Before & After: A Murray Hill Bathroom Goes Modern

After living in their apartment for twelve years, Carrie and Jack felt that the time had come to overhaul their bathroom. They’d tried little, inexpensive fixes over the years, like a new medicine cabinet and new lighting, but nothing made their bathroom feel any less cramped and, with grout stained by years of use and tiles replaced haphazardly over the years, just plain dirty-looking.

So they decided that a full remodel was the way to go, and brought in Aleks, a contractor they found through Sweeten. Although the couple originally debated replacing the fixtures and the tiles in their bathroom with very similar ones, in keeping with the building’s history, eventually they decided on a more modern look. Years before, they had chosen a modern look for their kitchen remodel, and they were really happy with it and felt it worked well for their home. Plus, they were hoping that more streamlined fixtures would help to open up this small space.

Post-remodel, the modernized bathroom feels much bigger, fresher, and cleaner. A new toilet with a smaller profile helps the space seem less crowded. The floor tiles are 12″ x 24″, which means a lot less grout to clean. Carrie and Jack chose 4” x 13” white ceramic tiles for the wall, and opted for a stacked pattern (rather than the more typical running bond), for a more modern look.

Here’s a closeup of the tub corner detail — beautiful, no?

The old sink and its accompanying assortment of higgledy-piggledy niches have been replaced with a new sink cabinet. It has a smaller footprint than the old pedestal sink, but also boasts drawers to keep bathroom sundries out of sight. A new medicine cabinet replaces the old one, which never quite fit in the wall. The crowning glory of the sink area is a new light fixture, which was inspired by midcentury Danish design but fits right in with this contemporary bathroom.

The whole project was completely in an impressive three weeks (!) and Carrie and Jack and their dog Samson are now back in their home and enjoying their new bathroom.

To read more about this renovation and see more photos and sources, visit the project page on Sweeten.