Rehab Diary: A Spare Bedroom Turned Glam Master Bath - Remodelista
Photography by Sarah Sherman Samuel. Creative director and designer Sarah Sherman Samuel and her husband, Rupert Samuel, an ad exec, like to tear things up together. Much like the kitchen, the new bath is a deft combination of modern/vintage and high/low elements that telegraph glamour. Inexpensive subway tiles and a vanity built from a 1950s credenza–”vanities can get so pricey,” says Sarah, “I was looking for a more affordable and more interesting alternative”–are finished with splurge details such as brass faucets and a marble counter and shower ledge (made from leftover kitchen counter slabs). The his and hers square basins are Kraus Vessel Sinks, $109.95 each, from Home Depot. After experimenting with different tile configurations in Adobe Illustrator, Sarah went with a herringbone pattern–”a classic for wood floors,” she writes in her blog, “but I hadn’t really seen it translated to subway tile (until I Googled it, that is, and found a bazillion examples…).” See our Remodeling 101: White Tile Pattern Glossary for more ideas. The room was one of two nearly identical spare bedrooms that Sarah describes as “little yellow boxes with two windows,” each only big enough to hold a crib. Sarah sourced the 60-inch-wide vintage walnut credenza from West Coast Modern, in Culver City, California. Sarah and Rupert lived in the house during construction; to speed up the process–which took four months and included work on other parts of the house–they contracted out the plumbing, tile work, and shower and counter installation. The guy who did it assured us that it just had to finish drying and would be uniform.