Bath Reno #6: Modern in Carroll Gardens

This is a really nice bathroom. What tiles are those? - love them. As far as I can tell you have a sliding door btw toilet and shower area. We are planning on doing the same thing to our bathroom - in effect creating two bathrooms (since we only have one). Where did you get the sliding door and was it more expensive to install that than a normal swining door? I'd love to see where this bathroom is located in the larger floorplan of your house.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 10:35 AM

I love love love this bathroom. I wish the owner would post more on her "my brownstone" page -- I think all her choices have been fab, and I want to see more.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 10:39 AM

Also - could you tell me what the dimensions are - in other words - how long/deep is the vanity and how long/deep the shower?

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 10:45 AM

Fabulous!!!!!!!

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 10:49 AM

Yes, wow, really inspiring bathroom. Beautiful and functional. Love the closed off crapper with pocket door. Is that a slate floor? Honed? From Home Depot? Does it extend to everywhere in the bathroom including the shower floor. I'm in CG too and would love to take a closer look at your renovation but not sure how to contact you.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 10:56 AM

nice bathroom at a good price.

Kudos.

Well done!

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 10:58 AM

I would have gone with a smaller hex tile on the floors, myself.

Wall tile looks great, and I think the exposed pipe works here.

Toilet seems disproportionately small in these shots.

Incidentally, Baths from the Past (www.bathsfromthepast.com) has a terrible web site but great stuff - including shower enclosures - worth looking at for a project like this.

They also can do custom work. In a world of 8" and 12" stock options, they made a very nice 10" bridge faucet for me a couple of months ago to fit an old, odd sink.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 11:00 AM

Ah, finally a bathroom reno I can get excited about. Really lovely, modern yet still warm and appealing. I do love the look of that farmhouse sink, but I can't help thinking of the gunk that's going to build up around the bottom--save those old toothbrushes for cleaning! :)

Do you mind if I ask how much the custom vanity and shelving came to? (And could you provide a contact # for Laurel Woodworking?)

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 11:04 AM

I like the elegant simplicity of this renovation. Personally I might have built a soffet for the plumbing, but I recognize the complication of recreating the crown moulding to maintain its continuity. Congratulations on a nice job at moderate cost. Indeed, as the word renovation indicates: to make new again.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 11:09 AM

I like the slate countertop. How has the slate held up? Does it need to be sealed? Does it stain? What sort of cleaners can you use?

Overall great bathroom. I like the tile a lot. Can you tell us where you bought it?

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 11:14 AM

Really nice looking work. Any details on where the tile came from would be much appreciated, especially the slate floor tile.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 11:15 AM

This one is great, and I love that the homeowners did some of it themselves. The separate toilet space really makes the whole thing work, as well as practical.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 11:33 AM

I'm constantly amazed how brave people are when posting anonymously on this site. One can only assume they're as brave and tough in person.

Anyhoo, nice bathroom. It's a job well done. Simple and tasteful. Thanks for sharing!

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 11:41 AM

Wow. Great job and excellent use of the space. You even managed to get shelves in there for the linen!

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 11:43 AM

Yeah...it's great.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 11:44 AM

Nice crapper. Thanks for sharing.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 11:44 AM

If I had a bathroom like this, crapping would be so much more meaningful somehow. Instead of being part of the minutiae of everyday life, taking a dump would be more like...well, a date with destiny.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 11:48 AM

nice job, but when it seems like so much attention was paid to detail, how did your toilet end up being off center?

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 11:49 AM

Congratulations on a nice job at moderate cost. Indeed, as the word renovation indicates: to make new again.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 12:04 PM

As far as I can tell you have a sliding door btw toilet and shower area. We are planning on doing the same thing to our bathroom - in effect creating two bathrooms (since we only have one).

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 12:05 PM

Pretty.......

