Anyone who has ever renovated a property will insist you add an extra 30 percent of your total cost to your budget. The line item? The unexpected. Usually, an unforeseen leak, a finicky heat pump, or a foundation crack. But for photographer and director Harper Smith and her husband, Cameron Duddy, the bass guitarist for the band Midland, it amounted to an entire kitchen remodel. In the process of renovating the Dripping Springs, Texas, home they’ve owned for nearly a decade, they discovered that the exterior walls had been poorly constructed—all of them would need to be torn down, including the ones supporting the kitchen cabinets. “We ended up having to rip out the kitchen against our will,” says Smith. The silver lining: The drab, brown space was “zero percent cute,” so they were at least able to justify the reno from a style perspective.

Right away, the couple; their designer, Amy Pigliacampo; and their contractor, Strong Roots Development, started thinking of clever ways to make the surprise project less expensive. Giving up on having a “badass full slab” of Calacatta Viola marble for a backsplash was one such solution. “I could find some slabs that were affordable, but the pieces were all too small or there wasn’t a beautiful violet tone to them,” Smith recalls. Most quotes were in the $9,000 to $10,000 ballpark. “So it was like, I’m either going to spend a bunch of money on a slab that’s not the right color or we’re going to have to find a different way.” That different way was tile.

A little research led them to Artistic Tile’s 18-by-18-inch honed marble tile. Compared to other Calacatta Viola tiles Smith sampled, these were the only ones within her budget that didn’t have a glossy printed appearance. Between the materials and labor, Smith guesses their backsplash cost them a mere $1,800. “Plus the company was great to work with; a couple broke and they sent new ones right away,” she says. (Editor’s note: Right now the brand is only carrying 24-by-24 and 12-by-24 options.)

Viola Reale 24-by-24-Inch Marble Tile , Artistic Tile

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The only real instruction Smith and Pigliacampo gave the tile installer was to group the pieces that had the most dramatic veining over the stovetop. Their logic: Those six tiles are the first thing you see when you’re walking down the stairs in the morning.

This clever fake-out wasn’t just applicable to the kitchen. The couple’s shower is swathed in large 12-by-24-inch black terrazzo tile from Direct Stone Source, but the hack is even less noticeable because the pattern is so busy and the dark grout blends right in. “It seems seamless,” says Smith.

As for the floor tiles, those were all made by Smith and Duddy in her mom’s ceramic studio after they decided they couldn’t afford Cle Tile’s Fornace Brioni collection. “I had a kiln and a husband who was totally down to help,” shares Smith. The only thing better than saving $8,000 on material costs is making the stuff yourself.

Terrazzo Nero Matte 12-by-24-Inch Porcelain Tile, Direct Stone Source

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The post This Kitchen Backsplash Looks Like a Stone Slab, But Costs $8K Less appeared first on domino.

When we recently saw the founder of a tile company cover his own kitchen walls in zellige tile, it proved to us that this trend really isn’t going anywhere. Personally, I get why so many people are drawn to the raw texture, the slight imperfections, and the color variations of Moroccan tiles, but as a design editor who sees a lot of the same materials play out in homes (zellige backsplashes being one of them!), I’d be nervous to commit to it myself. But a temporary, affordable, DIY-friendly version? That I can get behind. 

While scrolling TikTok the other day, I was served an ad for Smart Tiles (the brand also has an Amazon store). I’m familiar with the products, thanks in part to Alexandra Gater, the serial rental renovator who has used the company’s peel-and-stick tile in a number of her projects. (She once broke down for me how she installed the brand’s pink Metro Ava option in her tiny kitchen.) But what I saw on my screen wasn’t the typical white subway or patterned antique tile I’m used to seeing from adhesive-geared brands. The Morocco Sefrou tile in green looked a whole lot like actual zellige. 

