See the dramatic transformations of four bathrooms

The Challenge: At 110 square feet, “the awkward, impractical layout limited the room’s functionality,” says Refine by UIC president Paige McClellan. “The tub and the vanity had been placed at 45-degree angles, creating a narrow diagonal pathway. The toilet was in the center of the room, and the shower was tucked into a small space at the back.” 

The Resolution: “Our focus was to maximize the space and not necessarily encourage the client to take on a larger footprint,” she says. A standard-size bath and glass-wall shower, tiled in a translucent white glass mini-brick, were installed where the old tub once stood. A tankless toilet sits in the space that the old shower once occupied, and a pocket door adds privacy. A paisley Schumacher wallpaper hangs above a double-basin Caesarstone counter-top with a backsplash and wall-mounted chrome fixtures. 

The Homeowner’s Take: Owner Katie Manga loves the space for its improved flow and functionality, and for its new aesthetic. “Now, the bathroom ties in beautifully to the rest of the home but is still a standout,” she says. 

The Challenge: In the 30 years that the owners have lived in the home, they’d learned to work around the idiosyncracies of the master bathroom: its small size, its pink corner tub and limited storage space.  “They were happy with the original light-color wood finish on the doors upstairs and wanted to work that color into the bathroom cabinetry,” says Susan Bower, an architect with Mitchell Wall Architecture and Design.

The Resolution: The bathroom tripled in size, from 77 to 269 square feet. Cabinets built by McMillan Construction Group now match the home’s original wood and stain. The tops of the upper cabinets and mirrors and the tile line up with the tops of the windows, whose sills determined the height of the backsplash. The lower cabinets float in a plane above the baseboard heaters. “The care that was taken with various alignments at various levels is one of the most important elements of the room,” says Bower. A Volcanic Limestone–resin tub and matching sinks are eye-catching. An artistic waterfall-like tile wall behind the tub echoes an inset ledge made of the same tile that wraps around the walk-in shower. 

The Homeowner’s Take: “I’ve gone from an outdated traditional bathroom with virtually no storage to a spacious room that feels calm and looks uncluttered,” says the owner.

The Challenge: The homeowner was relocating to St. Louis and had purchased a Beaux Arts mansion built in 1911. Last updated 20 years ago, it needed a sweeping renovation. The homeowner, a self-described Modernist, hired Jimmy Jamieson of Jamieson Design as the project’s architect and designer. “I wanted someone who was a scholar as much as a designer, who could help me do this home in a historically appropriate yet modern manner,” says the owner. Beyond this mandate, the owner did request one specific feature for the master bathroom, in particular: black-lacquered walls.

The Resolution: The bathroom more than doubled in size, from 126 to 312 square feet. The walls were plastered, treated with applied molding, and brushed with 14 coats of black lacquer, a process that took three months to complete. “With every coat, the lacquer gains depth and becomes more translucent,” says Jamieson. “In low light, color recedes and the black walls start to act as mirrors.” To create flow and balance, Jamieson placed a vanity at either end of the room, near the two doors, and positioned the toilet compartment in the center to serve as the room’s axis. As a means of ensuring both privacy and light transference, the doors to the toilet room and the walk-in shower are made of sandblasted glass. The classical borders of the doors are repeated in the pattern of the bold black-and-white floor, made of alternating veined marble tiles. A freestanding tub sits atop a black marble pedestal in an alcove with a television concealed in the wall. 

The Homeowner’s Take: The room is quiet, masculine and modern, with bespoke black-and-white materials befitting the historic mansion.  “It’s a private retreat,” says the owner. “I can spend the entire morning having a bath, watching the news, and drinking a cup of coffee.”

The Challenge: In the first-floor powder room, the owner wanted to incorporate a ceramic tile from The Winchester Tile Company, which reminded her of the homes she’d long admired while living in Zurich, and imbue a palette of blue and white. “Not every client is open to such a fun pattern,” says Julie Abner of Julie Abner Interiors. “It was a real treat to work with someone who wanted to push the boundaries.”

The Resolution: Abner began by setting the multihued blue tiles in a repeat pattern around the room and carrying that pattern down to the wainscoting. To frame the tiles, she selected a brilliant solid ocean blue tile beneath the patterned tiles and on the chair rail. Wallpaper from Sanderson and a Cowtan & Tout–fabric window treatment with a beaded drop fringe complement the room’s patterns.  The designer selected sconces from Schonbek and the client’s own oval French mirror. The space is anchored by a burled English walnut cabinet and a quartz countertop softened with a decorative ogee edge.

The Homeowner’s Take: The room has a special energy, thanks to the textural blue tile, the graceful upswing of the wallpaper and valance, and the burl of the wood. Best of all, says the owner, “the tile evokes happy memories of my time in Europe.”