Bathroom of the Week: Vibrant and Glam for a Teenage Girl
A designer elevates the room with a blue vanity, gold fixtures, marble tile and other special touches
This mother of three felt her house was boring, with tired finishes and a liberal use of beige that didn’t suit her vibrant personality. Since two of her children had already left home, she contemplated moving. But with the real estate market unpredictable in her hometown of Alpharetta, Georgia, she decided instead to stay put and refresh her house. She hired designer Reka Jemmott to create a vibrant and elegant feel throughout the home, including in her teenage daughter’s bathroom. The designer elevated the look of the bland space, adding a lovely blue vanity, gold sconces and marble floor tiles to give it an energetic and glam vibe.
After: Jemmott covered up the window to extend the elongated subway backsplash tile to the ceiling. Covering up a window is an unorthodox move, but this one wasn’t doing much for the space and was providing little to no natural light.
“The contractor was able to close up the window with a waterproof membrane, so it still looks like a window from the outside,” Jemmott says. “From the exterior it doesn’t look covered up, it just looks like a window in a room where the lights are off. This allowed us to keep the integrity of the exterior’s brick facade.”
Covering the window allowed Jemmott to balance two inset mirrors flanked by substantial double sconces. “Insetting the mirrors created a more custom look. I framed them in aluminum Schluter strips — the aluminum finish makes this edging just disappear visually,” she says.
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“The contractor was able to close up the window with a waterproof membrane, so it still looks like a window from the outside,” Jemmott says. “From the exterior it doesn’t look covered up, it just looks like a window in a room where the lights are off. This allowed us to keep the integrity of the exterior’s brick facade.”
Covering the window allowed Jemmott to balance two inset mirrors flanked by substantial double sconces. “Insetting the mirrors created a more custom look. I framed them in aluminum Schluter strips — the aluminum finish makes this edging just disappear visually,” she says.
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The biggest dollop of color comes from the vanity. “This is such a beautiful blue-green. It changes with the light,” Jemmott says. She also elevated the space with elegant materials such as Dolomite marble for the hexagonal floor tiles.
To the right is a peek at the door to the shower-toilet room. Jemmott had the hinged door replaced with a pocket door to eliminate the space taken up by the previous door’s swing.
Shop from a curated selection of vanities
To the right is a peek at the door to the shower-toilet room. Jemmott had the hinged door replaced with a pocket door to eliminate the space taken up by the previous door’s swing.
Shop from a curated selection of vanities
The designer broke up the long vanity with a shelf and cabinet doors between the drawers on either end. “This is such a long run of cabinetry that closing it up all the way felt too heavy,” Jemmott says.
Browse bathroom lighting in the Houzz Shop
Browse bathroom lighting in the Houzz Shop
Jemmott chose subway tiles with elongated proportions and a wavy handmade texture for a special look. “I am a big fan of subway tile because it keeps things clean and simple and it’s priced really well,” she says. She also made them special with her choice of grout. “I had fun with the grout color and used a tawny gold that matches the wall sconces,” she says.
Jemmott also had fun with the hardware, using acrylic-and-brass pulls on the drawers and coordinating brass square pulls on the doors. The latter dangle like earrings on the vanity. All the plumbing fixtures are in matte gold.
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Jemmott also had fun with the hardware, using acrylic-and-brass pulls on the drawers and coordinating brass square pulls on the doors. The latter dangle like earrings on the vanity. All the plumbing fixtures are in matte gold.
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The countertops are Compac’s Unique Calacatta. This is a quartz that looks like marble but can withstand makeup stains and water spots.
Not sure where to start on your home project? Learn the basics
Not sure where to start on your home project? Learn the basics
Before: The existing shower-toilet room.
After: Jemmott continued the Dolomite marble hexagonal floor tile and wavy elongated subway tile with tawny gold grout in the space. The clear glass shower door makes the small room feel more open and airy.
An artist friend of the homeowner made this painting for her. The colors were a perfect fit for the space and tie it to the vanity.
An artist friend of the homeowner made this painting for her. The colors were a perfect fit for the space and tie it to the vanity.
The designer also continued the use of tawny gold plumbing fixtures here. She used the floor tiles in the shower niche as an accent. The niche has room for lots of products, which comes in handy when the daughter’s older sibling is home from college.
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More on Houzz
Read more bathroom stories
Browse bathroom photos
Find a local bathroom remodeler
Shop for your bathroom
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: A woman and her teenage daughter
Location: Alpharetta, Georgia
Size: 67 square feet (6.2 square meters)
Designer: Reka Jemmott of Jemm Interiors
Before: The bathroom was located between the daughter’s bedroom and another bedroom. This photo was taken from the doorway of one bedroom looking toward the door to the other. Another door in the center of the wall to the right opened to a separate room that contained the tub-shower and toilet.
The vanity wall was a bit of a hodgepodge with the high window and sections of mirror. “The window wasn’t doing much for the room. It broke up that wall in a weird way and didn’t provide much natural light,” Jemmott says.