Smart Tiles Morocco Sefrou Green Peel-and-Stick Backsplash

Sefrou Green Peel and Stick Backsplash (5 Sheets), Smart Tiles ($38)

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For starters, Smart Tiles has the tonal range you’d expect to see in Moroccan tile (because the real things are made individually by hand, no two are ever exactly the same). The sheets also have a slight gloss to them, which appears to help them shine when the light hits just right—not unlike zellige. So what do they look like in situ? Designer Shelby Eanes covered (most) of her bathroom walls in them and they look pretty legitimate, especially with the walls painted in Benjamin Moore’s Peale Green. 

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On the company’s website, the tile has a 4.8-star rating and around 1,600 reviews. A customer in Australia raved about how quickly it arrived and another said their only learning curve was cutting the tile to fit around switch plates and outlets (a sharp X-Acto knife will do the trick). The imagery on the website mostly shows the tile applied in a vertical stack, but you can orient the 12-by-9-inch sheets in a horizontal fashion, too. 

There are fewer reviews on Amazon, but we did happen to find them in design blogger Kiva Brent’s “storefront,” aka the place where she saves her top-recommended products. If green isn’t your color, here are a few more faux zellige tiles we’re eyeing.

More Smart Tiles Peel-and Stick-Backsplashes

Rabat Pink Peel and Stick Backsplash (5 Sheets), Smart Tiles ($38)

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Morocco Tangier Peel and Stick Backsplash (5 Sheets), Smart Tiles ($55)

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Orange Safi Peel and Stick Backsplash (5 Sheets), Smart Tiles ($38)

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Beige Oia Peel and Stick Backsplash (5 Sheets), Smart Tiles ($38)

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The post I Could Have Sworn These $40-Per-Pack “Tiles” Were Actually Zellige appeared first on domino.

While we appreciate the commonly dished-out design advice “just because you can doesn’t mean you should,” we believe that sometimes rebelling against the rules is necessary—especially when it comes to bathroom tile ideas. Because tile is that magical material that serves both function and form. So go ahead and be bold. Why choose one design if you can select a few—and create refreshing patterns with different sizes, shapes, and finishes? Or stick to a singular tile that makes a big impact when splashed over an entire space. 

Keep reading for some of our favorite bathroom tile ideas that range from subtle (an earthy neutral stripe; a moody allover monochrome) to statement making (lilac grout; checks and squiggles).

Inject Cozy Cottage With Chic Character

Designer Whitney Romanoff of Meet West Studio dialed up the drama in this Arkansas cabin bathroom makeover using a rich, ’70s-inspired palette and plenty of texture. Between the handmade zellige arranged in a chic plaid pattern on the floor and the black tile lining the shower (not to mention eggplant-hued honed marble around the tub and atop the vanity), you have a space that nods to its history and surroundings while also feeling totally fresh. 

Channel a Barbie-Approved Aesthetic

When Lee Thornley, founder of tile company Bert & May, designed his own home in northern England, he embraced the “just be brave” mantra he often shares with customers. He added tile to every single room, including allover pink in his daughter’s bathroom. The trick to not making this bathroom tile idea look too one-note? A sprinkling of starburst tile and brass finishes ensures it will age gracefully.  

Transform Bath Time Into Playtime With a Fun Motif

Before you plot a gut reno for your bathroom, consider this: Shannon Wollack, founder-partner of Studio Life Style in L.A., was given the challenge to refresh the bedroom and en suite bathroom of a little boy who was transitioning into a new room to make way for his baby sister. Rather than start ripping out cabinetry, Wollack wanted to simply “jazz up” the lackluster space. She lined the entire niche in a modern geometric pattern that comes right over the tub face for a playful yet uniform look.

Add a Splash of Stripe (in an Unexpected Hue)

Taking tile risks isn’t just for maximalists. Designer Robert McKinley created an effortlessly elevated two-tone bathroom in this Montauk, New York, beach rental. To add warmth, he chose brass fixtures and Heath Ceramics’s Manganese tile (an unglazed brown clay option that “almost looks like dark cardboard”) for the floors and lower third of the wall. We’re calling it earthy nautical.

