Our Primary Bathroom Reveal

It is finally time to share our primary (master) bathroom reveal!

Of all the rooms in our home, this one has been quite the journey. We designed this bathroom while we were building our home ourselves, which meant that we were involved in just about every decision—from changing the original floor plan to choosing the tile, designing the cabinetry, planning the shower and selecting every last finish.

There were plenty of unexpected challenges along the way, but seeing the room completely finished makes all of those little setbacks feel worth it.

Today, rather than walking you through every single construction detail again, I thought I would share the finished space, some of my favorite design decisions and a little bit about how everything came together.

And if you want to see the entire transformation from the very beginning, be sure to watch the full video. I included the construction process and many of the behind-the-scenes moments that you won’t see here in the finished photos.

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Today’s post is sponsored by Home Outlet Stores .This post also contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting The Latina Next Door!

The Vision for Our Primary Bathroom

I had a pretty clear vision for this bathroom from the beginning. I wanted something that felt classic and timeless, but still warm and inviting—with a few vintage-inspired details that would keep a brand-new bathroom from feeling too new.

One of my very first decisions was the flooring.

Those Checkerboard Floors!

I knew almost immediately that I wanted checkerboard floors, and they became one of the biggest design elements in the room. Because our bathroom has a fairly large footprint, I chose larger tiles and had them installed on the diagonal to create that beautiful diamond pattern.

I love the amount of character they bring to the space.

And you’ll notice I didn’t cover them with a large rug. I considered it, but I love the pattern so much that I couldn’t bring myself to hide it! For now, I’ve kept the rugs smaller so we still get a little softness and warmth without losing the impact of the floor.

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A Large Walk-In Shower

The shower was probably one of the most involved parts of this entire bathroom.

We had to think through everything—the location of the shower heads, niches, bench height, plumbing and, of course, all of the tile.

For the walls, I chose large 12 x 24 porcelain tiles, while the shower floor has a beautiful herringbone marble pattern.

There were so many measurements and details involved in getting the tile placement just right, particularly around the niches. Watching it all come together was one of my favorite parts of the build.

If you’re interested in seeing how this shower was actually constructed from scratch, definitely watch the video because I included much more of that process there.

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The Vanity & Cabinetry

Another element I spent a lot of time planning was the cabinetry.

I was able to work with Home Outlet to create the layout I had envisioned for this room, including the tall cabinetry towers on either end of the vanity.

For the countertops, I chose a beautiful quartz in the Callacatta Arlo design, and I was even able to incorporate a special backsplash detail behind the vanity.

I love how the cabinetry, countertop and flooring work together. There are traditional elements throughout the bathroom, but nothing feels overly formal.

Vintage-Inspired Hardware

For the cabinet hardware, I mixed drawer pulls with knobs and chose knobs with backplates.

That tiny detail made such a difference!

The backplates give the cabinetry more of that vintage, collected look I wanted and make standard cabinet hardware feel a little more special.

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Lighting That Looks High-End Without the Price

Over the mirrors, I chose sconces with sweet little shades and paired them with simple rounded rectangular mirrors.

Then there was the light over the bathtub.

I had fallen in love with a beautiful white glass pendant that was way more than I wanted to spend. Thankfully, I found a very similar version online for roughly 12% of the cost of my inspiration fixture.

You know I love a good look for less!

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The Freestanding Tub & Beadboard

The bathtub area actually gave us one of those unexpected design moments that ended up making the room better.

We discovered that a wall heater we had installed was too close to the bathtub and needed to be relocated. Moving it left us with another hole in the wall, and rather than calling our drywall installer back yet again, I decided this was the perfect excuse to add beadboard.

And I am so glad we did.

It added another layer of charm and architectural detail to the room. I painted the beadboard slightly darker than the walls to create some contrast and used Sherwin-Williams Emerald Urethane Enamel because this is a high-moisture area right next to the bathtub.

Bathroom Colors: 

•  Walls – Sherwin Williams High Sierra 9588 Lightened by 75% (satin finish) 
• Beadboard – High Sierra 9588 (semi-gloss)

Sometimes the best design decisions really do come from solving a problem!

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Adding Softness with DIY Café Curtains

Once all of the construction was complete, the bathroom still needed softness.

I had found this beautiful fabric on clearance and knew immediately that I wanted to use it somewhere in this room. I eventually turned it into my own DIY pinch-pleat café curtains.

They provide the privacy we need while bringing pattern, texture and a little bit of that cozy collected feeling into a room filled with hard surfaces.

I think they’re one of the sweetest details in the entire bathroom.

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Bringing in Artwork & Collected Details

Finally, I brought in artwork and smaller decorative pieces.

I chose artwork with blues and greens—including hydrangeas and landscapes—and mixed in a few thrifted finds.

One of my favorite additions is the pair of thrifted candle sconces near the tub. They were only $1.09 each, didn’t need a makeover, and add the prettiest ambiance when the candles are lit.

These are the kinds of details that make a newly built room begin to feel like it has been collected over time.

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The Finished Primary Bathroom

After everything this bathroom put us through, I can’t tell you how good it feels to finally say:

It’s finished.

There were construction delays, a shower glass panel that had to be replaced, adjustments around the windows and cabinetry, a heater that had to be relocated and plenty of smaller surprises along the way.

And, of course, this is also the room where I fell and broke my arm, which made coming back and finishing everything a little more emotional than I expected.

But now that it’s complete, I’m so happy with how everything came together.

It feels classic without feeling stuffy, elegant without being overly formal, and most importantly, it feels like us.

Watch the Entire Bathroom Transformation

If you enjoyed seeing the finished photos, I highly recommend watching the full video because the photos only tell the end of the story.

In the video, I’m taking you all the way back to the beginning—our original plans, the changes we made to the layout, building the shower, installing the tile and cabinetry, adding the countertops, tackling the plumbing, dealing with some unexpected setbacks and finally decorating the finished room.

 

 

It is a longer video, so grab a cup of coffee and come see just how much went into bringing this bathroom from an idea on paper to the space you see today.

And let me know in the comments: What is your favorite design choice in the bathroom? The checkerboard floors? The shower? The cabinetry? The café curtains? I’d love to know!

Thank you to Home Outlet for partnering with us and helping us bring our vision for this bathroom to life. The partnership and their involvement in finalizing the layouts, cabinetry, colors and combinations are discussed in the video.

I will see you very soon with more! 

Until then…. adios!