Reveal: The Organic Modern Bathroom
At some point you may have noticed the Joy Johnston Design “tagline” about creating “thoughtfully designed, livable spaces” and this remodel is no exception. In fact, I think it encapsulates this vision perfectly. Read on to hear more about the thought process behind every selection in this space.
Let’s start with the before, shall we? Because who doesn’t love a good before and after? There is so much beauty to be found in these craftsman style homes, so when we approached this project we wanted to consider which elements of the home could be retained or slightly updated. We loved the original door style and hardware so we decided to refinish those elements and keep them in tact. When it came to the bathroom it was a resounding decision to fully gut and start fresh.
As you can see, this space just wasn’t going to cut it as the main shared bathroom for a family of 4. Not to mention the fact that they are young, hip and have great taste when it comes to interior design and decor. There had been a DIY renovation at some point in the home’s past but it still had an odd, cramped layout with only a sink and a shower stall. We knew that we would need to expand the space to accommodate a bath tub and double vanity.
We decided to expand in 2 directions and take a bit of square footage from one of the kids bedrooms as well as the hallway/landing. This meant that we had to remove some existing closets (gasp!) but a sacrifice had to be made somewhere. I designed the layout to be unique, functional and in a way that would allow the bathroom to be cohesive with the rest of the home re-design while also adding something special.
Fast forward et voila! The exact space we’d envisioned brought to life.
Now is the really fun part to walk you through- the fixture and finish selections. The homeowners had shared their bathroom inspiration with me and it was a mix of mid-century modern and Scandinavian style with an organic, softened and lived-in feel. Almost every inspiration photo they shared had the classic white subway tile so that selection was the first decision and a no-brainer. I did want to ensure that the tile had a reprieve and so we tiled 2 and a half walls fully and painted the others a crisp white (Extra White by Sherwin Williams). I selected a light grey as the grout colour to soften the hard lines and coordinate with the tone-on-tone grout of the floor tile.
The floor tile we selected might be my favourite to date. It’s a ceramic hexagon tile with a textured handmade finish that makes it look and feel like natural stone. I opted for a tone on tone grout to really drive home that monochromatic Scandinavian feeling.
Once I knew what my canvas would be, I wanted to add in some warmth by incorporating a beautiful wood and decided to do it on both a customized vanity and floating shelves to balance the space. My favourite team of contractors at Woodland Provision are also skilled carpenters who can create all of these custom ideas themselves.
After touring their wood shop we landed on the most beautiful slab of mature Elm. It was custom milled to create the gorgeous grain-matched vanity and shelving.
To keep things feeling modern and cool we chose matte black faucets and shower glass hardware alongside hints of brass on the light fixtures and vanity hardware. The light fixtures are definitely the biggest nod to MCM style in the space and tie everything together nicely. The final piece is the stunning oversized arched mirror that makes a statement on the tile backdrop and makes the room feel much larger.
When it came time to style the space I knew this was the time to temper the clean modern lines and bold finishes with some soft and lovely decor items. If those Elm shelves were in my own home I would be styling them and restyling them constantly just for fun. I love that they’re the first thing you see when you’re coming up the stairway to the second floor of the home. I almost forgot to mention that we also created a hidden tiled space below the shelves to tuck away kids bath toys and other visually unappealing items like the inevitable mish mash of bottles of shampoo/body wash/bubble bath etc.
Not only did we design the bathroom, but we refinished the entire second floor and are in the process of renovating their kitchen and main level as we speak. Thank you for following along this design journey and for sharing your excitement with us. Be sure to follow along on Instagram for even more gorgeous photos of this space.
Design: Joy Johnston Design / IG: @joyjohnstondesign
Build: Woodland Provision / IG: @woodlandprovision
Photography: Pauls & Johnston/ IG:@paulsandjohnston
