Master Bath at the Cliffhanger

Last time I shared with you our plans for the downstairs bath and upstairs hall bath. Today, I’m giving you a preview of the master bath!

I am sure, of all the flip houses I’ve done, that this room has had the biggest evolution from what we originally planned to where we’ve ended.

This room was covered in tile. All the floor and then the step and platform for the tub. It was a lot, And it was in good shape. So we wanted to work with it. The vanity was the older, lower standard height for vanities, which makes it feel too small. One option would have been to try to raise it up, perhaps make an oak platform for it to sit on. It could have made it feel a bit more modern, especially with new mirrors, lights, a sink, and hardware.

Our initial plan was to remove the wallpaper, add in a new vanity, and install a new tile shower. We wanted to add some drama to the wall behind the vanity. I found this beautiful oval marble mosaic tile. It would be a splurge, but a good place to make one. It was one of those finds where I get excited and can start to see the room coming together! I couldn’t wait to see this tile all over the wall. I was so excited about it, I even told my husband, who, let’s be honest, doesn’t really care all that much!

So I grabbed a sample board and other tile samples and took them to the house. Here’s a simple white ceramic tile.

Neutral and serene budget friendly master bath with marble herringbone, tiled shower, and freestanding tub.

Yuck!

The biggest challenge, overall, was just the color of the tile. As we pulled white pieces in, the tile felt dingy and old. Had this not been the master, we perhaps could have worked with it. But we didn’t want to do a half-done job on the master. It needed to feel clean and fresh. The tile was really working against us.

So out came the tile! As we realized our budget would have to go out, we needed to rework some materials selections. And here is our new concept.

We decided on a soaking tub to sit underneath the beautiful windows. We found a herringbone marble tile for the wall behind the vanity, and a coordinating brick mosaic for the shower niche. To allow some natural light into the shower, we also decided to add in an opening on the shower wall.

The room is very bright, neutral and serene. I can’t wait to see it all come together! Here’s where we are so far…