Before & After: A Builder-Basic Bathroom Gets a Little Character

When Celeste first moved into her Park Slope condo in 2008, she wasn’t super excited about the bathroom’s generic, builder-basic look. But she didn’t consider remodeling until several years later, when dark spots on the floor’s limestone tiles alerted her to the fact that the floor had never been properly sealed. Limestone is extremely porous, and despite her best efforts at cleaning the tiles just got more and more discolored. So she decided it was time to take the plunge and give her boring bathroom a complete facelift.

She didn’t replace everything — Celeste kept the tub and toilet, which were still almost brand new — but replacing the vanity and the old, discolored limestone tile has had a huge effect on the look of the bathroom. The most striking thing about the new bathroom is the graphic floor tile. Celeste was inspired by an encaustic tile that she found, but her contractor, Paulina, persuaded her to go with a marble tile instead, which is a bit more hardwearing (and also turned out to be less expensive). The beveled subway tile on the walls gives the room a timeless feel.

The new custom vanity cabinet has a Corian top, with a few cutouts to give it a bit of depth. Paulina complied with Celeste’s request for a vanity with extra storage space, and even incorporated a spot for a small trash can inside the cabinet to reduce clutter. There’s even more storage space in the new, oversized medicine cabinet.

The whole renovation took only two weeks, and now Celeste has a bathroom with a little more storage, a lot more character — and a floor that actually looks clean.

Celeste found her contractors, Paulina and Albert, through Sweeten, an online resource that connects New York-area homeowners with designers, architects and contractors. You can read more about the renovation, see more photos, and find sources at the Sweeten blog.