Get Groovy With the Grout

While we’re here to dig into bathroom tile ideas, we would be remiss to skip a grout shout-out. When renovating her family of four’s sole bathroom, London-based artist Leslie Kulesh wanted to build a space that could grow with them but still feel appropriate for their current stage in life: “bath mode.” For inspiration, she looked to the Memphis design movement and purchased Tres bathroom fixtures in various end-of-the-line colors; budget-friendly 4-by-4-inch white tile; and grout in unexpected shades of lilac, mango, light blue, and red (each for a different wall). Contained within a simple grid, the result is happy-making for all ages.

Showcase the Small But Mighty Mosaic 

When hoping to make a real statement, most times people think bigger is better. But committing to a mini size in a bold color creates a surprising amount of impact, as you can see here in Brooklyn artist Caroline Z. Hurley’s Yves Klein Blue bathroom, where floor-to-ceiling mosaic tile is both energizing and zenlike. Elsewhere, natural materials and neutral colorways keep the spa vibe going.

Use Checkerboard Like a Neutral

We don’t care if forever-trending checkerboard is being dubbed Gen Z’s chevron. The easy-to-orchestrate tile combo has just enough of a cool edge while still staying timeless to make us start lining up the pattern in our own bathrooms. Look to designer Alex Boudreau’s sunken tub in the Todos Santos, Mexico, home she designed for her family as proof that the motif has staying power, especially in earthy terracotta and cream. Pro tip: Create even more contrast with your tub tile.

Go for a Tile and Wallpaper Trompe l’oeil

Plot twist: Layering the same pattern in different colors can actually make a smaller space look more streamlined. London-based interior designer Emma Ainscough covered the shower nook in a client’s home in dark blue-and-white–striped tile—and didn’t stop there. The same vertical lines appear in the form of French blue pinstripe wallpaper that carries all the way up the slanted ceiling, along with the tile, creating a bathroom brimming with visual interest (peep that arched shower door, too).

Be a “Capital M” Maximalist (Who Matches)

For the bathrooms at Kin House, an old Georgian manor-turned-events space in the English countryside, designers Lucy Sear-Barlow and Joshua Sear of Barlow & Barlow stuck to a strict palette—with a twist. The wallpaper, wall tile, and floor tile would be the same hues but in differing patterns. The effect is “actually quite calming and easy to digest,” says Sear-Barlow. Renovators take note: Starting with a wallpaper and color-matching the tile is not a hard feat to pull off, according to the designers. So if you can’t choose between two patterns, here’s your sign.

See the Beauty (and Budget Perks) in Randomness

Want a major tile moment but you’re running out of budget? That scenario plagued Kim Spradlin Wolfe while finishing her 400-square-foot guesthouse in San Antonio, Texas. She hit a Clay Imports warehouse sale but it didn’t have enough in one color—so she bought them all. As for curating a pattern, she turned the tiles upside down so that “when the guys installed them, they wouldn’t try to create a pattern. The 10 colors would just be random.”

Make Your Shower Wall an Eye-Catching Mural

As far as bathroom tile ideas go, this one is as clever as it is straightforward: Simply treat your shower wall as an oversize canvas. When designing her Portland, Oregon, home, interior designer Jessica Hansen covered her bathroom in rectangular matte white tile from Ann Sacks, then made one big geometric ceramic masterpiece with tile from Marrakech brand Popham Design.

Get Playful With Your Grid

Inspiration for this cool tile configuration struck during a visit to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. “We saw two different scales of cobblestone collide, and that inspired us to take two very standard square tiles and blend them together,” explains Ben Work, who heads up San Francisco–based architecture and interiors firm Homework along with his wife, Susan. The pair opted for ceramic tile from none other than Home Depot—proving clever bathroom tile ideas don’t have to come with a hefty price tag.

Dive Deep Into a Moody Monochrome

The striped color variation in this deep teal guest bathroom might be subtle, but the glossy texture of the zellige Clé tile certainly is not. Designer Sally Breer worked with a couple relocating from New York City to Los Angeles to create a color-drenched home—bathrooms clearly included. Breer drew inspiration from the historic Union Station restaurant Fred Harvey Room, where the floor tiles were laid to mimic the look of textiles. An abstract-print shower curtain and rug add a burst of color to the moody mix.

Treat Your Bathroom Tile as Art

Look closely and you’ll see that the pattern in this shared kids’ bathroom isn’t wallpaper but a vibrant mosaic tile mural from New Ravenna inspired by the artwork of the Otomi people in central Mexico. “Their designs are filled with symbols of native flora and fauna, and you see this represented in the foxes and llamas prancing throughout,” says San Francisco designer Dina Bandman. To complement the colorful mural, Bandman opted for simple white subway tile on the lower half of the room, along with a red double ticking stripe as a snappy frame.

Consider a Luxe Tile Alternative

Would you believe that no tile was purchased in the making of this bathroom? Jaclyn Journey and Amanda Jacobs of Journey + Jacobs were inspired by a recent vacation to Greece when drafting up plans for the en suite bathroom in their friends’ new home. The only request: “They wanted something that felt like a hotel spa,” says Jacobs. A freestanding tub and peachy plaster walls already accomplish that brief—but the flooring made from cut-marble scraps in shades of black, white, pink, and emerald takes things to the next level.

The post Treat Your Shower Wall as a Mural, and 14 More Bathroom Tile Ideas That Make a Splash appeared first on domino.

Ironically, blue is not Rachael Petach’s favorite color (it’s mustard yellow). But when it came to decorating the Hudson Valley, New York, tasting room for her black-currant liqueur, C. Cassis, she couldn’t think of a better shade. “Blue feels like it connects to the calming sense of the beverage itself,” she says. “Also, black currants are a phenomenal natural dye, and when they develop, they turn into this really perfect, kind of soft middle blue, the color of our label.” 

The hue appears almost everywhere: in paint (it’s Behr’s Sojourn Blue), in grout, and in the square bathroom tile. To balance out all the indigo, Petach, who designed the space with her graphic designer husband, went for natural elements, like Bedrosians’s terracotta tile on the bar front, and nestled below the counter, three custom stools by Jack Rabbit Studio’s Brett Miller, who shaped the seats to resemble C. Cassis’s logo. “If you’re only going to do three stools, they better be special,” Petach says with a laugh.

But in the bathroom, which Petach wanted to look like it was “dipped in tile,” the idea of a pure blue world really comes to life. The Design and Direct Source square pieces wrap around the preexisting porcelain sink, a countertop, and even most of the walls. “My reference was My Neighbor Totoro,” she says of the ’80s anime film by Studio Ghibli. “I literally showed my contractor a still from the family house that has a sink wrapped in tile.” And when the tasting room officially opens this weekend (and will be open on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am to 6 pm at 108 Salisbury Tpk in Rhinebeck), guests will be able to see it for themselves when they take a seat at the bar and feel, well, the opposite of blue. 

The post This Designer Showed Her Contractor ‘My Neighbor Totoro’ to Describe Her Bathroom Inspo appeared first on domino.

Three-by-three inches sounds like a speck in the grand scheme of a renovation, but it’s a measurement that’s having a huge impact in the world of bathroom remodels right now. Small-scale square tile is enjoying a moment that is big enough to rival zellige. Looking back at the spaces we’ve featured on Domino in the past six months, we had a hunch, but Fireclay’s latest launch confirmed our suspicions. The brand just added sheets of square mosaic tiles in two satin colors—soft green and warm white—to its assortment. 

While Fireclay is known for its über-pricey tile (some are $42 per square foot), these large sheets go for $20 per square foot and, more important, ship quickly. How fast, you might ask? They’re ready to head out on the truck in five days or less. Another perk is that they come with a dot-mount system that is more flexible than mesh-mounted tile and easier to install on curved surfaces, so you can really get creative when working around arches or bathtubs. Here are three spaces we’ve featured lately that are getting in on the trend. 

Use Small-Scale Tile in a Large-Format Shower

Designer Shannon McLaren’s nearly Kim Kardashian–size shower exudes 1990s cool with its micro-size beige mosaic tile. The best part about going with this style is that you can get it from nearly any retailer (McLaren bought hers through Fujiwa Tiles, which is known for its pool tile collections).

Take It All the Way Around the Room

Pastel blue squares give this small but mighty kids’ bathroom in Jill Singer’s Hamptons home mid-century appeal. Knowing damp towels might get left on the floor or toothpaste residue smudged on the walls by her little ones, her designers at White Arrow opted for a full wet room of sorts by continuing the mosaic on all four walls—up to the ceiling. 

Save It Just for Bubble Baths

If you are opting for a new shower-tub combo, we suggest getting a tub with a skirt so you can clad the siding in your dream tile. This Melbourne home shows that you don’t have to just stick to partnering it with more squares. A darker rectangle option will provide a solid backdrop for your tub to shine. 

The post This Bathroom Tile Is Suddenly Everywhere and, Shockingly, It’s Not Zellige appeared first on domino.

In an Instagram video to promote Goop’s new Shinebath shampoo and conditioner, Gwyneth Paltrow takes viewers into her shower to show exactly how the products work. 

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And though we appreciate a hair-wash demo, we love an up-close-and-personal view of shower tile even more—and thankfully, Paltrow shares her thoughts on hers: “I love a tile that feels like it’s been around for a number of years and has an antique feel to it, and I thought it was really nice to offset the other clean, modern elements of the bathroom.”

It’s true: Against sleek, modern marble and black hardware, the rustic-feeling print just works. Paltrow doesn’t say where the tile is from, but we did some sleuthing and found that the squares are Walker Zanger’s Contessa Amalfi, which is only available to the trade—womp, womp. 

But we wouldn’t just leave you hanging. Here are a few similar styles so you can get Paltrow’s look in your own home. 

StonePeak Palazzo Tile Bloom Deco, Artwalk Tile ($5)

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Zellige Malena Green Hand Painted Ceramic Tile, BelTile ($25)

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Anejo Flecha, Clay Imports ($9)

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Tunis Black, Zia Tile ($2)

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The post We Found the Old-World Shower Tile in Gwyneth Paltrow’s Bathroom appeared first on domino.

Keren Richter, cofounder of design firm White Arrow, jokes that when Jill Singer told her she wanted to build a bathroom around a funky toilet paper holder, it felt like an art-school entrance exam. Nevertheless, when Singer, cofounder and editor in chief of Sight Unseen, showed Keren the colorful piece by British artist James Shaw that she had in mind, the designer was up for the test: “Her points of reference really helped us get inspired.” Singer had waited patiently for the recycled plastic TP holder—Shaw’s drops are sporadic and online only. 

“A friend told me recently, ‘You’re either the dream client or the absolute most nightmare client, because you know so specifically what you want,’” says Singer with a laugh. And it’s true, she had a particular vision in mind when she set out to update the kids’ and guest bathrooms in her East Hampton, New York, home: She wanted them to be reminiscent of the tile-covered bathrooms in the Gerald Luss House in Ossining, New York, where Object & Thing hosted a show in 2021. But when it came to actually fine-tuning the details, Singer depended on Keren and her husband, Thomas, for guidance.  

A Moment for the TP

Once it was established that they would mount Shaw’s toilet paper holder in the kids’ space, the Richters looked to its powdery blue and pink components for direction. The former color became the standout choice: They swathed the room in two different tones of blue grid tile. The dusty blush tones made their way onto the vanity, which the designers concocted essentially from scratch. While the base itself is an ordinary stock cabinet, they upgraded it with an onyx counter (sourced from Keren’s favorite website, stonetrash.com), Shaker-style doors, round knobs, and a vintage Italian faucet. “I ended up hacking it so hard that it doesn’t look anything like what it started out as,” says Keren. 

Bathroom Blues

While Singer practiced patience with her special TP holder, she regrets not having more when it came to picking out a tub. Initially, she fell in love with a freestanding one with giant ball feet (if you’ve seen her kitchen, you know she has a thing for items with spherical details), but its lead time was way too long.

In the end, they went with a fully tiled tub that exudes cool mid-century vibes, but she still can’t help but wonder if should she have waited. “Maybe the openness wouldn’t have been the best option for two kids showering in it…but it would have looked really cool!” shares Singer. 

Hit the Showers

Keren admits butter yellow isn’t a color that typically makes its way into White Arrow’s projects, but given it’s one of Singer’s all-time favorites, the designers took a leap. “It’s like a refreshing glass of lemonade,” she says. After looking at 30 different tile samples, they ended up with two harmonious shades (a mid-tone and a highlight) and wrapped the saturated hue around the base of the room, stopping at the knee wall. “It’s a nice way of dividing a small space and keeping it feeling bright and light,” says the designer.

There might not be a funky toilet paper holder in the guest space, but the Richters played with pink once more, this time in the form of a custom medicine cabinet and wall-hung concrete sink. A friend recently told Singer that the compact yet colorful setup gave off “a really fun locker room vibe,” and she took it as a great compliment. 

The post What Does a Bathroom Inspired by a Toilet Paper Holder Look Like? A Pastel Dream appeared first on domino.

Designer and architect Susan Nwankpa Gillespie’s latest clients, a young family who recently moved to Glendale, California, from New York City’s Lower East Side, were used to tiny bathrooms. So when they gave Gillespie a tour of their new house, they were adamant that they didn’t need much more space. “I was like, come on, guys, this is terrible,” says Gillespie with a laugh. Having been friends with the couple for nearly 20 years, the founder of Nwankpa Design was comfortable being frank. She guessed the home’s two bathrooms probably hadn’t been renovated since the 1990s, and with two fast-growing boys to consider, she knew the kids’ area wouldn’t be functional in the long run. 

Luckily for the designer, the homeowners were as open as anyone could be: They like minimalism and maximalism. Gillespie put both to the test. She turned their primary bathroom into a zen retreat with plaster-coated walls, and brought an explosion of color and tile to the boys’ shower. The former turned into a personal endeavor for Gillespie: She drew on her Nigerian American upbringing and the West African concept of wearing clashing patterns. “The woman wears the outfit rather than the outfit wearing the woman—that was the goal with this bathroom,” she explains. Ahead, Gillespie takes us behind the scenes of the two transformations and reminds us why a little extra room is never a bad thing. 

The Closet Combo

By removing a wall in the 40-square-foot primary bathroom that hid a nonfunctional alcove, the designer more than doubled the space to 90 square feet. This move also allowed her to integrate a built-in oak-wood closet, complete with two cupboards for the couple’s long hanging items and plenty of drawers.

The Ultra-Reflective Mirror

Adding a frosted window to the shower brought more natural light into the room, but the real game changer was incorporating a sliding door leading to the lush backyard. As if mimicking the plant life outside, the designer created a custom mirror with a zellige tile border that amplifies the golden California light with its glistening surface. “You’ll be washing your hands or face, looking into this mirror where the greenery is reflected behind you, and you just feel transported,” she shares. 

The Sealed Deal

Gillespie’s contractor flew in a seasoned plaster worker to coat the entire space. After waterproofing the room using a method called hot mopping, which involves heating asphalt in a kettle and applying it between layers of felt using a large mop, he began work on the textured treatment. While you can’t tell at first glance, the space actually features two finishes: a robust version on the floor and a softer veneer on the walls.  

The Fashion-Forward Shower

Like layering a colorful outfit, Gillespie knew that not every detail in the boys’ bathroom could be the star. “There is a graphic element in pretty much every surface, but it’s about finding that mixture where you’re still able to see certain focal points,” she says. Gillespie honed in on the shower. The interior walls are covered in a triangular pattern (a combination of two Zia Tile hues: Rouge and Casablanca), while solid amber zellige tiles encompass the facade. “You have to figure out which materials are going to help it shine but also have their own points of interest,” she adds. 

The Happy Accident 

Setting the stage underfoot is a custom pattern of dusty pink concrete tile that runs from the floor to the wall behind the sink. The designer opted for a mix of sizes, but it was really a delivery mistake that determined how it was laid out. The company didn’t send them all the sizes she originally ordered, so Gillespie redesigned the pattern with what they were given, resulting in a cadence of one, two, and three 2-by-8 tiles separated by 8-by-8 squares. 

The Stone-Cold Winner

The floating vanity cabinets are crafted out of white oak, just like Mom and Dad’s, and finished in a semitransparent gray stain to accentuate the grain of the wood and the oversize terrazzo knobs. The initial plan for the sink was to go with a quiet limestone, but when Gillespie spotted this red and green marble slab peeking out behind another at the stone yard, she turned to her clients and asked: Is this too much? “They were like, not at all!” says the designer. It was just enough.

The post In This Home’s Main Bathroom, the Vanity Mirror Gets to Be the Star appeared first on domino.

British designer Hannah Drakeford’s South London one-bedroom apartment is full of crafty home projects, from upcycled IKEA storage to a geometric hallway mural, but that wasn’t always the case. When she moved into the new-build Deptford flat in 2017 “it had zero character and everything was beige,” she recalls. While the bathroom was decent, it resembled something you’d find at a Holiday Inn, with a lackluster palette, wood laminate countertops, and no natural light. “It wasn’t me at all,” she adds. 

In an effort to pack the same colorful punch showcased in the rest of her space, she looked to a trip to Marrakech for inspiration. “I went a few years ago with a friend, and we stayed in this amazing riad with Moroccan tile everywhere. The bathroom was actually black and white, but the tile had circular motifs,” she says. With many photo references in hand, she set out to uplift the basic and boring bathroom for $400 with essentially just paint.

Start With a Blank Canvas

Before any primer was poured, she carefully laid out a 3D model of the room in SketchUp. “I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t overbuy paint but still had enough to cover all the surfaces, as I was on a tight budget for this project,” she says. Drakeford also did plenty of research and read reviews to find paint that would adhere to a range of surfaces, finally landing on two coats of V33 Renovation Floor and Stair Paint, a durable formula for high-traffic areas, for the floor tile, laminate countertops, shower screen metalwork, and radiator. She then made it waterproof by adding one coat of Zinsser Bullseye 123, a primer she regularly uses for her furniture DIYs, on top. “The room needed lightening up, as it’s in the middle of the apartment and there are no windows,” she says. “The white paint helps light reflect off the walls and makes it feel bigger.”

Get Creative With Paint

There are plenty of circles, triangles, and squares painted elsewhere in Drakeford’s apartment, so it’s only fitting that ovals drawn in Lick’s Pink 03, a matte bubblegum hue, come to play in the bathroom, stretching from the shower wall to the floor. “The pink paint was a regular wall paint, but I sealed it with this clear varnish so that it’s waterproof and doesn’t discolor,” she says.

Try Out Faux Terrazzo

Terrazzo is Drakeford’s dream countertop material, but in order to keep things on budget, she decided to upgrade the wood laminate with hand-painted pebbles. “I primed it first, then went in with black wall paint and two coats of watered-down white paint with a little brush to create the stone effect,” she says. While it was free-handed, she used an image saved on Pinterest as a reference. She then sealed it with silicone around the sink. While Drakeford loves how it turned out, it was a project she’d never do again, as it took two full days of detailing. “I’m still a little traumatized from it,” she says. 

