the best features:
Décor by Pamela Hope Designs
Décor by Pamela Hope Designs
Another current bathroom renovation will really be fun. We met with the client recently. She called us because she LOVES color and needs repairs and a redo of her primary bathroom. She saw our article in the Houston Chronicle and felt that “we get color.” Danna and I enjoyed meeting with her and are currently flexing our creative muscles on how to add the right amount of color to her bathroom. We have plenty of options to show her and can’t wait to see what she likes best. When adding intense color to a bathroom, you must balance it. We can consider colored tile, painted cabinetry, painted or papered walls…picking just the right amount of color and balancing it with white will do the trick. We haven’t finished our design concept yet but have a few materials in mind.
Here is a tile we are considering. Gioia tile from Arizona tile comes in some great colors!
Photo Courtesy: GIOIA
We used this tile in Avocado in a gorgeous emerald green bathroom a few years ago and it is still a huge hit every time we share the photo!
Décor by Pamela Hope Designs
If you planned to update your bathroom, which way would you go? Spa-like and organic, earthy resort-style, timeless and classic white or a rainbow of color? No matter what your taste or style, a bathroom renovation is a worthwhile endeavor. If you’ve started dreaming of yours, give us a call.
