Riverside Retreat: from builder beige to vintage eclectic
Riverside Retreat | A master bathroom redesign (and one of our favorite projects to date!)
When we first toured this Riverside home, we saw a lot of potential. One of the first things the homeowners said was, “This is the crappiest house we’ve ever bought!” Not entirely true—the location is phenomenal—minutes to downtown yet just far enough way to not feel like you’re *really* downtown—but the overall space was very builder grade—very beige and very boring.
Master bathroom before: very beige and very boring
Master bathroom before: another view into the shower
We wanted to give them a tranquil master bathroom that met their functional requirements—useable storage, a large shower, and better lighting—and complimented the homeowner’s style: an eclectic mix of vintage, craftsman, mid-century modern pieces. The materials palette is a subtle mix of grays and whites, contrasted by black accents and a mid-tone wood vanity.
Master bathroom materials palette: neutrals with accents of wood and black finishes.
The vanity is a vintage mid-century modern piece from one of our favorite local antique stores, Riverside Antiques. MCM purists fear not: the previous top was a pretty beat up laminate, and our construction crew kept the plumbing so tight that only the top outside drawers were affected. We then added a 6” mitered edge quartz top to achieve the standard vanity height. The result is a beautiful custom vanity that fits our clients’ style perfectly.
Check out some under construction photos as well as the afters below, and let us know what you think!
Framing of the new shower and large shower niche.
A view inside the shower showing the large shower niche and bench as backer board is going in before the tile.
Tile starting to go in, and the space starts to turn the corner.
Speaking of tile turning a corner… look at this corner!! How beautiful?! Our tile guy is truly phenomenal!
Creating the framework for the 6” mitered edge, quartz top that will go on top of this dresser to become the vanity.
Beautiful sconces from Sonneman going in. We love the contrast of the black finish with the more muted tones in the rest of the space.
The space is really coming together! The vanity is in place and awaiting its quartz countertop.
And she’s in—along with the mirrors and sconces! We love this eclectic mix of materials—it matches our client’s style perfectly.
The final result! Including a beloved fiddle leaf. The client loves plants—and so do we—so it was the perfect fit for a corner in this bathroom. {Photograph by Brooke Mullins Photography}
The vanity. We love many things in this bathroom but this may be our favorite. {Photograph by Brooke Mullins Photography}
The large walk in shower has a European feel with partial glass enclosure and Hansgrohe fixtures. {Photograph by Brooke Mullins Photography}
Another view into the shower from the opposite side of the vanity. {Photograph by Brooke Mullins Photography}
A few of the vanity from inside the shower. We found the vintage dresser at Riverside Antiques in Cincinnati and had our construction crew modify it so it could become the vanity. The 6” mitered edge top on top of the 30” dresser makes it the perfect height for a vanity.
Detail of the shower curb, showing the mix of materials in the space. {Photograph by Brooke Mullins Photography}
Close up of the vanity area. {Photograph by Brooke Mullins Photography}
A photograph of our photographer and her adorable son. Like mother, like son.