When a family from northwest Austin, TX, was looking to add new bathrooms to their home — one for each daughter and a new master suite — they turned to a local award-winning design firm and a local award-winning interior designer, whom they’ve worked with before, to help get the job done.

The project, which was conducted in two phases, began with the remodel of the first 76-square-foot hall bathroom that the two daughters originally shared, but is now occupied by the youngest daughter. The layout remained virtually the same, but was revamped with all new finishes and cabinets.

“It formerly had a door dividing the toilet and tub from the vanity area,” said Albert-Kincl. “Removing that wall and door allowed for a large linen/makeup cabinet to be added at the end of the new maple vanity, which is also wall hung, making the room appear larger. Travis Tile supplied American Olean’s St. Germain tile in color Crème, in the 12- x 24-inch size. We used a mix of three colors of Sicis’ Neo-Glass in 1- x 1-inch cubes for the diagonal accent stripes.”

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GREENHILL BATHROOM

After the hall bathroom’s remodel, construction began on the older daughter’s new bedroom and 114-square-foot bathroom, which was converted from a double vanity to a single. “Her bath, formerly the master bath, was totally remodeled from its 1965 origins and now sparkles with horizontal glass mosaic stripes on the floor and in the walk-in shower,” explained Albert-Kincl. “The field tile is Daltile’s Unity Avorio in 12- x 24-inch unpolished [pieces]. For her accent stripes, we chose three pastel shades of Sicis’ Neo-Glass 1- x 1-inch cubes. Her vanity is wall hung, allowing more of the floor to show, therefore giving the feeling of added space.”

The older daughter’s bathroom now has more storage and a renovated closet. Shower and toilet plumbing remained, while space from the bedroom and second master bathroom closet was converted into a hallway that now leads to the new master suite. The new suite has “his” and “hers” vanities and closets, a kitchenette, tub and no threshold shower — a true getaway for the parents.

“The new master bath is a nicely sized 260-square-foot space, with a clean, contemporary appeal,” said Albert-Kincl. “To go with the clean look, the clients and their designer chose a 12- x 24-inch tile, Emil Elegance Ivory with a natural finish, sourced by Architectural Tile & Stone of Austin, TX. It took about 475 square feet of tile for the floors, wainscoting and shower walls.”

The master bathroom also has accent bands that run on the floor and up onto the walls of the shower and vanity area — Lunada Bay Tile’s Agate 1- x 4-inch stacked tiles in Pisa Pearl — which actually ended up being one of the overall challenges in regard to the tilework of this particular project, according to Albert-Kincl. “Finding the right glass accent tile to provide two major stripes in the bath proved to be more difficult, with much searching and sampling along the way,” she said. “They were looking for a stacked glass mosaic with rectangular shapes in an iridescent finish with masculine tones. Then, one day I attended a seminar at Austin’s Materials Marketing, presented by Michael McConnell, one of the owners of Lunada Bay Tile, and the perfect product was found. It was Lunada Bay Tile’s stacked 1- x 4-inch Agate glass, with the Pearl iridescent finish, in color Pisa Pearl. This accent runs not only across the floor and up the shower wall, but also in the vanity area. There, it again crosses the floor and then runs up the center of the mirror.”

Marsha Topham, AIA, Senior Project Architect at CG&S Design-Build, who assisted Albert-Kincl with the project, said this particular tile, chosen for the accent bands in the master bathroom, was selected by the homeowners because they liked an image of a similar tile they saw on Houzz, an architecture and interior design website. “They liked the contrast between the dark counters in the master to the floor to the tile stripe,” she said.

However, despite the slight color differences of accent strips that run through each of the bathrooms, all three share a similar theme — the horizontal and diagonal shapes of accent tile. Both girls’ baths have Sicis’ Neo-glass mosaic tile in different shades and the new master bath has large bands of Lunada Bay’s stacked Pisa Pearl tile that starts on the floor and runs up the wall. Floating vanities of maple create a sense of more space.

The bathrooms also incorporate a variety of quartz surfacing. The girls’ baths have Silestone in Yukon Blanco vanity tops, while the master bath has Caesarstone in Jet Black for the sink vanities and kitchenette, and Caesarstone in the color “Blizzard” around the tub deck, make-up vanity and shower seat — all supplied by Moe Freid Marble & Granite in Manchaca, TX.

Now, each person in the family has their own tranquil space to get ready in the morning. “Is everyone happy with the results?” said Albert-Kincl. “Yes, indeed they are.”

Altogether, the project took 18 months to complete, with the installation completed by Steve Smith of Custom Tile of Austin in Austin, TX. “The key to a good tile installation is a good plan and a superb tile setter, which we had with Steve Smith, whose attention to detail is meticulous,” said Albert-Kincl. 

Greenhill Bathroom Remodel

Austin, TX

Interior Designer: Carolyn Albert-Kincl Design, Austin, TX

Architect: CG&S Design-Build, Austin, TX

Tile Suppliers: Architectural Tile & Stone, Austin, TX (Emil tile); Travis Tiles Sales, Inc., Austin, TX (American Olean, Sicis Neo-Glass collection, Daltile); Materials Marketing, Austin, TX (Lunada Bay Tile)

Quartz Surfacing Supplier: Moe Freid Marble & Granite, Manchaca, TX

Tile Installer: Custom Tile of Austin, Austin, TXa