Eight years after Priya McCulloch remodeled the kitchen of a Tucson home, she was approached by the homeowners to take on another part of the house: the primary bedroom and bathroom. She gladly accepted. Her clients had two requests: The project needed to be budget-friendly (the cost of the bathroom was approximately under $35,000) and the bathroom had to be low maintenance and easy to clean.
The Arizona-based designer was faced with the challenge of incorporating the traditional Tuscan design that her clients loved in the kitchen and modernizing the style for the bedroom and bathroom.
"I wanted to keep things light and airy and still bring in some really pretty finishes to make it that Tuscan old world charm without overdoing it," McCulloch describes. "In 2008, it [Tuscan style] was super popular and everyone was doing the heavy old rustic Tuscan, so I wanted to stay away from that."
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Before
The finished space reveals a neutral, fresh take on the popular Italian design that has none of the heaviness usually associated with Tuscan style. Elegant antique brass sconces from Circa Lighting, for example are lined with tiny pearls for a subtle feminine touch. The arched brass mirrors contrast the linear feel of the bathroom and soften the space.
Throughout the room, McCulloch blended high end elements (like those brass sconces) with affordable options like high-quality porcelain tile to imitate marble. "If we had to do real marble, that would have hiked up the budget, so we found a really good imitation model that was a high-quality porcelain verses some of those lower-end ones," she says.
The designer also slashed costs with the use of recycled travertine tile from the previous kitchen renovation that went toward the new bathroom floor. The warmth of the travertine compliments the two-toned wood and beige color of the Soho Studio accent tile, which wraps in front of the pony wall and around the perimeter of the bathroom.
In the shower, McCulloch and the homeowners decided on a budget-friendly walk-in style without a door. McCulloch used 12x24 porcelain tiles for the shower walls to minimize grout lines for easy cleaning. "I've done so many bathrooms now and you have to have rectified edges so you can get those minimal grout lines, because I really hate grout lines," she adds.
The shower floor is composed of 2x2 square tiles coated with a non-slip matte finish. There's also a shield on the glass that repels water, soap, scum, and grime. "The homeowner's number one thing was to make it low maintenance for clean up." Mission accomplished!
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