Bathroom renovation for independence and beauty!
I want to start by saying I absolutely adore all of my clients. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…I have the best clients! I feel like they become friends! We get to know each other very well. I always tease them and say I am moving into their brains to figure out what they like…
It especially warms my heart when I can help provide a beautiful and functional space for fabulous clients with some unique challenges.
Bittersweet as I put the final touches on a bathroom renovation for one of the sweetest clients!
Mobility issues are especially tough for active, independent people. Often, our bathrooms are not functional for even a slight problem or a temporary issue, much less a progressive issue.
Imagine having a surgery that leaves you in a wheelchair or on crutches temporarily; imagine the frustration for that few weeks! Many of you may have experienced just this?!
…Now imagine that frustration every day, not knowing if you’re going to have a pretty good day and it’s mild frustration or if it’s a bad day and you cannot function in your own home!
What should be a simple morning routine could, in fact, set the tone for your entire day!
We were so honored and humbled that these wonderful clients trusted Great Design 4 U to help them have the dream bathroom that is not only functional but beautiful and, of course, extremely safe on the good days and the not-so-good days!
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What was not working?
Actually, not much of it was working well for them.
❌ “Phonebooth” size shower
❌ A rarely used bathtub that was hard to get in and hard to get out
❌ Slippery floor (just a little water, and it was an accident waiting to happen)
❌❌ Toilet in a corner that was hard to get to, and God forbid assistance was necessary and only comfortable for a small child!
❌❌❌ On top of all that, there wasn’t any storage!
What did we do?
✔️ Replaced “phone booth”/tub with one grand shower…With a nice flip down shower bench 😀
✔️ Removed the shower doors
✔️ Positioned the controls just inside the entry of the shower for extra convenience
✔️ The showerhead is two parts, one part you have a stationary stream of water and a pull-down wand, making it very easy to get clean while sitting comfortably on the bench!
✔️ The floor leading into the shower has a slight ramp keeping the water inside the shower and easily accessible for a wheelchair to enter! (A great solution when you were on a slab and not wanting to cut into the foundation)
✔️ Of course, we added some grab bars, but they look beautiful and double as an area to hang a towel.
✔️ More lighting was installed and was completely necessary for this dark low-lit, drab bathroom. Overhead recessed lights are now on a motion sensor; no need to fumble in the dark to turn on the lights in the middle of the night or when you’re just not feeling 100%. No more arguing about who left the bathroom lights on, walk-in lights come on, walk out just a few moments, and the lights go out.
✔️✔️ We knocked down a wall near the toilet, allowing easy access to the toilet area (and replace the children-size toilet with a taller, better-functioning, comfort-height toilet). You may notice there is still a tiny bump out next to the toilet, which contains the water supply. It is also functional as it doubles as a nice shelf to sit hand sanitizer. The client also stated this is a great area to lean on at times when getting in and out of a wheelchair.
✔️ In the shower area, you will notice we worked around the huge picture window the clients had existing to keep as much natural light as possible. We replaced the wood with PVC trim and put a privacy film over the window giving the clients much-needed privacy without the expense or the mess of bulky window treatments.
✔️ We also decided to put in a knee wall in the shower versus floor-length glass panels, a decision made for practicality giving peace of mind to the clients so that they don’t have to worry about anyone falling into the glass. Also, this provided a space to have towel bars on the outside and additional grab bars on the inside. Decoratively speaking, a nice way to break up the shower area and, of course, give a little extra privacy to that area.
✔️✔️ We replaced two small awkwardly positioned doors with one barn door allowing us just enough room to add a lovely storage cabinet!
✔️ The original flooring was replaced with a beautiful mat porcelain floor, so it is slip-resistant!
Now let’s talk a little bit about the beautiful elements…
💙 First, the eggplant went off of the walls and back into the kitchen! We use Sherwin-Williams sea salt on the walls and ceiling to lighten up the area, making it feel warm and cozy.
💙 Again, a lovely soft white was used on the barn door leading into the room, the trim, and cabinetry to help provide a clean look.
💙 The entire back wall is tiled to give a nice focal point that is also durable easy to clean!
💙 Tile was installed to flow from the floor up the back wall.
💙 A lovely accent tile was installed as a border across the top of our wall tile, bringing in some of the warm and cool tones of the floor and the wall tiles, introducing a little color of blue.
💙 Again, the shower floor tile was essential not to be slippery! We found these beautiful penny tiles with a matte finish, providing the peace of mind necessary while being very easy on the eyes.
💙 To keep the space clean and safe, we elected not to do area rugs but instead bring in one large piece of hand-painted canvas artwork balancing with a beautiful cornice to help provide some acoustic relief.
💙 Other than the added overhead lighting, we replaced the three outdated lights above the vanities with 4 LED bulb fixtures.
💙 All of the metal surfaces complement a soft stainless finish.
The clients are now enjoying their new beautiful, fully functional, safe bathroom! A much better way to start the day.
