This All-Blue-Tile Bathroom Now Feels Like a “Boutique Spa” After an Old-World Redo
While Bobby Ruocco’s apartment was built in the 1930s, the bathroom had been updated in the ’90s by the previous tenant. And the renovation “just hadn’t really stood the test of time very well,” he says.
After living with the all-blue bathroom for roughly four years, Bobby was finally tired of the worn features and dirty tiles that just wouldn’t get clean. Plus, because he had recently switched careers to gardening and “would come home every day very dirty,” it became very important to have a relaxing bathroom where he could “really enjoy getting cleaned up and feel relaxed.”
He Renovated the Entire Bathroom Instead of Replacing Only What Was Necessary
At first, Bobby thought about saving some of the blue tiles and only replacing what was necessary, like the flooring and fixtures. “But my imagination went too wild for that plan,” he shares. Bobby was just tired of how the original bathroom looked and knew he could give the space the major update it deserved.
He Added an Archway to the Shower to Create Old-World Charm
Because Bobby’s apartment building is almost 100 years old, he wanted the updated bathroom to “feel as though it could have been there for a very long time.” Victorian bathrooms and kitchens also inspired him to bring a sense of old-world charm to the space by using unlacquered brass hardware and fixtures, Zellige tiles, and an antique-looking vanity.
For the tiles, Bobby “almost instantly” knew he wanted to use Zellige tiles halfway up the walls and then paint the top portion Farrow & Ball’s “Dorset Cream.” Because he was also building an archway into the shower surround, Bobby planned to continue the navy blue Zellige tiles on the arch.
For the shower itself, Bobby wanted to use a different tile to make a statement in the new arched shower. “I decided pretty quickly that I wanted it to be marble, but I did not have the budget for real marble,” Bobby explains. Instead, Bobby found a tile that looked like Calacatta marble with a blue tint to it that paired with the navy blue Zellige tiles. “It was a statement, but I also felt like it was very classic-looking,” Bobby says.
Living Without a Shower for a Month Was the Hardest Part for Him
Bobby originally wanted to convert a piece of furniture into a vanity, but he couldn’t find anything that fit the 24-inch space. Instead, he bought a new vanity that had a vintage feel and “also had legs like a piece of furniture, which I thought was perfect,” Bobby shares.
Bobby switched the vanity top to Carrara marble “to achieve the ‘old-world’ look” he wanted. But his final step was adding a brass sink faucet and a coordinating shower head. Bobby chose an exposed shower system because the exposed hardware and pipes “really gives that feel of the bathroom possibly being older than it really is,” Bobby explains. “I also really love the idea of something functional that’s also as beautiful as it can be!”
However, living without a shower during the month-long renovation was the hardest part for Bobby because he came home dirty from work every day. “I had to shower at my sister’s place every night after work, which was a drag, but a small price to pay for having this new beautiful space,” he shares. And now he loves coming home and unwinding in the beautiful, clean space.
“Because my job is very physical, and I get very dirty, this space just makes the ritual of cleansing so rejuvenating and relaxing,” Bobby describes. “It really does make such a difference in my day-to-day life.”
His Friends Said It Looked Like a Boutique Spa Bathroom
When the renovation was complete, and Bobby saw it for the first time, “I just started laughing because it was just so bold to me at first,” he says. “But I feel like it’s bold in a timeless way, which I love.” Bobby’s favorite part is the arch he added because it separated the shower and helped the small bathroom seem bigger.
But what made Bobby love the space even more was that when friends first saw the renovation, they commented that it looked like a boutique spa bathroom. And two of his friends even asked Bobby to design their primary bathroom after seeing it. “That was really fun, and I was able to explore other design ideas and a completely different style!” Bobby shares.
Throughout Bobby’s renovation, he relied on his creative instinct. While there were “a million different directions” he could’ve gone in, his confidence in the vision made everything easy. “I’m lucky in that regard that I trust my instincts and creative ideas!” Bobby says.
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