You’re in for a treat! For my first in-depth look at a customer’s renovation journey, I am spotlighting one of my favorite bathroom transformations. Follow along as I walk you through the steps of transforming this mini master bath from eek! to chic.

This client and her husband bought their 1960s Florida ranch home a few years before they contacted me. They had already updated the rest of their house and finally got around to the last eyesore: their master bath.

After being stuck with its tacky, peeling wallpaper (it turned out to have two more layers underneath, each more hideous than the next!) and outdated, grimy shower during the Covid lockdown, they reached out to me for help. And, boy, did they need it.

Check out the before picture below (note: it’s not for the faint of heart).

Besides needing a total design overhaul, this mini master bath had other challenges. The shower needed to be revamped to accommodate the client’s physical needs, the space needed to be utilized for more storage, and the client was working with a small budget. They also wanted to keep the existing vanity and flooring. The last challenge was making the bathroom as cute and charming as its owner, my sister, Andrea.

After we sat down for the initial (free) first consultation, I got to work curating the mood board for this project. This bathroom turned out to be a fun challenge because I had to work around the fixtures the client wanted to keep: the oak vanity, countertop, and flooring.

I moved forward with optimism. I started with Andrea’s favorite color palette: turquoise. The concept really started to come together once I found the teal penny tile. You don’t want to use too much teal or turquoise because it is such a bright color so I kept it to the shower and small vanity accessories.

When curating a design, I like to use something inspiring or personal that I know about the client and run with it even if it’s a bright thing because you can always tone it down with other colors

I decided to go with a soft pink for the walls. I didn’t want to scare her husband James with too much girly pink, so I found a color called “intimate white” by Sherwin Williams. It’s a great pink that most men would be comfortable with. It creates a lovely contrast with the turquoise.

Once I had the contrasting colors chosen, the rest fell into place. I searched for retro-styled lighting and contrasted gold with black hardware fixtures because I enjoy juxtaposing two metals together. I thought the matte black knobs and faucet would look the best on the existing oak vanity. That led to choosing the shower curtain to tie everything together and create a clean, cohesive look. 

Andrea had some physical needs so I designed floating shelves to make things easier to reach and keep things organized. I recommended the floor of the shower be brought up so she didn’t have to step down as far and added a matte black grab bar. I also made sure the detachable shower arm was within her reach.

Here is the moodboard I presented to Andrea. She loved it.

Once Andrea approved the design choices, I ordered supplies and put the project in the capable hands of my chosen contractor, Dan Jenkins of Jenkins Design and Build. He and his team did a beautiful job and he even personally handcrafted the floating shelves to blend with the oak vanity. They also added an LED can light to the shower to brighten everything up.

Watch his video of the finished project here.

Finished Project Gallery

AFTER

Last step: time for finishing touches. I took Andrea to Target to pick out several new items to pull together the modern boho Florida vibe we were going for. We decided on a multi-colored braided rug, plush terracotta towels, a shiny teal toothbrush holder, and a gold leaf soap holder. The next day I dropped by World Market and chose a few pictures, wicker baskets, and greenery to put everything together. I helped set up everything until we both agreed it was perfect.

I enjoyed helping my sis create a bathroom she loved, that matched the rest of her design style, and was easy for her to use.

Customer Perspective

Here’s what Andrea had to say about her curated design experience:

“Hiring Jayme Jenkins Design was a no-brainer. Not just because she’s my sister, but because she has the two most important qualities of an interior designer: a sharp, artistic eye and an empathetic ear. She didn’t push “her” design ideas, but listened to mine and took special care in figuring out how to make my shower area more disability-friendly (it’s now so easy to step into and use). She also did an amazing job working within my teacher-salary budget.

When she showed me the mood board I was blown away. It was exactly the look I was going for. I especially love the mirror and lighting she picked out. The rain shower head is a luxurious upgrade to the basic shower head it used to have. Jayme transformed the space into the bright, chic-boho bathroom of my dreams.

It was also a joy to work with her contractor, Jenkins Design and Build. Its owner, Dan, is very meticulous and produces beautiful, quality work. When we encountered some unexpected snags like three layers of wallpaper, an air conditioning duct that led to nowhere, and some old pipes, he took the time to make sure everything was up to code and finished properly. “