New Bathroom: Adding on an Ensuite Master Bathroom
In this post: If you’d like to do a new bathroom remodel but have absolutely no space for an ensuite bath, sometimes the easiest option is an add-on.⇒
I’m willing to bet most of you don’t have a staircase in the bathroom.
Yeah, I didn’t think so. Have you ever felt like one of your rooms was so bad that if they held a contest for the worst room, yours would win hands down? That was my master bath. No… really.
You see, we DID have a stairway in the bathroom, and it was not because it was a huge bath with access to a spa or related area. In fact, the room was so tiny, it’s hard to imagine it could even be called a room. It certainly didn’t have a bath tub.
Clearly, this closet-sized bathroom had been added to the house and the staircase must’ve been redirected to make room for it. Or perhaps only the staircase was added and it cut into the original bath. Either way, an optimal master bathroom layout was not on the builder’s mind. The stairway went up to the attic and was covered by an accordion door. There was a tiny shower and the tile, sink and mirror were original from the 1940’s. And of course, the pipes were on an exterior wall and froze every winter, unless we kept the water trickling.
Yep, I think I win.
It was from this vantage point that I approached our master bath remodel. I’d always wanted a spa bath or at least a reasonably nice master bathroom and there was absolutely no way to turn this little postage-stamp room into anything more than a commode and shower unless I gave up my bedroom itself.
We thought long and hard about it and after consulting with an architect, finally realized to get what we wanted, we’d have to build out. Directly beneath the exterior bedroom wall was a long narrow sunroom and we could feasibly build a master bath over that room.
We were limited on space as the sunroom was only 9 feet wide but it was lightyears bigger than our existing bathroom and with a little creative layout design, we were able to fit in everything that mattered to us. That included a double sink, a roomy stall shower and nice full-sized spa tub.
The centerpiece of this bath is the jacuzzi tub, encircled with Jerusalem marble tile. Yes, I know free-standing pedestal tubs are the current trend, but if you really want to relax in the bath, having a place to light candles and prop a glass of wine become non-negotiable imperatives.
I love to decorate with words and the gilded letters over the tub spell out exactly what this room is about.
Across from the tub we put the double vanity, in a dry mid-toned maple with bead trim. The vanity drawers provide ample storage to keep the room functional and organized. Two medicine cabinets sit above the sinks because it drives me crazy that no one uses them anymore. It’s the most convenient place to keep often used cosmetics and I continue to use them in all my baths.
On my vanity counter I like to keep antique pieces that are both functional and beautiful. Q-tips rest in a silver toothpick holder and cotton balls reside in a crystal cosmetic jar. Soaps from Rancé in a vintage crystal canister add a note of pedigree and a pretty scent.
A lovely classic sconce is like jewelry for the room and rests between the two medicine cabinets over the sinks.
One of several storage cabinets in the space features an exposed marble shelf, a convenient place to display perfumes or cosmetics.
I spent a good bit of time picking out the marble tile and settled on a creamy Jerusalem stone with a slight pink tint for the wall tiles and tumbled travertine, with its no-slip attribute, for the floor.
One of my favorite aspects of the bath are the iridescent glass tiles that highlight the space. They were utilized as a border around the walls and were dropped into the floor tile pattern, as well.
The details are what take a space from ordinary to special. I never realized how excited I could get about a shower door handle.
It’s not always possible to find an easy place to build out, but if you have a first floor room with nothing over it, it makes an extension that much easier. I was so delighted with the way this room came out that it became my favorite place to go to relax.
What could be more soothing than an aromatic bath with a cup of tea and flickering candles? I do, of course, include relaxing music as part of the ritual, as well.
All that and there’s no stairway to contend with either!
(If you’d like to see our master bath makeover in our new townhouse, you can visit that post here: New Bathroom Makeover)
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I love the bath. It’s beautifully done and I would love to have it!!!
Thanks Ellie! Thanks for visiting, as well… 🙂
Absolutely gorgeous! I love all of the little vintage accessories and the soft creamy colours.
Jennelise
Thank you so much, Jennelise! When I think of moving this is the room I’d miss the most – enough so, that it might be the thing that makes us stay here… 🙂
Simply lovely….love the RELAX…I’m a big fan of words…calm and soothing and well done…N.
Thanks so much, Nella! Yes, I really enjoy letters and words, too. Thanks so much for visiting!
Beautiful, Lory! Elegant and relaxing. We have the claw foot, but it was a mistake. The jacuzzi tub is in my son’s bathroom, lol. We re-did our master bath 12 years ago – I am miserable with some of the choices, and yet, it’s too expensive to re-do it all. A year ago we talked about re-doing some of it, and then, I couldn’t decide whether it was worth it. I think it’s time!
Thanks so much, Amy! It’s funny – we all make some mistakes that are too expensive to un-do. I have a sofa in my den that I’ve wanted to get rid of since the day it arrived. Now I’m finally ready! I think the thing I realize now is that it’s a mistake to listen to other people. Only you know what you can live with and when other people talk to me about practicality or what’s good for re-sale value, I know I’m headed for trouble. The claw foots are quite pretty, though. But if you really use the tub, it’s nice to have a place to put things nearby. Perhaps a little table next to it? Thanks for stopping by!
