The kids bathroom in the mountain house is the biggest risk we’re taking in the whole house, but we are EXTREMELY excited about it. A month or so ago, you guys chose the materials (it was between that insanely gorgeous green quartzite we were secretly crossing all of our appendages would win and the blue zellige tile that I know would have been beautiful, too). It was pretty close(ish)…58% to 42%. A kids bathroom is a great place to have a little more fun, be playful with your colors and materials because, well…kids are fun and playful. Of course, kids grow up eventually, but nothing about this bathroom’s design feels “kid” necessarily, so I think it will definitely age well.
So now it’s time to show you how we actually designed it with those materials that won. As a recap, this bath looked like this before it was demo’d:
It’s upstairs across the hall from the bunk room (not attached to it because we wanted the kids’ room to be attached to the attic and we couldn’t do both).
Originally, when you opened the door, you were faced with the toilet, with the bath and vanity on the left side, but we rearranged it so that, instead, you saw the tub first, which meant that the tub surround was our real “moment.”
You chose the materials that we would use (see this post for the one that was rejected!). We were SO glad that this version won, but Brian is still VERY skeptical about that green quartzite.
Vanity Backsplash Tile | Emerald Quartzite | Window Frame | Countertop Marble | Floor Tile
And here is how we laid it all out.
EEK. I’m SO excited about this bathroom. The emerald stone (which we’re going to hone or leather) is the big moment here, with the quieter white tile supporting it (in a parquet pattern) and the modern brass fixtures from Kohler—who I partnered with for the mountain house (and Portland house) bathrooms—being a big star.
Because of my partnership, I was lucky enough to preview their Finish to Order program, which lets me personalize the faucet I want in the finish I want, which is then made to order. Customization, folks. Head to your local Kohler Signature Store or Kohler Experience Center to find out more about the program.
Mirror | Sconce | Composed Faucet & Cross Handles | Caxton Undermount Sink | Composed Towel Holder | Cabinet Pulls | Cabinet Knobs | Composed Robe Hook | Composed Towel Bar | Poplin Vanity | Marble Countertop | Corbelle Toilet | Composed Toilet Paper Holder
We chose the Poplin vanity because it’s simple and classic, and those shaker doors add some warmth to all those hard surfaces. The biggest challenge of this house has been balancing these really modern fixtures (me) with the rustic/cabin feel (Brian) and this felt like it was a good fit for that marriage of styles (and my marriage). This vanity also provides a ton of storage and can include electrical outlets inside for razors, hair dryers, etc…tons of great personalization options offered here. It comes in a variety of finishes but we ordered these way before we designed the bathroom so we chose the linen white to be safe and it’s probably what I would have chosen again (although I do love the teak finish). We went with a toe-kick versus legs in this bathroom because it was up against the side wall and I liked that slightly more built-in effect. Also, because it’s the kids’ bath and they will likely be messy with their water, we didn’t want water to get trapped underneath the vanity.
The faucet we picked is from the new Composed line and it’s SO BEAUTIFUL. It wasn’t available in the states until recently but I saw it at the Kohler Experience Center in LA in the international center (for designers designing abroad with different codes and therefore different fixtures) and fell IN LOVE with it in the vibrant polished brass. It couldn’t be more streamlined and simple, and in that modern polished brass, it looks really high end and hotel-like. This is the only faucet that Brian thinks is too modern for him, but he was fine with it in here since I loved it so much. The cross handles feel more classic and kinda calms down the sleekness of the faucet.
We are using the Caxton undermount sink in a rectangle shape versus round or oval to help it feel more modern (although I like all three options), and topping it with a white honed Thassos that works beautifully with the tile backsplash and the emerald quartzite.
The Corbelle toilet is one of Kohler’s newest toilets and features their cleanest flush yet. It’s great for a few reasons. It’s affordable while still having some pretty cool features like ContinuousClean technology (this fights germs, stains and other yucky stuff) and CleanCoat technology which together actually and visually keeps the toilet cleaner longer. Every time you flush, ContinuousClean dispenses a small, consistent dosage of your toilet bowl cleaner tablet of choice that’s housed in the tank away from kids and pets. Because it’s special and optimized, each tablet can last more than a year (instead of dropping one into your tank and running through them within weeks). Yay for less toilet scrubbing.
To bring in wood and warmth we have wood cabinet pulls and knobs and this insanely beautiful and yet totally simple sconce from Allied Maker that I’ve wanted forever. If you are interested in the micro-bubble sconce trend and want some more affordable options, see this post. These are made beautifully in the US and we chose the walnut and blackened brass finish options.
