Save My Reno: Nick and Zina's Traditional Marble Master Bathroom
PRE-S: Today (and every Thursday after a new episode of Save My Reno airs) I'll be taking you through all the fun behind-the-scenes details here on my blog!
Despite having traditional taste, Nick and Zina were anything but. (Missed this episode? Watch it here!)
From the first moment we all met and they greeted with croissants and coffees, until reveal day where they poured us a farewell champagne toast, Nick, Zina, Seb, myself and the whole crew had way too much fun together.
They both have a contagious energy and as a duo, they're downright addictive. The spreads they'd put out for us were topped up only by the clever tongue-and-cheek sayings they'd write on their chalkboard greeting signs every time we showed up.As real estate agents, they know how to stage and they understand what sells. Their taste was as impeccable as their home -- well, every room in their home but their master bathroom.
Walking into the space was like taking a trip back in time and had me envisioning the bachelor who used to own the home and the full-on parties he must've thrown in there. Between the peek-a-boo TV box and skylight surprise, where this bathroom gained points for novelty, it lost in terms of function and privacy.Not only were the brown tiles ugly and the decorative post, a nuisance, but the vanity was only as high as my thigh and the carpeted closets were unsanitary. Their must-haves were: privacy by the toilet, a large soaker tub, a massive high-end shower, great storage, marble and glam, glam, glam. All very pricey wants indeed!
To my surprise, Zina (who we later coined Princess Zina for obvious reasons, or should I say, whom coined herself Princess Zina) stayed with Sebastian to work on construction, and Nick immediately chose to come with me to tackle design. Only later I learned it was mostly to avoid the dirt and dust. His hair, after all, was spectacularly perfect. ;)But as a guy who gets in trouble if he buys the wrong toilet paper, he quickly learned that design is much more than shopping: it's having a cohesive vision, staying focused and seeing it through -- and all on a thin budget. His taste was pricey, but I'm a lass with a few tricks up my sleeves. After I had him convinced him that a porcelain slab I chose wasn't really marble (and rather, a fraction of the cost), I had his full trust -- that was, until I had him help me make Zina a stool! He admitted to not being the handiest (it took him one too many tries to make the button before I took over), but we killed ourselves laughing and chatting away.
The goal was to create a luxurious spa-like bath that matched the rest of their home and spoke to their glam-traditional aesthetic, and I think we knocked it out of the park! See full before and after reveal here and let me know what you guys think in the comments!With a small budget considering their expectations, we made some smart choices to keep costs down: we used pre-fab cabinets trimmed to look custom, porcelain flooring with a marble inlay rather than floor to ceiling marble, and elevated the humble and inexpensive subway tile by laying it in a herringbone pattern. And ridding the closets and creating a pass through to their walk-in was an inexpensive choice that added function and flow, which is priceless.
So have a gander at all of the before and after photos and a cool 360° room tour of the space. And check out Seb's post for his take. And continue scrolling to see how you can get the look in your own home!
Get The Look:
