Marble Bathroom Magic
While bathroom trends come and go, nothing is more timeless than marble. And NOTHING makes me happier than a job well done (is that the A-team or Oprah?) and this home is the EPITOME of that, courtesy of Alair Homes.
My clients, Lisa and Brian, were moving from Calgary, Alberta to build a custom home on our beautiful little island. They wanted advice on products, finishes, layout, etc… as well as someone to answer the builder’s questions on-site when they were back home in Calgary – and I was the gal to do it.
Partnering up with Dan, the project manager, we made our way through this new build, bonding over Starbucks, sills, siding, and Schluter strips.
This is one of my favorite bathrooms of all time.
Why?
I’m not a contemporary gal myself, but I can appreciate the simplicity, clean lines, and classic design that were all pulled together with the homeowner’s special touch with accent colour and decor. And while some of these elements could be changed as trends change, the BONES of this bathroom are pretty darn timeless.
Now, there are many amazing parts to this beautiful home (including a wine room UNDER the stairs), but today, I want to start with the primary bathroom (mostly because the amount of editing I still have to do is insane – I may be talented, cute, and modest, but a professional photographer I am not!)
THE BATHROOM LAYOUT
This bathroom boasts a walk-in/walk-out shower, freestanding tub, double vanity, and separate toilet room…
The countertop is Cambria Kirkstead, (it looks yellow on their site…it’s not), which is predominantly white with just weeee tiny speckles in it. It looks beautiful with the gray-painted floating vanity (which has lighting underneath, and I have ZERO photography skills to capture that effect).
Directly across from the double vanity is a wall with towel bars, which is also the back wall of the walk-in/walk-out shower.
To the left, you can see a wink of the freestanding tub. With the natural light shining in, getting a great shot of the tub area with its STUNNING crystal chandelier was challenging.
There, that’s all ya get!
With two shower heads and a rain shower, just TRY not to get wet in this one!
THE TILE CHOICES
We kept things simple by doing two tile styles throughout the entire bathroom. The main large tile is on the shower walls and bathroom floor/baseboards while the hexagon-shaped marble mosaic is in the alcoves, decorative panels behind the faucets, and on the shower floor.
Affordable Ways to Design With Marble
Notice how the hexagon tiles on the faucet wall are finished with a marble pencil edge to separate them from the main tile. They also stop about 12″ shy of the floor. This helps to define the wall/floor areas, so things don’t smoosh together (super technical term, look it up).
THE PAINT COLOR
We wanted a soft, gentle color on the walls, and ended up choosing Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist. This is a super soft, lovely, warm gray with vague purple undertones – perfect with Lisa’s teal accessories.
Here’s the view from the primary bedroom into the bathroom…
There’s MUCH more to come with this beautiful home, but I’m about two weeks and four bottles away from getting it all done, so stay tuned!
READ MORE
An Affordable Marble-Inspired Bathroom
The Ultimate Guide to Choosing White Paint Colors
4 PART SERIES: How to Create a Timeless Home
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What color did you paint the trim in this bathroom? I have Balboa Mist in my bathroom and want to freshen the trim and I was thinking of cloud white but worried that it may look too yellow.
Author
Hi Kate, yes I think Cloud White could be too warm toned, take a look at BM White Dove for a softer look or SW Pure White for a cleaner look!
I have balboa most on walls of small bathroom that gets lots of light.want to paint med oak vanities…but am going crazy with the colors I. Grey.should I go a bit darker….I have Santa Cecelia granite on double vanity.white fixtures and trim..and 20 year old yellow cream floor tiles my husband insists we hold on to..I was thinking collingwood…or maybe a darker like thunder grey for cabs.
Author
Hi Karen! You’ll find with cabinets that they tend to look lighter than you THINK they will once they are all painted, which is important to keep in mind. If you go too light (ie: Collingwood) it could clash with the creamy yellow of your floor tiles…
What color paint is used on the vanity? Hubby and I are doing a total house refresh. We chose Balboa Mist for the entire home. Is the vanity also painted with Balboa Mist?
Author
Hi Crystal, that’s actually a pre-fab cabinet colour!
Hi, love this wall colour! What paint was used on vanity? It looks slightly darker than the walls. Very classy.
Author
Hi Sonny, thank you! That was actually a pre-fab colour by the cabinet company! Somewhat similar to SW Dorian Gray, but warmer…
Hi Kylie,
I keep coming back to this bathroom over and over again – Gorgeous! I have similar taupey purply marble tile with oak cabinets in Master Bath and painted the walls Pale Oak. Something feels off (too warm? fleshy? esp next to my Chelsea Gray MBR) and I couldn’t put my finger on it until I bought some Restoration HW Charcoal and Mist color towels, then BAM it hit me…I really should have chosen Balboa Mist instead. Are these colors different enough to make a repaint worth it? Trim, doors, ceiling are White Dove. South West facing exposure. Thank you!
Beautiful! You are very talented!
Does Balboa Mist work well with orange tone wood doors and trim.? Also natural cherry furniture? Does it downplay the orange?
How about agreeable gray? Or with marble does it have to be a true gray?
Author
Hi Ashley, it can depend on the marble! I’ve seen some marble look pretty with Agreeable, but USUALLY the prefer a cooler or slighlty more blue/purple/green gray :). If you have northern exposure it can help as Agreeable often looks slightly gray-blue in northern light.
Love the marble, creates a nice upscale look when done tastefully.
Love the bathroom! Everything about it. What is your opinion on polished vs matte tile on bath floors? Polished looks beautiful, but is it too slippery in a family bath? Going with Statuary porcelain tile, deciding between polished vs matte.
Thank you!
Ann D.
Author
Hi Ann, PERSONALLY, I don’t love polished tiles with SOCK FEET. While bare feet seem okay, it’s the socks that make me nervous. Generally speaking, shiny tile is often a bit more glam looking.
Hi,
Thank you for posting . You’re so cute! Would you know the tile color/name? Which hexagon marble?
Thanks.
Shari
Hello! So beautiful! What color did you use on the bedroom walls? TIA
Author
Ahhh, that’s Benjamin Moore Collinwood with Asphalt as a feature wall!