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Creative director Brady Tolbert has a lot of ideas, but perhaps more importantly, he has plenty of patience. Ever since he and his partner Jason bought a light-filled midcentury property in the Los Angeles hills a couple of years ago, they’ve been slowly fixing it up one room at a time. Eventually, it became the guest bathroom’s turn.
It was clear someone had renovated the space recently, but the finishes seemed as though they were picked off a checklist, not a vision board. “They used builder-grade materials: oversized tile, a glass vessel sink, and sliding glass shower doors,” Tolbert says. “It lacked any real personality, and the layout wasn’t functioning as well as it could have been.” Because this space also acts as a powder room, all their visitors end up seeing it. Tolbert wanted the sight to be memorable.
“This was the smallest, and honestly, the least exciting room in the house,” he says. “But now, it’s one of my favorites.” Here’s how he created a plan that ensured his patience would pay off.
Simplify the Layout
Despite its cramped footprint, the original bathroom had a lot going on. There was a shower-tub spanning one wall with a toilet defining another, plus a frosted window that was awkwardly off-center. Not to mention the teeny vanity felt like it was crammed in the corner. And because of the visual competition between the black-and-white checkered floor and the glossy gray backsplash, even the style felt disjointed. Tolbert aimed to simplify it all.
“It felt like the right space to take a few risks while still keeping the functionality really tight,” he says. The goal: make it feel like a boutique hotel bathroom meets a warm, modern mid-century bungalow.
First, they removed the existing shower-tub, toilet, and vanity. Next, they completely covered up one of the doors that led to the entryway, and converted the other into a pocket door to save space. Then, he replaced the window.
Tolbert didn’t think the project would take longer than two weeks, but the old home had other plans. “We ran into a few unexpected issues rerouting plumbing, moving electrical, and oh yeah, discovering a beehive behind a wall that was oozing honey,” he says. Once that was finally cleaned up, he was left with a new layout where a walk-in shower, vanity, and toilet all stemmed from the same wall.
Take the Tiles to the Top
Because the guest bathroom reno had fallen down on Tolbert’s to-do list, it benefitted from the creativity that often comes with time. One of those brilliant ideas that came to him during the waiting period was the mosaic zellige tile (it reminded him of colors he’d seen in Porto, Portugal). For an elevated touch, Tolbert decided to wrap the walls beyond the shower in the shiny amber squares, too, saving a geometric pattern for the floor. “It made the room feel taller and more dramatic without needing to add visual clutter with decor,” he says. His last bit of advice for this type of install? “Make sure the grout color supports the tile rather than competes with it,” he adds.
To complement the all-over tiles, the creative ordered a floor-to-ceiling shower glass divider and an extra-tall mirror that reflect the glossy amber palette and makes the postcard-size space feel a bit more grand.
Create Your Own Vanity
Tolbert didn’t want a standard vanity for this bathroom (most off-the-shelf ones would have taken up precious space) but he also didn’t have the budget to build something fully custom. “I began searching for nightstands instead,” he says. “I found out that proportionally, they’re the perfect size for a single vanity and a lot more affordable to purchase than a custom wood vanity in the same size.”
The winner came in the form of a solid oak Lulu and Georgia piece. Step one of the transformation was retrofitting its two drawers for plumbing and electrical (psst: there are outlets inside, perfect for plugging in a hair dryer). Tolbert then drew up plans for a bespoke sink, picked out a heavily veined slab of Calacatta Viola, and had a local fabricator cut it to his specifications. “I chose this particular nightstand because the height allowed for a 12-inch apron front on the sink, which really shows off the marble and makes it feel custom,” Tolbert adds.
The wall-mounted faucet gives the stone its due. As a finishing touch, Tolbert installed dimmers for the sconces above to fill the room with a soft, enveloping glow. This guest bath finally got its spotlight.