For the mirror, we went with a rounded rectangle, although we haven’t purchased it yet so this could change. But we are going to hinge it and build into the vanity wall to create shelving behind it like a medicine cabinet. Yes, we could just buy an actual medicine cabinet but we are hoping to have something that looks more like a pretty mirror on tile and less like a built-in medicine cabinet, but we’ll see.
Now to the bathtub/shower side of the room.
The entire surround, tub front and top will be in the honed or leathered emerald stone. This is what scares Brian, and I get it and it kinda scares me, too, but unlike the Portland house, I can take more risks here because it’s ours and we aren’t trying to sell it. I want to create some more risky, editorial moments in this house and this is one of them. Also, my team and I saw this stone in person and it’s SO BEAUTIFUL, whereas Brian hasn’t yet. He’s only seen the polished sample and having it in a matte finish makes a huge difference.
Purist Showerhead | Composed Transfer Valve Trim With Cross Handle | Composed Volume Control Valve Trim With Cross Handle | Composed Thermostatic Valve Trim With Lever Handle | Shift Handshower | Composed Bath Spout | Underscore Drop-in Bathtub | Emerald Quartzite
The shower suite has mostly the same Composed line of the vanity with the exception of the Purist showerhead as they don’t have a shower head as of now, but the two look great together as you can see (a huge plus of pulling from the same manufacturer across the board…you want those finishes to match, folks). Mixing isn’t always a good idea, but these two lines work so well together. I love that simple spout and the squared off cross handles. For this bathroom, we have a thermostatic temperature control and a diverter, but we kept it simple. And we finally get a handshower for the kids, which I’m sure will prove to be messy when controlled by them, but I’m thinking it will make washing hair a bit easier. Plus, it’s JUST so pretty.
A classic of Kohler‘s, the Underscore drop-in bathtub comes in a variety of sizes and can even be tricked out in different ways. Kohler’s four hydrotherapy options harness water’s natural ability to enhance well-being and give you the benefits of a spa treatment in the comfort of your own home – so you feel centered and energized…who could say no to being balanced and peppy?!? Not this bubble-tub lovin’ lady.
*We are currently designing the niche for storage, but we have encountered some hiccups due to the plumbing in the walls. Stay tuned for that.
We went through a few iterations of this design, so I thought I’d walk you through the process:
At first, we had the marble just on the tub but it felt random and weird. Then we put it on the tub and floor but still, it wasn’t right. Lastly, we added it as the surround and put white on the floor which was the winning combo for us. We also played around with the mirror shape and size and ultimately landed on a rounded rectangle.
*A quick note: In a perfect world, we wouldn’t have that 3-inch framing jut-out on the left, but it was one of those things that wasn’t caught and they already framed for it. There is a huge original water pipe behind it and diverting it so that we could push that wall back would cost $3k so we aren’t. But if you have the opportunity to reduce the amount of awkward lines in a room, please do. Also stay tuned for shower door design, still TBD.
Overhead, it looks like this (note: we might replace the interior doors if we can squeeze it into the rapidly diminishing budget).
We all LOVE how it is turning out. Yes, the stone is a risk. Yes, the modern fixtures are a risk in a cabin. But we think we have a combination of styles, materials and finishes that creates this amalgamation of Refined-Scandinavian-Contemporary-Minimal-Rustic-Cozy California-Mountain-Cabin that we are going for. YES, I realize how ridiculous and insane that is, but it’s a challenge we are accepting and working on every day.
Here is the bathroom all together:
Mirror | Sconce | Composed Faucet & Cross Handles | Caxton Undermount Sink | Composed Towel Holder | Cabinet Pulls | Cabinet Knobs | Composed Robe Hook | Composed Towel Bar | Poplin Vanity | Marble Countertop | Vanity Backsplash Tile | Corbelle Toilet | Composed Toilet Paper Holder | Floor Tile | Emerald Quartzite | Window Frame | Purist Showerhead | Composed Transfer Valve Trim With Cross Handle | Composed Volume Control Valve Trim With Cross Handle | Composed Thermostatic Valve Trim With Lever Handle | Shift Handshower | Composed Bath Spout | Underscore Drop-in Bathtub
And just so you can really feel like you’re in the space, we created a rendered video for your viewing pleasure.
So what do you think?? Are you scared of the leathered quartzite and modern fixtures? Or excited? Or both?
Let us know all your thoughts, feelings or concerns in the comments (and praise or support is always welcome :)).
*This post is in partnership with Kohler but all words, designs and selections are our own. Thanks for supporting the brands we love that support the blog.
**A huge thanks to my design team for their hard work on the renderings of these.
