Empty Nest Refresh | All the Details on Our Master Bath Remodel

Our master bath remodel is nearly done, and I thought it was time to share it with you! We still have a few punch list items to get to, but we are using it and really enjoying it! I joked with Bob that we are going to start eating dinner in there — since it’s the fanciest room in the house now! (We got rid of our formal dining room as a part of our empty nest refresh and remodel and are in the process of turning it into my office!)

First of all, one caveat! I am not a professional photographer! I am also not a professional photo editor! I shot the photos in this post on my iPhone11 Pro and edited them in the Lightroom app. Even though I took the photos on a sunny day, I had to lighten them up quite a bit! I did my best to keep the colors true. I hope my photos don’t make you “real” photographers cringe! (BTW, let me know if you’d like to see a post on how we shoot and edit photos with the iPhone!)

Master Bath Remodel: A Little Background

Bob and I wrestled with the decision that all empty nesters wrestle with at one point or another: Do we stay or do we go? When our last child went to college, we promised her that she would have her room to come home to during breaks. We wanted her always to feel like she had a familiar, comforting place to retreat to if needed.

Then, we spent the four years she was in college exploring our options. We toured properties both here and in Sanibel Island (where we already own a small condo). We looked at smaller existing homes and new builds here in Dallas. We discussed moving to a high rise as some of our friends have. We even met with builders who specialize in empty nester housing and considered potential properties.

But we built this home in 2004, and we still love it. We really didn’t want to move! Ultimately, we decided that we didn’t have to make a “forever” decision! For the time being, it would be financially wise to update everything from our WiFi and security systems to our electronics (Hello, big screen TVs!) and thermostats. That meant that much of our empty nester refresh was not visible but would really make a difference in our lives. (Hello, super-fast WiFi Mesh System!)

When it came down to aesthetics and making our home function less as a family home and more as an empty nester abode, we decided on a couple of specific projects:

• Update and remodel the master bath.
• Turn the rarely-used formal dining room into an office for Suzy. (AKA: the International Headquarters of Empty Nest Blessed!????)
• Turn Bob’s study into a workable home office. (Thanks, COVID!)
• Repaint completely, inside and out. (It was just time!)
• Update our can lighting throughout the home to brighter and cost-saving LED.
• Update the powder bathroom.
• Update chandeliers and some other lighting. We wanted more of an elegant look and less of a “family home” feel.
• Update and remodel our aging, leaky pool.

Master Bath Remodel: Before

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Two years ago, we redecorated our master bedroom. At that time, we repainted the master bath the same color. We also added a chandelier in the master bath, along with a window treatment, linens, and my vanity chair. (Read the post about all of that HERE.)

Master Bath Remodel: After

We wanted to change almost everything about our bathroom. Overall, we wanted a lighter, brighter feel in fixtures, slab, and tile. But there was one big exception.

What We Didn’t Change

Tissue Holder | Soap Dispenser | Standing Hand Towel Holder | Towel (Only bath size still remains in this exact set. Linked similar quality/color in stock HERE)| Riki Loves Riki Skinny Makeup Mirror at Ulta or at Nordstrom | Cabinet Knobs |

We have beautiful woodwork in our home that we love (and spent a lot on back in 2004). Trends come, and trends go, but since we were looking for more of a classic look, we opted not to paint our woodwork, so we left the cabinets alone. Painted woodwork has been a hot trend for several years, but according to our designer and others we consulted with, wood cabinets are on their way back. We did opt to change out and dress up the pulls and knobs to the satin nickel to coordinate with our new faucets.

Slab and Tile

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A little known fact about Suzy: my dad is a geologist by training, and I love rocks! That means the highlight of this process for me was picking out our new countertop slab and the tile. The slab is Dolemite White with a leathered finish, and we got it at Arizona Tile. The tile is Grandview Arcadia White marble that we ordered from Renaissance Tile & Bath. I wanted to go pretty white but wanted to bring in the gorgeous color of our woodwork in the veining in our tile.

Bathtub

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I wanted a free-standing bathtub, and we selected the Breanne Freestanding Bathtub in white at Nob Hill in Dallas. I’m a huge bath lover. Even though I shower every morning after I work out, I take a bath pretty much every night! Doctors and skincare experts advise against this because it can cause dry skin. I do it anyway! (I shared the only reason my skin isn’t dry and scaly in THIS post.) My other tub was way too big for me, and this one is just perfect! I opted for a floor-mounted faucet so that I could use the tub’s built-in ledge (where they usually mount the faucet) for my bath “supplies” — let me know if you want a post on what they are! Haha!

Commode

Our condo in Florida has a “comfort height” toilet, and we love it! That’s what we chose for our new commode. The bowl of a “comfort height” commode is anywhere from 17-19 inches high, whereas the bowl of a “regular” commode is 15 inches high. The higher bowl height is great for anyone with problem knees or a problem back and is ideal for the elderly and people with mobility problems. I guess that’s us now ????!

Shower

It’s difficult to tell, but we used a leftover piece of our Dolemite White countertop slab top of the seat in the shower. It blends beautifully with the Grandview Arcadia White marble tile! We changed out our shower head and added a handheld shower as well. I wanted it aimed at the top of the shower seat, so I could warm it up before I sit down! ???????? Since I’m so cold-natured, I didn’t want a diverter to cause the water to go off on the main showerhead when I used the handheld, so we added an additional, dedicated faucet.

Sinks

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Tissue Holder | Soap Dispenser | Standing Hand Towel Holder | Towel (Only bath size still remains in this exact set. Linked similar quality/color in stock HERE)| Riki Loves Riki Skinny Makeup Mirror at Ulta or at Nordstrom | Similar Cabinet Knobs

We changed out our oval sinks for slightly larger, rectangle sinks, and we are so happy we did! The extra sink space reduced countertop splash.

Lighting

The sconces we selected were the Essex Double Formal in Antique-Burnished Brass with Frosted Glass Shades by Visual Comfort.

Fixtures

I love mixing metals, so I’ve got silver in my chandelier, brass in my sconces, and all of my fixtures are satin nickel. They are all from Nob Hill in Dallas.

• Towel bars and the shower door are from the Lyon Collection by Kartners.
• Sink and tub faucets are from the Alicante line by Sigma.
• Crystal cabinet knobs are the Diamond Cabinet Knobs by Emtek.
• Drawer pulls are Charlie’s Collection Pulls from the Creations Collection by Alno.

Thanks for sharing our joy in this project! We’re so pleased with how it turned out but so happy it’s finished.????????‍♀️???? We lived upstairs for a full three months during the process! While the master bath was remodeled, we had the rest of the house painted. Even with the low VOC paint, the enamel smell was so strong we had to check into a hotel for a few days! Once the master bath was finished, we moved everything out of the master closet, and the painters came back to repaint the bedroom, bath, and closet. Whew! If you follow me on Instagram, you know I’ve been documenting the entire process on my Insta Story!

Next up, the powder bath! That has been a real adventure and way more complicated than it should have been. ???? (If you’ve ever remodeled, you’re nodding in sympathy right now!????) It may finally be finished next week, so I’ll share details with you once it’s complete!