Bathroom of the Week: Black, White and a Touch of Floral
A designer helps a California homeowner update her guest bathroom to create a brighter, fresher look and feel
Felice Quisol has spent the last 20 years updating her home in phases. Her latest endeavor was renovating the guest bathroom, where earthy brown walls, a standard oak vanity and an aging shower-tub combo created a drab and unwelcoming feeling.
She hired designer Joselyn Rendon to help. Rendon and Quisol developed a crisp white palette to brighten the windowless room, then punched up the look with graphic black accents and details. They also ditched the tub to create a spacious open shower with a stylish divider of glass and matte black metal. Wallpaper in a pretty floral pattern adds a touch of softness.
She hired designer Joselyn Rendon to help. Rendon and Quisol developed a crisp white palette to brighten the windowless room, then punched up the look with graphic black accents and details. They also ditched the tub to create a spacious open shower with a stylish divider of glass and matte black metal. Wallpaper in a pretty floral pattern adds a touch of softness.
After: Rendon removed the shower-bath combo, vanity and toilet. An open shower, custom vanity and fresh white color palette with black accents gave the bathroom a lighter, airier look. “The little seating area was a way to make the space feel more open,” Rendon says. “She didn’t necessarily need so much storage for this guest bath space, so I came up with the idea to have the vanity be more open with the seating.”
A dark charcoal paint (Charcoal Sketch by Dunn-Edwards) on the top half of the wall at left, above a chair rail, gives the space a bit of drama and coordinates with the matte black shower divider, shower fixtures, lighting and mirror frame.
A washable, nonwoven wallpaper with a wildflower design covers the bottom half of the lefthand wall and the entire wall opposite it. “The floral design is so pretty,” Rendon says. “It’s subtle but makes an impact. This particular bathroom isn’t used every day, so we weren’t concerned about moisture. We also have an upgraded fan in here.”
Wallpaper: Wildflower Sprigs, York Wallcoverings
Shop for a bathroom sink
A dark charcoal paint (Charcoal Sketch by Dunn-Edwards) on the top half of the wall at left, above a chair rail, gives the space a bit of drama and coordinates with the matte black shower divider, shower fixtures, lighting and mirror frame.
A washable, nonwoven wallpaper with a wildflower design covers the bottom half of the lefthand wall and the entire wall opposite it. “The floral design is so pretty,” Rendon says. “It’s subtle but makes an impact. This particular bathroom isn’t used every day, so we weren’t concerned about moisture. We also have an upgraded fan in here.”
Wallpaper: Wildflower Sprigs, York Wallcoverings
Shop for a bathroom sink
The 30-by-72-inch shower divider helped inspire the room’s black-and-white scheme. Glossy white ceramic tiles (4 by 16 inches) line the shower walls. Charcoal gray grout gives some definition to the pattern and complements the charcoal accent wall. The shower floor is marble tile in a basketweave pattern.
Quisol decided against adding a niche in the shower. “Because this wasn’t going to be used on an everyday basis, I didn’t think I needed the niche,” she says. “It’s a hard-to-clean area, and I didn’t want so much upkeep in this bathroom.”
A matte black hook offers hanging storage for a towel or robe outside the shower. A matte black towel bar opposite the vanity provides additional space to hang and dry towels.
The new white low-flow toilet has a soft-close lid.
Shower divider: Durance in matte black, Aston
New to home remodeling? Click here to learn the basics
Quisol decided against adding a niche in the shower. “Because this wasn’t going to be used on an everyday basis, I didn’t think I needed the niche,” she says. “It’s a hard-to-clean area, and I didn’t want so much upkeep in this bathroom.”
A matte black hook offers hanging storage for a towel or robe outside the shower. A matte black towel bar opposite the vanity provides additional space to hang and dry towels.
The new white low-flow toilet has a soft-close lid.
Shower divider: Durance in matte black, Aston
New to home remodeling? Click here to learn the basics
Wood shelves with black metal trim hold decorative items.
Before: The former vanity had a basic look and an open countertop area that was once a magnet for messes. “When my kids were growing up, that unused space was a catchall for used towels and clothes and all kinds of stuff,” Quisol says.
After: The new custom white-painted Baltic birch plywood vanity features a vessel sink at standard height and a countertop a few inches lower at the seating area. “Our original plan was an open shelf concept that I was worried would look too cluttered,” Quisol says. “I asked Joselyn to show me what a vanity with seating would look like, and when she did I loved it.”
Champagne gold cabinet pulls coordinate with a faucet in a similar finish. “I convinced her to do some gold fixtures to keep things interesting and not so black-and-white,” Rendon says.
The flooring is gray-toned wood-look porcelain tile.
Vanity hardware: Riva, Amerock
Champagne gold cabinet pulls coordinate with a faucet in a similar finish. “I convinced her to do some gold fixtures to keep things interesting and not so black-and-white,” Rendon says.
The flooring is gray-toned wood-look porcelain tile.
Vanity hardware: Riva, Amerock
Before: A mirrored medicine cabinet hung on an angled bathroom wall to the right of the vanity mirror, which gave the space a busy look.
After: Rendon eliminated the medicine cabinet and wallpapered the area for a more continuous look. A pendant with a concrete-and-wood shade hangs over the new vanity seating area.
The bathroom now has a brighter, more inviting look. “It just makes me feel good when I go in there,” Quisol says. “It’s just very tranquil.”
More on Houzz
Read more bathroom stories
Browse bathroom photos
Find a bathroom designer
Shop for your bathroom
The bathroom now has a brighter, more inviting look. “It just makes me feel good when I go in there,” Quisol says. “It’s just very tranquil.”
More on Houzz
Read more bathroom stories
Browse bathroom photos
Find a bathroom designer
Shop for your bathroom
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: Felice Quisol
Location: Murrieta, California
Size: 55 square feet (5.1 square meters)
Designer: Joselyn Rendon Interiors
Before: In the former design, brown walls did little to help brighten the windowless room. “The wall color was making everything feel gloomy,” says Rendon, who previously helped Quisol renovate the kitchen and bar area of her home.
“I would go from the wonderful kitchen to this space and think, ‘Ick,’ ” Quisol says.
At the top of her remodeling list was removing the aging shower-tub combo and its standard sliding glass divider.
Find a bathroom remodeler near you