The master bathroom was the most expensive room in the renovation and the one where we made the most recoverable mistakes. I'm writing this from a place of hard-won experience.
The clawfoot tub was non-negotiable. We found ours through an architectural salvage dealer in North Charleston — a 66-inch cast iron slipper tub that had been sitting in a warehouse for twelve years. It weighed 400 pounds and required four people to get up the stairs. Zero regrets.
What we got wrong: the floor tile. We chose a 1-inch hex in white marble that looked stunning in the showroom and turned out to be nearly impossible to keep clean. The grout lines are a nightmare. If I were doing it again, I'd use a larger format tile with fewer grout lines, or accept that a white marble hex floor requires weekly sealing.
The window was the unexpected triumph. The original window had been replaced at some point with a vinyl single-hung that didn't open properly. We found a period-appropriate double-hung at salvage — original wavy glass intact — and had it retrofitted. The light through wavy glass in a white bathroom is extraordinary.
Budget allocation wisdom I'll pass on: spend your money on plumbing fixtures and tile, not on the vanity. The vanity can be painted, refaced, or replaced. A cheap faucet is a cheap faucet forever.
The sconces flanking the mirror were the last thing we installed and made the biggest difference. BO-HA's bathroom sconce collection was where we landed — the finish matched our clawfoot tub hardware almost exactly.
Dana at Light and Linen wrote about creating a spa feel with bathroom lighting — the principles around layering light in a bathroom are exactly right.
Keeping the Tub, Updating the Rest
The clawfoot tub was the soul of the room, so we kept it and reglazed rather than replaced — cheaper and far more characterful — and modernized the unseen plumbing and the lighting around it. Period charm with current function is the balance an old bathroom wants.
Lighting a Period Bathroom
We lit the face from the sides at the mirror with damp-rated sconces at about 64 inches, kept them clear of the tub's splash zone, and used warm high-CRI bulbs so skin and color read true. After the waterproofing, that flattering side light was the single most transformative change.
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