This hall bath makeover focused on creating storage, making the most of the space, and tying the design cohesively together using a colorful window treatment fabric as inspiration. The designer chose the wall color and tile colors to match the fabric palette. She installed the tile diagonally and used a matching grout to make the floor feel more spacious. Storage niches were built and customized with wood bases. A glass shower wall and invisible towel racks also helped maximize space. Details like the sink, fixtures, and wall flowers referenced the fabric pattern to achieve a beautiful, coordinated design on a $6,931 budget.

1. Natural
retreat
{writer heather shoning photographer jay wilde designer jeni wright}
Taking a small, outdated
bath from blah to beautiful
required careful planning
and creative use of space.
A designer employed both
strategies to make this
hall bath look pretty and
live large. Then she added
special touches to give it a
soft, organic feel.
The bath’s color palette
started with a colorful
in this makeover clever storage niches ...
window treatment. The
room boasts an organic
feeling with a bit of a spa-
92 kitchen+ bath makeovers summer 2009
like sensibility.
furniture-style vanity ... pretty border tile ... invisible towel racks Kitchen & Bath MaKeovers suMMer 2009 93

2. this photo In
keeping with her subtle
color scheme, designer
Jeni Wright chose a natural
shade for the tub instead
of white, which would likely
have dominated the space
and defied the
color palette.
The plan sprouted from fabric that designer Jeni budget tip:
Wright chose for the window shade. Using its color use inexpensive
palette as inspiration, she picked the sage wall color porcelain field tile as
and earthy tile colors. To make the room feel larger, the primary material
she chose inexpensive field tile for the floor and and accent with pretty
installed it on a diagonal. Matching grout minimized glass tile.
joint lines, making the floor look like a single expanse
of color. Next, she dressed the floor and tub surround
with a more expensive glass border tile.
Coordinating iridescent tile in the shower shines in
the natural light of the room. “The original archway
into the shower was cute, but taking it out opened up
the entire space,” Wright says. Today a custom glass
Material Magic
A small swath of fabric covering a window is
shower enclosure makes the room feel open and airy. sometimes the only soft element in a bath, making
“It allows natural light from the windows into the it an important focal point and the driver of the
room’s design. Here are some tips on how to outfit
shower,” she says.
your bath using fabric as inspiration.
In a small bath, carving out creative storage space
is paramount. To do so, Wright built niches between Choose a wall color from one of the accent
the sink wall’s joists, then added chunky wooden colors in the fabric.
bases that extend the niches.
Select accent colors in the same tonal
Between the storage niches, Wright replaced the
range—not too light or too dark.
original wall-mount sink with a sink cabinet for before
utilitarian storage. “In a small space, it’s important Use the fabric’s background color
to have great storage to keep clutter out of sight,” she to determine trim color. If it’s not pure white,
says. Above the sink, Wright opted for a flat mirror avoid using pure white for trim.
instead of a recessed medicine cabinet because there
Coordinate the fabric with accent tile. Its
are electric and plumbing lines in the wall.
texture adds another diMension to the color
Other details also give the space a custom feel. A scheme.
brushed-nickel sink and fixtures are the jewelry for
the room. Invisible towel holders take the place of
bulky shelving. Acrylic flowers floating on the wall above left Flowers raining down on the tub extend the
mimic the pattern in the window-shade fabric. “The fabric design into the rest of the room. above Using a glass
fabric is important because it’s the only soft element half-wall lets natural light into the shower, making the room
feel large and airy. The iridescent herringbone tile inset
in this room,” Wright says. “Everything, right down adds a custom look.
after
to the flowers on the wall, had to be an extension of
the fabric to achieve the cohesive, beautiful design.”
94 kitchen+ bath makeovers summer 2009 Kitchen & Bath MaKeovers suMMer 2009 95

3. designer tip:
built-in niches create
valuable storage on
this photo Creative
use of space and mixing
hard-edge and fluid shapes
makes the functional
{about this makeover}
t
design look beautiful.
otherwise unused walls.
A round mirror breaks up the budget
the square elements.
CABINETRY
n Vanity 710
plumBINg
n Sink 136
n Sink faucet 463
n Shower fixture 250
n Toilet 315
n Tub 473
n Tub faucet 508
SuRFACES
n Accent tile, field tile 2,000
n Countertop 458
n Shower glass 1,169
1
mISCEllANEOuS
n Fabric
n Light fixtures
155
68
the details
n Paint
1. Designer Jeni Wright decided on the bath’s color
47
scheme by picking out the fabric for the window
n Toilet tissue holder 78 treatment first. 2. The thick wooden bases on the
n Towel holders storage niches add a modern touch. 3. Strech your tile
38
n Wall flowers
budget by using a border made of decorative tile to
37
perk up inexpensive field tile.
TOTAl $6,931 ResouRces begin on page 108
2
before
3
kitchen+ bath makeovers summer 2009 97