My "See's Candy" Small Master Bath

Lovesunique
by Lovesunique
9 Materials
$2100
2 Months
Medium

When I started dreaming about my bath make over I knew I wanted black, white and some gray. I purchased my tile in August and the demo didn't start until the end of November 2017. After I had my basic design I found a magazine article with almost the same color scheme; it confirmed to me I was on the right track!

If you are not familiar with See's candies their stores are always crisp with black and white tile. That's pretty much what I ended up with: a nice crisp, white shiny bathroom!

Here's a picture of the bath design from the magazine. The subway tiles and black liner along with the "marble" tile was in my plan.

My house was built in 1978 so the bathroom did not have any upgrades other than a new Moen faucet for the tub and sink. The sink started leaking about five years ago so it was rendered useless. For a master bath it is really small so I needed to think about storage options and how I was going to make it appear bigger than its 5 x 8 dimensions. You can see from the above pictures how outdated things were and I always hated that lime green and blue pebble linoleum! Demo was fun.

Getting the new tub installed was first priority. Then came the diamond backer, taping, shaping the niches, plumbing and drain for tub and vanity.

New lighting, fan and heater. The tub even got a new light! Dimmer switch for LED lights!

Tiling started and all pulled together. The design changed a bit during the process because of cuts to the tile. Originally there was going to be more subway tile in the shower area but the larger tiles were used instead. The niches were going to be all black subway tiles but instead we went with continuing the tile pattern and just used black bullnose. The edges were finished off with white bullnose. My window even got a nice wood trim out.

Love this Moen double curved shower curtain rod. Only problem: You need to stand on a step stool to reach it! icon The whole idea of having it was to be able to let the towels dry out before hanging them back up on hooks. We took out the window and tiled all the way to the ceiling. By doing this small thing, it made the depth of the bathroom look much larger! Also, putting the shower rod almost to the top.

Another change was using the large tile as a "baseboard" and I really like how that turned out.

New vanity with black granite top. I changed out the knobs using square glass. This 24 inch vanity replaces a 30 inch. It sits away from the side wall and gives the illusion of more space. I really don't miss the extra 3 inches on each side of the sink. And, having it open so you see the tile underneath also has that illusion of space but, I now have to clean around and under!

Niches turned out great. One small problem is there is no place to hang a wet washcloth. Since this is a tub/shower combination it needed to have a soap dish installed lower. It's minor, but don't forget to include in your own remodel.

New medicine cabinet and more storage where the old cabinet resided. I have a plug on the side of the shelf (you can see the plug reflected in the mirror) so the electric tooth brushes can be charging and don't take up room on the vanity counter. I also have a shelf above the door and window for extra storage. I'm using it to store towels and baskets.

Suggested materials:
  • American Standard Tub   (Lowes)
  • American Standard Toilet   (Lowes)
  • Pegasus Medicine Cabinet   (Home Depot)
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4 of 21 comments
  • Penny Penny on Mar 21, 2018

    your bathroom is gorgeous! you did a great job! i have never heard of sees candy, but i have to say, my heart skipped a beat when i saw the picture of their bathroom....would i love to have that!

    • Lovesunique Lovesunique on Mar 22, 2018

      Thank you. Yes, agree the magazine bathroom is gorgeous too!

  • Sandberg Sandberg on Jun 26, 2019


    There’s certainly a great deal to know about this topic. I like all the points you’ve made .

    • Lovesunique Lovesunique on Jun 27, 2019

      Thanks! Still enjoying the newness. Finding I'm not using the shelf above the door for storage like I thought I would. Great for towels though.

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