Add Character With Paneling

Another cost-saving hack: purchasing preprimed wood paneling for the vanity wall from B&Q, the U.K. equivalent to Home Depot. After measuring the height between the counter and ceiling and cutting the boards to size, she first applied them using a removable puttylike material called Blue-Tack so she could get a rough idea of her desired spacing. Then she put them down for real with Diall Grab Adhesive. As with the shapes, she went for the same muted blush tone and covered it in varnish to make it waterproof. 

Keep on DIYing

The bathroom was the last room in the home the designer put her mark on. “I was intimidated by the scale of the project, and it was the first full bathroom renovation I’ve done,” she says. It all came down to precise planning and ultimately took four months to complete. With so much paint on an array of surfaces, she’s also impressed with how everything has held up. “I did have an accident where I spilled some acetone and had to repaint a patch, but that’s all,” she says. 

Since completing the bathroom, she continues to share design tutorials online. “My aim is to make design accessible,” she says. “I want to empower people to try out things for themselves, because it’s brought so much joy to my life.”

The post The Terrazzo Vanity in This $400 Bathroom Makeover Is Shockingly Just Paint appeared first on domino.

In this Long Beach, California, home, mother doesn’t just know best—she gets the best. After a young couple purchased their longtime rental home, they embarked on a renovation with interior designer Natalie Myers that included upgrading a space primarily used by the husband’s live-in mom (and now grandmother to the pair’s baby): the guest bathroom. Myers, founder of Veneer Designs, didn’t hold back when it came to remodeling the spot. “I think it’s okay to get exactly what you want when it’s a tiny bathroom,” she says. “Just go for that nice, expensive tile.”  

Go for it she did: The floors and shower walls are now swathed in Fireclay tile. But before she got down to the details, the designer focused on expanding the space slightly by getting rid of a small closet with a water heater (the new tankless water heater moved to the garage). “There’s just more breathing space for the vanity now,” says Myers. Ahead, she gives us the rundown on the refresh. 

The Timeless Tile

Knowing that this space would eventually become the homeowners’ daughter’s bathroom, Myers felt like a playful checkerboard moment was the perfect fit. But to keep the pattern from feeling overwhelming, she opted for a subdued grayish green and off-white color scheme—anything more high contrast would have been too busy. “It’s clearly having a moment, but I don’t think it’s going to go out of style. People have been doing checkerboard for centuries,” says the designer of the look. Stopping the motif around the 4-foot mark and switching to a stacked vertical field tile also helped dial down the volume. 

The Much-Needed Divider

While the family had no need to keep the ADA-compliant walk-in tub that was in the space previously, Myers maintained a similar partition wall in the new setup, mostly because it offers a little privacy. “You just feel a bit more enclosed,” she says. Plus it was an excuse to further show off all that new tile. Additionally, inside the shower, the half-wall serves as an anchor for a floating stone bench. The element is handy for anyone sudsing up, but in particular someone aging in place.

The Right Kind of Storage

In the spirit of staying consistent with the millwork in the kitchen and primary bathroom, Myers custom-designed a floating ash-wood vanity with an undermount sink surrounded by a Caesarstone countertop (the durable surface was her biggest money saver in the room). While the handmade ceramic knobs bring an artful touch to the piece, it was the pop of matte black in the form of the faucet that the wife, an artistic director, pushed for. “It adds a graphic contrast,” notes Myers. 

Above, the designer kept things simple with a frameless rectangular mirror. See you never, medicine cabinet. “I don’t know how many people actually use them these days if there’s enough storage in the vanity,” Myers explains. The bulky feature’s other sticking point: Builders frequently get the installation wrong. “They have a hard time framing it, and it’s often too low or too high. Then you have to move it and repair the drywall,” she says. Not to mention, with it gone, the room automatically looks bigger—and that’s worth skipping the additional shelving.

Get the Look

Rectangular Undermount Bathroom Sink, Kohler ($184)

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Frameless Rectangular Mirror, Rejuvenation (from $299)

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Cylinder Double Sconce, Schoolhouse ($199)

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Dolomite 4×4, Fireclay Tile ($47 per square foot)

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