What a beautiful space! You have the perfect sign for it! I really liked the container where you store your cotton balls. So, Old World and classy! I also love the little nook for your perfumes. It’s perfect!
Thanks, Maria! I think it’s my favorite room in the house… 😉
gorgeous. What else can be said except Gorgeous. Thanks tons for linking to Inspire Me.
Thanks, Marty!
Your bath looks beautiful! We used a very similar accent tile for our pool. Thank you for partying at THT!
Thanks so much, Pamela!!
Lory, this is such a beautiful space! The details are so lovely. Thank you for sharing. You are one of the features today at the Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. Here is the link to this week’s party. http://www.thededicatedhouse.com/2015/01/make-it-pretty-monday-week-125.html Hope to see you again at the bash! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
Oh, thank you so much, Kathryn! I really appreciate the feature so much!! Thanks for hosting… 🙂
Your bathroom is beautiful. I love the calming colors. I would like to know where you got your faucets I have been hoping the chrome and brass mix would come back, I have these now but they need replacing. Thanks
Thanks Tifnay! The faucets are from a place called Hardware Designs in Fairfield NJ. I believe they are Milo, but the key thing is the custom finish – satin nickel and the S rope escutcheons are PVD brass. Thanks for stopping by… 🙂
This is exactly what I want to do for our Master renovation….I love everything about this! Well done❤️
Everyone needs a sanctuary! Yours is lovely and you can escape from stress. FYI…leave your phone in the kitchen so you won’t be tempted to work! Enjoy! ?
Love that idea! I started leaving my computer downstairs this year, so I wouldn’t wake up and start working immediately… 😉
Lory—
Your new ensuite is just beautiful—timeless and classic. I love how you use such pretty containers for all your everyday supplies. I believe little details like that can elevate our daily lives. Enjoy your new space!!
Thank you, Carol! I so agree about using pretty things to elevate our daily lives!!
No photo of the tiny bath with the stairway?
I know! I wish I had one. It would be really hard to believe. I can look back through my old photos. I know I have a video of my daughter when she was younger standing in there. There’s hardly room for anyone else in the room!!
Your bath is wonderful and definitely relaxing is the right word! Absolutely adore the little antique perfume bottle since I have a small collection myself. Wish I had chosen a medicine cabinet but went with hanging mirrors!
Thanks for the peek inside your bath! or Spa retreat!
Thank you, Vicki! With the right size linen closet I can see foregoing the medicine cabinets, but I do still think they’re very convenient over the sink. I have a few more baths to work on and may just do hanging mirrors in my daughter’s bath. What I really don’t like (and I still have them in two bathrooms) is those large flat mirrors with no frame that builders typically use. I can’t wait to get rid of the ones I have left… 🙂
So pretty! I love it! My medicene cabinet also has a framed mirror look. The inside of the door is also mirrored and that’s a big plus since I can get close to the mirror without leaning over! When we moved into our house, the medicene cabinet was on the wall opposite the sink and there was a wall to wall mirror behind the sink and toilet. I thnk that was supposed to make the room seem bigger but storage was a problem. I couldn’t build on so I put in a bigger vanity with drawers and took the wall to wall mirror down. The pretty framed medicene cabinet is over the sink and I put in a small towel bar for hand towels over the toilet. I took out the old small medicene chest, and the towel rack below it, and patched the wall. The new shower door “handle” holds bath towels. The room is still small but it’s pretty and functional!
I like the changes you made. It sounds like you really did the best thing for your space. I’m definitely not a fan of those wall to wall mirrors and we still have two of them left. Those are next on the list of renovations to do. All in good time… 😉
Oh for a master bath! No matter how hard I might try, there’s no room in our small house to add one. But we did redo our main bath last year which is a small 7×8 space. We removed the combo tub and shower and replaced it with a walk in shower. It may not be a romantic space but the patterned floor tiles give it a bit of a modern country look.
Remember the days when a whole family shared one bathroom?
I always say I’d rather a smaller beautiful space than a larger space I don’t love. Your main bath sounds lovely!!
This is beautiful! I have similar accessories in my bath- a vintage creamer and sugar set hold my cotton balls and a-tips! Thank you for all your beautiful posts and decorating ideas!
Thank you, Michelle! I do love my vintage accessories… 🙂 I have another bathroom post coming later this week on our townhouse bath. Even more vintage in that one.
So glad you got to have your larger bath. However not having a separate potty room would be a must for me.
Thanks! And that’s pretty interesting. I do have one in our townhouse master bath, but I must admit, I never shut the door. The bathroom door, yes, but not the little potty door. Do you close yours?
I love the counter top. Such a calming color. Great Choice.
Thanks so much, Elizabeth!
Really a lovely functional bath, I personally don’t like the HUGE bathrooms, that you would probably get a chill in—and I prefer a cocoon type feel. Your room is welcoming and will withstand the test of time. Great REDO!
Thanks so much!!
Beautiful relaxing spot. I can definitely relate to your “before” situation. My 100+ year old home has bathrooms the size of very small closets, not even large enough for vanities! Not much room for any vintage accessories however most of the existing fixtures are vintage so there is an element of charm.
There you go! It’s true, you can’t beat the charm of an old home.