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 12:07 PM

I like the shelves.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 12:10 PM

Shelf good.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 12:10 PM

The shelves are made of wood.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 12:12 PM

11:49, symmetry is not the be-all and end-all of interior design. Maybe they wanted room for the little trash can. Or maybe they liked the yin-yang counterpoint of the off-center toilet under the centered picture. I like it.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 12:21 PM

Wood good.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 12:23 PM

Owner here. Actually, we wanted the toilet to be centered. That's it's off center is just an honest mistake.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 12:25 PM

12:21, I know the type of mind that creates a beautiful bathroom like this one and I am 100% positive the toilet was not intended to be off center. In fact, I bet at some point they lost sleep over this geometric foible.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 12:28 PM

Love the bathroom and especially the custom wood work. I will be contacting Laural Woodworking for a custom vanity.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 12:37 PM

Mr. B, some of my (legit) posts have disappeared. What's up?

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 1:00 PM

General question for all you bathroom remodelers: Is there a reason not to extend hardwood floors into a bathroom? I love my floors and don't know why I have to transition to tile. To me it always looks odd in the new open plan style places when the kitchen has tile, but the living room has wood even without a wall in between. I do, of course, plan to keep the bathroom walled off, but see no reason to change the floor.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 1:29 PM

You mean you are giving in to the lunatic who was cut and pasting old threads in order to stop you from doing the reno features. That is exactly what he wanted. No No No NO NO NO!!! But wait, I can get a gold star if I log in!

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 1:45 PM

Until Mr. B. notices and gets rid of the trash, let me point out that none of the so-called "Brownstoner" posts have been his since the post at 1:07. It's pathetically easy to spoof even a registered person here. If you put the mouse under "Brownstoner's" uncharacteristic posts, you see there are 2 spaces before the name. The real Mr.B does not have spaces. Unfortunately, that's all it takes for the program to consider it an entirely different(and legit) log in.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 2:21 PM

Boy, this is getting creepy...

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 2:37 PM

To 1:29... Yes, there's a very practical reason not to extend hardwood floors into a bathroom or a kitchen..the moisture factor. Water can damage a wood floor, but it won't damage tile. My kitchen/dining/living room is open plan, but my kitchen floor is tiled, and the rest of the space is oak flooring. It may look strange to some, but there are ways to unify spaces with different flooring to minimize the contrast. I'm happy with it.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 3:29 PM

I think you've made the right call, Mr. B. I enjoyed the bathroom reno features for a while, but they were getting long in the tooth.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 5:54 PM

1:29 PM

As 3:29, wrote, there are practical reasons...ALSO, NYC code does not allow wood floors in bathrooms go figure. You can have them in a kitchen of course. We had a friend, this is a good number of years ago, who had a rollout synthetic floor set down without adhesive over a wood floor in a bathroom because it was being inspected. The rollout floor came up afterward.

A friend of ours who passed away a few years ago had a designer who insisted on putting leather floors down...in the bathrooms!...in his Palo Alto place. This was way before leather flooring was being thought of. Was a one-off that was very new at the time.

Nice bathroom, Kids. Ultimately, I prefer yours to the Bed-Stuy snowflake bathroom. I kind of find their snowflake motif nice on the floor but the diagonal Mogen Davids on the wall overdid it for me.

I'm wondering how the sink is put down and if water seeps in under it on the counter.

Looks very nice.

I'm curious: is the layout this shape because you fitted in closets facing into the adjoining rooms on other side of the WC enclosure?

That said, when are you coming over and redoing one of our bathrooms?!

FG/TGL

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 6:08 PM

why not a medicine cabinet and maybe recessed lighting? or is that a cabinet?
in general, where's the storage? not crazy about sinks with no cabinet underneath.
this doesn't seem like a bathroom a woman could get ready in. ie: blowdryer, toiletries, makeup, tampons?, etc.. where is it all?

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 6:12 PM

I love the way the walls sort of "lift" the ceiling up off the floor of this bathroom. Very nice. Also love the fact that there's an entrance that doesn't require you to stoop.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 6:22 PM

6:12,

There are a lot of drawers and the bins on the shelf under the sink.

