Before & After • My New Primary Bedroom and Bathroom

I’m finally sharing our new primary bedroom and bathroom! This was actually completed last October. I worked on it with my dad plus a few other contractors. This was by far the biggest renovation I’ve ever done and I learned a lot from it. I’m super grateful that my dad was able to help me create this even though he drove me bonkers towards the end. I’m sure I was a pain in his ass too, with all the last-minute changes. Renovations are tough, y’all! Especially when you have to live in it! Let me walk you through this project.

We consolidated these two bedrooms to create a larger master bedroom and brand new en-suite bathroom. The room on the left was really small. It would’ve been the perfect nursery. Alas, we ain’t having kids! So we knocked down the walls and removed the closets on each side.

Here’s my new layout situation. We made the room on the left bigger which is our bedroom with built-in closets. And to the right is our new bathroom with a double shower, toilet room, and a small double vanity. Not shown here are new, big-ass windows, an exterior door to our backyard, and arches!

These are some of my initial ideas for my bed and bath. You’ll see which design elements crossed the finish line and which ones got tossed. For the most part, everything came together as planned.

Photography by Ernesto Artillo — Photography by **Ernesto Artillo**

My inspiration came from Boquera Morilla House. Isn’t it breathtaking? Those arches. The colors of sage (from the pool) mixed with terracotta and white. Simple yet impactful to create such a relaxing vibe.

Oh, how I miss living in those dusty demo days. Let’s head straight to the after shots before I get hella triggered. Haha. When I told my dad I wanted arches for the opening to the bathroom, this is the arch he served me. He was like, “What’s wrong with my arch?!” I mean, it’s not terrible but I had him redraw a full half circle with a pencil and string.

New herringbone floors from Floor and Decor. Pocket door for the toilet room to save space.

This lovely fig tree belongs to our neighbors. We joke about how funny it would be if they just chopped it down now that we have these gorgeous windows. We custom ordered Milgard windows from Home Depot. We got a picture window in the middle and casement windows on the sides if we decide to open them for fresh air. These windows came out to about $1500. This made such a big statement and actually one of the surprisingly cheaper splurges for this reno.

We installed an outlet in our medicine cabinets after finding it super useful from another project we did. Floor tiles are from Fireclay Tile in anti-slip Lady Liberty color 3x9 size. Love them. And girrrl, the vanity gave us so many problems. I really wanted a custom floating vanity with terrazzo sink but quotes came back ridiculously high so I ditched that idea. But it was also really hard to find a 48 inch double vanity that looked good. I finally found this Bandon vanity on houzz, of all places. And it was a whopping $1800. WTF? And it doesn’t include a sink either but at this point I was running out of time and I had to go with it. Next mission was to hunt down a double sink top which led me to this trough sink. I had to hire a fabricator to shave half an inch on the right side but we made it work. It looks fabulous on top. I was worried that it was gonna be too shallow but it’s been alright. The shower was installed by DTLA Tile. They were very professional and detailed. They were definitely on the pricier side but they did a great job, especially since I used zellige tiles which can be tricky.

Here’s the arched doorway into the bathroom with another arch in the shower to echo it. Much better arches, dad! Then we decided to add built-in shelves on the bedroom side for some decorative storage. I wanted arches on those shelves too but because they’re both different sizes, it would’ve looked weird. We honestly were designing as we went, which can make things difficult. It’s also a great way to annoy your contractor. Ha!

For our closets, we installed the IKEA PAX wardrobe system and raised it so it almost touched the ceiling. I wanted this to be floor to ceiling to look like it’s an accent wall. Then I had the cane doors custom made from my friend, Alder & Oil. Those babies alone cost more than the IKEA wardrobe boxes. Whew! One thing I would change though is to have the doors clear the floor about half an inch so I can have a rug without hitting it. Oh well. You live and learn.

And here we are! Our new master bed! Yep, that’s a Samsung Frame TV you see there disguised as a piece of art. The boo loves having a TV in every room and it’s the only TV I will allow. This green pendant seems to be everyone’s favorite whenever I post it on my Instagram. And it’s back in stock! I wanted to tie the green in from the floor tiles in the bathroom. I also wanted a light that wasn’t too modern or contemporary. This light is a bit retro with the milk glassy look. The bedroom honestly feels like I’m in a Bali resort. Maybe it’s the combination of the cane doors, the herringbone floors, and the large windows showcasing the fig trees. It' feels very earthy. I love waking up in here.

And our new bathroom! This vanity gave us some problems but it came together in the last hour. We will eventually put doors in but also love that it’s open. The white paint is BEHR Night Blooming Jasmine. It has a hint of yellow-green to it. I used Polar Bear white for the rest of the house and wanted to warm it up a bit.

All the arches in play! It looks like it continues into another room back there, doesn’t it? The arch mirror is from West Elm. Now, let’s talk about the shower. Initially, I wanted it to be plaster white with no tiles. It took me awhile to find a guy who could do it and then he bailed on me on the second day. It’s actually not that unusual for contractors to do that unfortunately. So then I decided to go with zellige tiles from Riad Tile. The terrazzo floor tiles in the shower are from Concrete Collaborate in alabaster with gold chip. And to be honest, it turned out amazing. I love the subtle color variation in the zellige tiles. It adds so much depth.

We also installed a wall speaker in the bathroom. We have a sonos amp plugged in on the shelves. The boo likes to listen to news and some tunes in the morning.

Our shower is about six feet and we managed to squeeze in two raincan shower heads from Delta Faucet. We’ve showered together maybe five times at the most. LOL. I’m more of a night shower person and the boo likes his morning shower. But if we were to ever sell this house, I figured a lot of people like the idea of double showers? What do you guys think? We also installed recessed lighting and an exhaust fan in there.

And there you have it! This whole renovation took us about six months to complete. I spent about $45,000 which included labor and all the materials. I was able to get the Fireclay Tiles and Riad tiles gifted so that kept it under. I’m still shook at how much this all cost cause this is the the most I’ve ever spent on any project. But I’m really happy with how it turned out. It honestly feels like a new home and I love it. All the sources are below. Let me know what you think and if you have any questions.