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it's absolutely stunning! I know a bathroom is overwhelming. Great job!

Beautiful, but not terribly art deco...

Very nice transformation!

I plan on installing marble for my small bathroom. Please let me know if you have any secrets for keeping it clean. You've got a bit more than I will!

Good work! Your bathrooms are gorgeous. Do you mind me asking what it cost in materials and labor to do it?

Whoops! I started off thinking the "before" photos were "after" photos! There I was thinking "there's no accounting for taste" :-)

Very beautiful, I too would love to get a ballpark budget for each bathroom - I have three of my own to do at some point and don't dare even think of the price.

I love clawfoot tubs

I love the clean lines and tile! I think it's a classic look that will be chic for a long time. Beautiful tub!

I thought the first one was the new look. I actually cried for you. Then I relaxed when I realized it was the Before pic.

Can I bathe in your tub?

Beautiful transformation! I love the little windows at the end of the tub. With all that beneath-sink storage, I would have preferred to see some authentic Deco mirrors above the sinks. Small point in the grand scheme, though. And it is grand!

Where did you get your shower enclosure doors? I've been searching all over for resources for our bathroom reno.

Ditto Minty03- would love resource for shower enclosure.
Perfect bathroom.

I am going to be honest -- while I think these are very good bathroom renos, I think that except for the office bathroom, they are not in keeping with the historical period and place you were aiming for -- i.e., art deco in Miami.

I used to work in heritage conservation, advising people on just such house renovations, so I am probably pickier than most. To me at least, he masterbath looks and feels more New York than Miami, and not deco at all.

For starters, clawfoot bathtubs grew out of favour in the 1930's -- the walled-in tubs in the before pictures were most likely the original tubs -- they came to be seen as more hygenic. If you wanted a free-standing tub, there are other models available that are stylistically more appropriate.

The tilework and dark cabinetry, as well as the fittings, are also not evocative of the deco period, which in Miami was particularly characterized by bright coloured tiles and an emphasis on curves (I am guessing here, but your house is probably art moderne, which is a bit different from art deco -- more simplified lines, less detailing than true deco, which was quite high-end and elaborate).

One approach would have been to scour architectural salvage sources for the authentic pieces, or to evoke the era but not try to make it look period -- for example, use modern tiles in similar colours, but perhaps different shapes (i.e., square tiles), and clearly modern fixtures, albeit rounded, celebrating and emphasizing the rounded shapes of the period.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the comments and for letting me share! I love Apartment Therapy; it's a great source of inspiration for me so it's great to be featured here.

Regarding the "not art deco" comments - if you read my letter, I never said we were trying to create art deco bathrooms. What I said is that we bought an old art deco house. Unfortunately, as you can see from the photos, the original art deco tile work was covered by some hideous mottled '60s tile. The original colors were blue and peach, and if I ever post the photos from the rest of the house, you'll see the art deco influences elsewhere. We did, however, try to create bathrooms that were clean and contemporary, with some retro touches such as the art deco sconces in the master as well as the ceiling lights (which are not pictured), the fixtures and the sink vanities in the other bathrooms. I did try to use classic subway tile and hexes in the hall bathroom, however my installer wanted to charge me an insane amount since it would take a lot of work to completely straighten the walls to "make it look good" as he put it. Anyway, it was cheaper to install marble than subway tile, as crazy as that sounds.

So this leads me to answering the questions regarding the cost of the renovations. It is a bit difficult to break out because we renovated the whole house and we used the same labor pool to do it so their labor costs are hard to break out. Also, keep in mind that we had to install central A/C, all new electrical, copper piping and new walls, so our cost is much higher than most bathroom renovations would cost. With those caveats in mind, the royal ice marble that we used came in 18" x 18" squares which we then had cut in half an installed in a brick pattern. So those pieces and the Thassos ran $7-9/sq ft. The larger the piece, the less expensive it was. The marble mosaics (including the floor) ran from $12-15/sq ft. The glass mosaic was $25/sq ft but we had a lot left over from a previous bath reno so we only needed to buy 2 sheets. In terms of tile install labor, it was $6/sq ft. If you are looking to use marble in your bath, you can find it for $4 and up, depending on your type and what the "hottest" tile is at the moment. For instance, Carrera can be found for $4/sq ft, but Calacutta is averaging $12 or more because it was the "in" tile. You can also get tile for less money if you go to tile distributors and negotiate - you can get from 10%-30% off retail prices (i.e., Home Depot, Expo). Everything else we bought using Home Depot and Expo 10% coupons and we hit Restoration Hardware during its bathroom sale and got 30% of normal prices. Overstock.com, Craig's list and eBay were also our friends.

As for the glass enclosures, for those in Miami, we got them from Total Glass and Mirror. Most glass places wanted to charge us $3000 for both encloures, but they came in at half price at $1600 for both (master and hall bath).

In terms of keeping the marble clean, I use Method products - anything too harsh or abrasive will damage the finish on the marble. Other than that, it's low maintenance. I will say that if you use marble for the top of your sink vanity you have to be careful of water ring staining, hence the dark resin tray that holds our toothbrushes, etc.

Thank you again everyone!
g.

Thanks for all the info! One more question, what is the green paint color in the guest bathroom?

Hi Minty03,

Which green? The one with the tub is Benjamin Moore Minced Onion and the other is BJ Barely Green.

Hope this helps!
g.

I didn't even realize the one with the tub was green! I think the other one, the one with the pedestal sink. All the bathrooms are lovely and I'll be bookmarking as we're gearing up for a two-bathroom remodel. Thanks!