Depends on the kind of woman (or man) you're talking about. We all don't need a huge vanity table with ten drawers for make-up or closets stuffed with other "things" within fingers' reach.

Anyway, an undercounter cabinet is a hassle, can get damp, and if decently organized, still has the sink's pipe going through it. And for those who can't bend so well these days, I would prefer drawers at elbow height with larger back-up quantities in a closet, if necessary, outside the bathroom. In fact, I prefer not to keep tons of folded towels in the bathroom because of the humidity, but it can be convenient.

FG/TheGrammarLady

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 6:22 PM

Look at how the drawers all have handles on them that you can grab onto whenever you want to close/open the drawers. Somebody was thinking when they designed this place.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 6:26 PM

I like the look of the small tiles, but worry about cleaning all the grout. Can someone out there who's been living with a tiles like this comment on this issue? I've got typical 4x4 tile in my current shower surround and the grout gets black mold no matter what we do. It's probably quite old so may be more porous. I just worry about using such tiny tiles or even subway tile in the remodel I'm trying to plan.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 6:28 PM

Where is the magazine rack? What if you're in the mood to "read"?

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 6:35 PM

Where are the hex-tile snowflakes?

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 6:38 PM

I love it!
Love it!
It!

PS You mean, you have to use a special cleaner just to wipe the counter because it's slate? You mention the floor tiles rip up and catch the mop...What happened to easy cleaning?

All jesting aside, try one of those ribbon mops from Spain/France/Germany. They should not catch on the floor tiles.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 9:27 PM

How wide is the toilet enclosure?
It is impossible to read on the thumbnail of the plan.
I'm curious: Don't new bathrooms (new or moved around where the layout changes as I assumed happened here) have to meet ADA requirements? There is no side access to the W.C., just straight-on access without prescribed clearance. Sure the space looks to be 36 inches wide...but how would someone using a wheelchair navigate the space?

Not that you designed and built for someone who uses a wheelchair for mobility, but let me point out that the sink would be very hard to use and the faucets possibly unreachable.

This is not an abstract issue I'm bringing up. I worked in hi-end interior construction of years. If a bathroom was existed already and new fixtures were not being substantially moved in relationship to the old ones coming out, there wasn't a huge worry. As soon as a bathroom was being truly reconfigured or a new bathroom put in where none had existed previously, there were always design issues relating to ADA.

Maybe there were no plans on file for your building which case, you can get away with putting in non-ADA clearances since there is no proof there was no bathroom with that config previously.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 9:38 PM

Stunning! Job well done. Thanks for sharing.

Now off to copy gleefully and shamelessly!

Posted by: guest at November 29, 2007 12:58 AM

I cast my vote for not doing these kinds of features anymore. They are BORING!

Got that? I said

BORING!!!

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 7:03 PM

Well just don't read them. I love it! Keep em coming.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 7:07 PM

I cast my vote for discontinuing this sort of feature, Mr. B, because they are sooo BORING?

Got that everyone? I said they are

BORING BORING BORING!!!!!

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 7:12 PM

I must say I also find this to be a curious use of the site's resources. I would imagine you have a limited staff. Sure there are better topics you could be exploring here.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 7:13 PM

Mr. B, I think you should include this type of content on the site, but you should put it in the forums section and not on the 'front page'.

I guess I think that both sides of this debate have a point (as is usually the case).

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 7:17 PM

Okay...I could live with that.

Posted by: guest at November 28, 2007 7:20 PM

Posted by: guest at November 29, 2007 7:55 AM

I certainly don't think this sort of feature should be the focus of this site. Should it be in the forums? Sure...whatever, but not on the first page of the website that everyone sees.

Posted by: guest at November 29, 2007 8:05 AM

Posted by: guest at November 29, 2007 8:20 AM