master bath reveal — Blog — Jennifer Costello Interiors

Earlier this year I redesigned two very outdated bathrooms. Our master ensuite was original to the house (circa 1992) and needed a complete renovation. The layout of this room was a bit of a challenge because there are two fairly large windows in one corner which didn't allow much flexibility to extend the vanity or move the shower away from the toilet. As well, there was a heating duct on the floor along the shower wall so the solution involved designing a bench for the shower for the duct to pass through. We'd lived with the dysfunctional bathroom for a long time so our wish list for the renovation was pretty comprehensive - update everything, enlarge the shower, add built-in storage, improve the lighting and fan, increase the insulation and add a heated floor. As you can see from this BEFORE photo, we really needed a major overhaul. Notice the small, boxed in shower in the reflection in the mirror? It was awful.

For the new design, I really wanted something that felt serene and timeless. I was inspired to use a lot of marble in the design after a trip I took to Paris with my husband in 2015. During that trip I was just in awe of all of the marble that seemed to be in every bathroom and hotel I visited. The marble appeared as if it was very old but had aged well and was still in beautiful condition. Even with some slight imperfections and staining, it just seemed to add to the character, elegance and timelessness of everything Parisienne and I knew I wanted it in the most important bathroom in my house. I also wanted a soft, calming feel that would compliment the bright white doors and trim and light blue walls of the adjoining bedroom. My inspiration photos included this one from a local blogger, Michelle at AM Dolce Vita. I’ve been following her blog for a while and really liked her redesign of her master bathroom and I loved the idea of including an accent tile rug to add interest to the floor.

Here is another inspiration photo I'd found of a soothing spa-like retreat designed by Sydney Carlaw and featured in Style at Home Magazine.

Source: Style at Home Magazine — Source: Style at Home Magazine

I was taking my first course in 2D modelling using Google Sketchup while planning for this renovation so I created this mockup to scale to get a visual idea of how everything would look together with the new materials and a larger shower.

And here's the final, completed project. I'm really happy with how it turned out but I'm even more excited about how much it has truly added to the quality of my life. When I wake up and see the bathroom every morning and feel the smoothness of the natural stone and the warmth of the radiant heat on my feet, it truly makes me feel good. You could almost say it brings me #homejoy :)