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A Bathroom Makeover With Dark Gray Tile

This latest before & after comes from one of our neighbors to the north, Kahley from Ontario, Canada. She and her husband Steve revamped their home’s only bathroom. And in the process proved that going dark and sophisticated can still be bright and airy. Here’s her letter:

We are a young family of four – me, my husband, and our kids Noah (4) and Lexie (2). The only bathroom in our house dated back the 1950’s, so it was HIGH TIME to reno! 

Kahley Before 1

Since it was our only bathroom, we wanted it to be insanely multi-purpose. We needed a tub AND shower, some closet space, a dirty laundry area, lots of concealed storage, etc etc etc!

Kahley After 1

I had the color (BJ Moore “Gray”) picked from the beginning. These built-ins were created according to plans that I developed. Above you can see the shower curtain that I made myself from some discount fabric in the women’s “suiting” area at Fabricland. The fun striped roman blinds were made by Tonic Living in Toronto. The accent color that I chose in the end was a golden mustard yellow. The towels are from Sears!

Kahley After 2

Here’s the bttom view of our vanity. I fell in LOVE with an oh so unaffordable vanity at Pottery Barn (they used to have a larger double version that was amazing) – so I had it built for THOUSANDS less.

Kahley After 3

Here’s what I like to call sexy tile!! I believe it’s a Centura tile (it’s an enlarged subway tile – 4″x12″ – in a high gloss gray finish). It feels oh so chic. Now if only I could have done a walk in shower (oh the joys of only having one bathroom, and children to bathe!). Anyway, thanks for checking out our bathroom makeover. I hope you love it! – xo, Kahl

Kahley After 4

We’re not sure what we like more – all of the function they added (a set of built-ins on either side of the shower) or the brave color choices (dark gray tile and a gray ceiling). So we’ll just choose to love them both equally. How about you? What’s your favorite part? Oh and you can read more about the project over on Kahley’s blog.

Psst – Got your own awesome before & after project? Send your story, pics, and related links to [email protected] to be considered for a possible Reader Redesign feature. You know we love a makeover.

Comments

  9. Elizabeth says

    Those colors are courageous and turned out beautifully! My husband would die for this bathroom. He can’t convince me to go dark, but this might be a step in the right direction for me. :) Looks great!

    Reply

  11. Kirsten says

    I die!!!

    LOVE how they made this work on their budget but without sacrificing not only on function but style as well!

    Inspirational!

    Reply

  13. Paula says

    I assumed I couldn’t go dark in our second bathroom because it’s so tiny, but this proves me wrong! bea-u-ti-ful!

    Reply

    • Pamela says

      Paula, something I read from a designer that made so much sense: he mentioned that a small bathroom doesn’t necessarily need to “look larger” with lighter color (since visually “appearing” larger doesn’t increase the actual s.f./usability anyway!), but to embrace the smallness & make it the most gorgeous small room possible – a “jewel box.” Sounds good to me! Go for your dark, beautiful 2nd bathroom!

  19. Julie says

    What a gorgeous redo! I would have never considered the mustard yellow, but it looks great! How bold and beautiful. Great job, Kahley!

    Reply

  20. Kahley says

    HEY EVERYONE! It’s ME Kahley! First off – THANK YOU SHERRY & JOHN for this amazing feature! I am OVER THE MOON, to say the least!! I also want to let everyone know I am planning to comb through all of the questions above – as well as all of the ones on my blog – and answer each and everyone one of them sometime in the next few days. I will likely post a separate blog to answer all of your questions!

    To answer one question that seems to keep popping up: What did we do when our only bathroom was out of commission!!? We peed outside. I kid I kid. Well..sort of… ;) We DO live in the middle of nowhere so we were able to do that a little! But my hubby’s mama lives just across the field so we showered and bathed the kids there every night, and used her bathroom when it was urgent (lol) We scooted down there a lot on the 4 wheeler!
    Thanks again EVERYONE for the amazing comments. I am absolutely thrilled. Stay tuned on my blog for an update on the hardwood refinishing in our Family Room!
    John & Sherry – you rock. Period. :):)

    Reply

  25. kaylan says

    it’s impossible to pick a favorite aspect… but that’s probably because dark grey and mustard yellow are my absolute favorite colors. it’s just so beautiful.

    Reply

  26. karen says

    looks awesome. love that grey tile and the cabinets!!
    i would put the shower curtain a little higher…about the height of the window frame.

    Reply

  27. Rebecca says

    I love dark color schemes for bathrooms!

    Someone I know has a bathroom with a black toilet and sink, and a dark slate shower, and it looks sooooo classy!

    I like the contrast in this one with the white casework and wainscoting!

    Reply

  28. Stephanie Szusz says

    That’s my BFF – I’m so proud of her!! She has a God given talent and ability that constantly blows my mind!! SO PROUD OF YOU KAHLEY!!! xoxo

    Reply

  32. Kristi @ Addicted 2 Decorating says

    Wow! Absolutely stunning! There’s no way I could choose a favorite thing. That striped Roman shade is so striking, the vanity with the basket storage is exactly what I want in my own tiny bathroom, and that dark gray tile is simply amazing. I also love that the color was carried onto the ceiling. Beautiful job!

    Reply

  34. Sarah says

    We just re-did our very small only-bathroom-in-the-house too. But we were super brave and despite having a 2 and a 3 year old we took out the bath and put in a large walk in shower with a frameless shower screen to give a sense of space. We have a wall hung vanity and wall hung tall narrow cupboard for storage – wall-hung to increase the sense of space.
    Anyhoo…my point is that we ditched the bath and the kids are still clean and happy and we have a walk in shower! Win-Win!!! They just puddle round in the shower or we fill up a couple of laundry trubs for them to have a bath in.

    Reply

  35. Di says

    The whole room is wonderful, I love the gray and yellow. But I have to say the painted gray ceiling is my favorite! I have hated white ceilings forever and every time I paint I am told over and over, “But ceilings are SUPPOSED to be white!” They look at me like I have three heads! Kudos for the fabulous room!

    Reply

  36. Steph Stimson says

    Wow, just gorgeous! I painted my main bath a safe medium grey but seeing this with the white trim makes me want to get bold! Thanks for sharing!!!!

    Reply

  38. Regan @ RenovatingRothenbergers says

    I love the daring gray color! The larger subway tile is fantastic too.
    Our house only has one bathroom like their house and I’m wondering what they did while they were remodeling. That’s our biggest concern with starting the bathroom remodel – what we’re going to use in the meantime! Fantastic job Kahley!

    Reply

  44. Heather S says

    What a fabulous Bathroom make over! I love the greys ceiling and the subway tile in the dark grey! Very lovely bathroom.

    We redid our bathroom this year (over new years weekend), but we still have a few small touch up and crown molding to install. It’s not exactly completed to satisfaction, but so much better than what we started with. The best photos are at the end of the page on this link (we tiled the hallway infront of the bathroom too) so you’ll have to scroll down.

    Reply

  46. Lux says

    Beautiful. I love brick tile in both bathrooms and back splashes. I also adore charcoal paired with chartreuse or mustard. Great job!

    Reply

  48. Kasey March says

    Just ran over to Kahley’s blog to see more pictures (the picture of Kahley tucked into the tub is adorable.

    This is an amazing before and after. John & Sherry thank you for sharing. I love that you brought reader re-designs back!

    Reply

  49. Erin says

    Kahley did a great job! Having kiddos and one bathroom myself, I loved her color scheme because it was both sophisticated and will keep everything looking fresh despite hands on the wall(s), scrapes, dings, and everything else kids can do to a room. Really great after. :)

    Reply

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