Before and After: A Bland Bathroom Goes Bold, Thanks to a Beautiful Black and White Remodel
According to Kelly Shannon of K Shan Design, this house is much more than just her home. It marks the chapter in her life where she left the world of advertising to become an interior designer and decorator. When she updated this Costa Mesa house in 2017, it was her first project.
“This is the guest bathroom, where I wanted to have something with a little personality,” wrote Kelly. “The bathroom gut took about three weeks, although it’s hard to say exactly because there was so much construction happening simultaneously in the house.”
“I was able to save a little on this bathroom by moving the pedestal sink from the master bath to the guest bath,” Kelly admitted. “But other than that, everything was new. But I guess that goes with my overall flair: the best balance with something new is to add something vintage to make it feel more homey.”
Kelly explained that the bathroom wasn’t in the best condition when the remodel began. “The bathroom floor had a hole in it near the toilet that was covered by a basket. Turns out, there was no foundation under the floor—for 18 inches!”
It’s a beautiful before and after worth sharing based on looks alone, but I wanted to highlight just how smart it is—and what a big visual impact it makes—for using standard tiles in such a big, bold, black-and-white-striped way. “The total cost including foundation, plumbing, drywall, tile, install, electrical, etc. was around $6,400,” reported Kelly. This white subway tile from Home Depot runs $2.73 /square foot, and this black subway tile is priced at $3.86/square foot. And even if that’s out of your budget, consider recreating the wide, horizontal stripe vibe with just black and white wall paint. Paired with a patterned black and white shower curtain, the entire composition in this space feels graphic and exciting.
Resources:
- The tile is from Tile Elements in Santa Ana, California.
- Shower curtains from CB2, but no longer available. This other CB2 shower curtain is similar, as is this one from Society6 and this one from Design Public.
- Toto toilet
- Rug — Etsy, CappadociaTribalRug
- Basket — SHOP | SLO
Thanks Kelly Shannon of K Shan Design. You can find Kelly on Instagram at @kshandesign!