Mar 01, 2023

Casa Cortes Modern Boho Master Bathroom Remodel Before and After

This is my very first blog post and I thought what better way to kick it off by sharing about our recent master bath remodel at Casa Cortés.

We started out having a portion of the project done in mid 2021 with replacing our kitchen countertops, sink and faucet along with the master bath and kid's bath countertops, sinks and faucets as well.

We worked with a local company, KG Stevens who were wonderful. They came out to measure everything and go through the options with us. In the end we selected Minuet LG Viatera Quartz for the counters, Kohler Purist widespread bathroom sink faucets with lever handles in Vibrant Polished Nickel and Kohler Caxton rectangular undermount sinks. We were excited! That part of the bathroom was completed and we knew at some point we would finish the rest.

Fast forward to fall of 2022 and we were finally ready to take on having the rest of our bathroom done. We debated doing it ourselves, but my husband works a very demanding job, usually 50+ hours per week with some travel so his free time is pretty limited. Extra time he does have is always spent with our five children. For myself, I run a small business making and selling agate home décor, raising these five gorgeous children, homeschooling them all and making as much of our food/meals from scratch as I can. I would love to share all that I do for that subject, but will save it for another blog post!

Before photo from the day we moved into the house.

As you can see it was a very "builder beige" plain standard bathroom built in 2005.

Before photo from the day we moved into the house.

Like most people, we made it work for a while

Like most people, we made it work for a while. When a floor is a less then desirable color/material, simply cover it with a rug. I chose to go with a black and white scheme as to stay neutral and try not to clash with the existing finishes. It did help to brighten things a bit! Also a bit of greenery with faux OR real plants is always a win in my book.

Fake it 'til you make it!

Cluttered mess when all 7 of us had to share when my husband took on redoing the floors in the kid's bath.

the timing was finally right

By October of 2022, we decided it was time to start getting quotes to hire a general contractor to do the work for us. We were fortunate to find Stephenson Contracting, LLC out of Wales, WI to take on the project. The owner, Carter Stephenson, is a true professional and communicated every detail necessary to our remodel and is very knowledgeable about construction. Finding a decent and good contractor can be daunting. We lucked out and were given his name to us from a local handyman that we knew from one of our Facebook groups.

The job began this past mid January and is now just about complete as we get into March. The longest lead time item being the frameless glass shower enclosure from a local company, Bob's Glass. I am hoping by the beginning of April, it will be fully done and ready to take a shower in!

My design goal was to create an oasis for my husband and I with a modern boho style design. We wanted a fun vibe as well, since our five young kiddos will want to be using the shower & tub since it's all brand new.

We looked at several tub options and ultimately decided on the Luna Acrylic Double Ended Freestanding Tub Package. It is a gorgeous, minimalist style design that comes in 59" long which we desperately needed to fit in the space we had. We were working within about 64" give or take and I was worried that any of the typical standard 60" sizes out there wouldn't work well. I also wanted a decent looking cushion on both sides so it wouldn't appear scrunched in there. The cost also played into that decision with Vintage Tub & Bath being very reasonably priced! And made in America!

Since writing this post, we use it now weekly and I absolutely love it! It is comfortable and so relaxing! Our kids love using it as well for bath time, it's easy for me to reach them and help them with washing their hair. I love the handheld portion which came with the faucet package, this helps greatly not only for rinsing my girls' hair, but for when it's time to clean the tub. I highly recommend!

After Photo 1

After Photo 2 (Mirrormate Matte Black mirror frame to be added soon!)

After Photo 3 - Glass to be installed in a few weeks.

Kohler Purist Faucet in Polished Nickel with straight lever handles.

Minuet LG Viatara Quartz

Gorgeous Uma Agate Wall Hanging from yours truly in color: Terracotta.

Updated photo showing the glass installed!

Frameless glass shower enclosure.

Overall the project took about 5 months with 3 months of that being design work. I am my hardest client! I have my Bachelor of Arts in Interior Design and worked almost 14 years in the commercial field. I had done smaller projects on the side for family when design assistance was needed. We even designed our brand new construction home in Orange Park, FL when we lived there from December 2016 to April 2018 for my husband's job relocation. But tackling this proved to be a bit more of a challenge as we have the existing aesthetic of our home to keep in mind. We have doors, trim, mouldings, casework that we will not be redoing any time soon, or if ever so this was something I had to work with. I wanted a timeless design that reflects us as a family and nothing too crazy or expensive. We had a budget of $25k and we ended up going over by $1k, so really, not too bad.

With this project wrapping up, we'll be moving onto some other things, like replacing our old generation one Trexx deck that is literally peeling apart with concrete. The concrete will be a nice change as it will allow our yard to feel larger and last longer.

Then after that, we will do some minor changes to the kid's bath!