Marble Master Bathroom: The Details

Here it is, the big marble bathroom finale! I feel extremely blessed to actually live in the bathroom of my dreams.

I must start with a huge thank you to all of you who commented and encouraged me when the room was not quite ready for the big One Room Challenge reveal.  It meant a great deal to me to have your encouragement. Like most projects of this scale, unforeseen delays are to be expected, no matter how well you plan.

Going from this inspiration board to the reality of the understated beauty of this bathroom is remarkable.

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Marble Master Bathroom Design Board

1 Lamps Plus, Minka Lavery   2  (Inspiration image) Signature Hardware Freestanding Tub • ACTUALLY USED American Standard Cadet tub and filler  3  Moen Weymouth Faucet  4  Moen Weymouth Rainshower Head   5  Jeffrey Court Marble 8×12 tile  6  Jeffrey Court Crisp Illusion    7  Honed Granite   8  Jeffery Court Marble 4×12 tile

As you step into the bathroom from the master bedroom, the hallway is flanked with his and her closets. This area was previously carpeted and now is lovely honed marble laid on a blunt herringbone pattern and warmed by a heated floor system. Of course, it is extremely important to mention the impact of our DIY sliding doors and how they cleared the way for this transformation.

Here’s a peek into my closet.  This mini-dressing room makeover happened this past spring. You can get the full details and building plans here.

Clearly, the scene-stealer in the room is the surprisingly budget-friendly,  freestanding tub. Out of pure luck, I scored the tub as an open box return marked down to half price at a local big box store.

Of course, the tub and the sinks would be underdressed without the beautiful jewelry of Moen faucets from the Weymouth Collection.

I adore the vintage split handles and ceramic details. And the chrome finish has the most brilliant shine and feels so luxurious.

In front of the tub is an accent rug design created with Jeffrey Court Crisp Illusion mosaic tile, available from The Home Depot.com.  To the right of the tub is the completely redesigned walk-in shower.

double towel bar

I designed the shower to be fully open, doorless and glassless. I did not want to have to squeegee glass every time I finished showering and thoroughly appreciated avoiding the huge expense of said glass.

The angled wall previously housed the small plexiglass entry into the shower.

Building, securing and tiling an angled “pony” wall provided many challenges to our DIY skills. Of course, we learned a great deal and found solutions that will be shared in subsequent tutorials.

During the last weeks of using the previous shower, I tested the theory of an open shower by removing the door completely.  The area outside the opening where the door previously stood, remained completely dry after use.  I felt confident that the floor would continue to stay safe and dry especially since new layout moved the opening even further from the showerhead.  And it does.

The backside of the angled wall is outfitted with two niches for soaps and shampoos.

Beyond the beauty of the honed marble tiles and grand rain shower-head, the highlight in the shower comes from below where more of the Crisp Illusion mosaic tile from Jeffrey Court is used.  The different textures and finishes of the alternating shapes provide comforting traction while wet.

Directly in front of the shower is one of two vanities.

Many homes in our neighborhood have this recessed mirror framed in molding features.

While it would not be an element I would not desire in a new home, removing it completely would have involved re-framing and a good deal drywall repair. I am a firm believer in making the best of an existing situation. The satisfaction in transforming what could have been perceived as a liability, into a perfect opportunity for a floor to ceiling mosaic wall is very rewarding.

This feature is repeated on the opposite side of the room as well.

Of course, the finishing touches of any beautiful space come in the fine details. And the sink faucets are showpieces that can not be ignored.

The towel bars are actually the most beautiful toilet paper holders I’ve ever seen. I am just not a fan of the big round circles traditionally used for hand towels. 

Their beauty though is likely out-shined by this bit of clever engineering.

Who doesn’t hate fumbling with the spring-loaded toilet paper holder? Try changing a roll in the dark. Not a problem with this pivoting beauty. 

The lighting over the vanities, from Lamps Plus has design elements similar to the chandelier I purchased for the first phase of the bathroom makeover last year. You can see the before photos of the room here too. 

A few more details in the room.

After styling the room for renovation reveal, we discovered how much we absolutely adore Turkish towels.   The fine details of the traditional tassels and stripes lend to their appeal and were the initial reason I purchased them. The added benefit of being much thinner than traditional plush towels, makes them both practical and beautiful.

The towels shown above came from a seller in Turkey on Etsy. They are nubby, yet soft and have a natural hand-loomed quality that is charming. But I have also purchased another set of  Turkish towels from Amazon that are thinner and more refined, but equally soft and fast-drying. I highly recommend trying out Turkish towels.

Initially, I thought this little wooden stool would just be a photo prop, but it is actually quite convenient for holding a glass of water or wine and other necessities and fits perfectly nestled beside the tub.

The art was provided by Minted, entitled “The Heron’s Nest“.  A watercolor by Annie Moran, it has quickly become a treasured piece.  It reminds me of the birds I grew up watching along the marshy shores of the bayous in Southern Louisiana.

In the coming weeks, in between Christmas decorations and holiday cheer, I’ll be sharing complete how-to tutorials and tips for tiling, installing heated floors and building a shower.  While I must admit that this was an enormous amount of work and was all-consuming for longer than I had anticipated, it is definitely a doable DIY project. There were many, many days and nights with sore muscles, sore fingers and just a bit of weariness at times, maybe only a smidgen of blood, but honestly, no tears. I was too focused to let hard work get me down. And now, my dreams of a marble bathroom have been transformed into an amazing reality. There is no reason you can’t build the bathroom of your dreams too! If I can do it, I know you can!

And because no respectable renovation and makeover post is complete without a before and after, here is what the bathroom looked like move-in day. Yes, they left the shutters and the naked lady candle for us to enjoy. Yikes.

If you’d like to see my other room makeovers from the One Room Challenge, go here.

This post contains sponsored links and affiliate links.  Through affiliate links, I receive a commission on sales of some products where links are provided. All linked items are ones that I truly love and would tell you about over a cup of tea. The sponsors for this project were Jeffrey Court Inc, Moen Inc , Lamps Plus and Minted.  Each provided product helped to facilitate this renovation and makeover. All opinions and design decisions are my own.