After: large-format tile running from the new tub up the sloped ceiling

Salmon Creek Kids' Bathroom Refresh

Salmon Creek, Vancouver, WA

1 / 3

Project Overview

While we were rebuilding the primary bathroom in this Salmon Creek home, the kids' bathroom needed a refresh, not a rebuild. When the old tile came off, we found the same spot-bonded installation as in the master bath.

We installed a new tub, retiled to the ceiling with large-format porcelain, and added two glass mosaic niches, new fixtures and a new toilet, in about 100 square feet.

The Challenge

The kids' bathroom layout worked well, so the plan was a refresh: new tile, a new tub and new fixtures without moving anything.

Once the old tile was off, we found the same problem as in the primary bathroom. The original builder had set the tile with spot bonding, a few dabs of mortar per tile instead of full coverage. That leaves hollow pockets behind the tile, and in a tub-shower it gives water a path into the wall. This bathroom hadn't been damaged yet, but it would have been only a matter of time.

During: old tile removed, showing spot-bonded mortar dabs behind the tub-shower, Salmon Creek kids' bathroom — Before

After: tub-shower with a brushed-nickel handheld shower under a sloped ceiling — After

The Solution

After: brushed-nickel handheld shower, valve trim and tub spout on the tiled wall, Salmon Creek kids' bathroom

After: view from the tub toward the doorway, with large-format floor tile and tiled baseboards

We installed a new white apron-front tub, then replaced the tile and set every piece with full mortar coverage, the way it should have been done the first time. Large-format stone-look porcelain now runs from the tub all the way up the sloped ceiling, set vertically to make the room feel taller.

Two recessed niches above the tub hold shampoo and soap, each backed with a glass mosaic in clear, frosted and amber tones that brings a little sparkle to the neutral tile. New brushed-nickel fixtures (a handheld shower on a wall bracket, the valve trim and the tub spout) finish the shower. Matching large-format tile with tiled baseboards carries across the floor, and a new toilet completes the room.