Greystone Guest Bathroom Design Plans

Can you believe more than eight months have passed since I last shared about our Greystone House?! Even then, it was just the initial walk-through, not even a project.

Needless to say, I’m excited to start showing you all our plans for this house. We’re almost finished with all the bathrooms, so it’s about time I start sharing about them, yes?

The guest bathroom was one I was initially not too excited about. Not only is the layout as basic as it gets, but to make matters worse, we originally planned to leave the existing shower and tub alcove. That always puts a damper on the excitement of a bathroom renovation for a perfectionist like me.

Long story short, at the very last minute – literally after demo – I was able to convince the husband that we may as well do a complete remodel, with a new tub and a custom tiled shower.

The overall stylistic direction for the Greystone House is modern European. It’s equal parts old-world charm and modern living; it’s my favorite aesthetic combination. Before I get too ahead of myself, let’s see how this space looked before.

See? It’s a common bathroom floor plan.

Now, below is a mockup of our design plans – at least the vanity side. As you may have noticed, the faucet in the mockup is different from the faucet in the initial moodboard. More on that later. Keep reading for some sneak peeks of the renovation progress.

As you’ll soon notice, patterned tiles will be a recurring element in all of the Greystone bathrooms. They are such a classic choice and have been around for centuries. Check out the roundup of favorites I shared a while back, if you’re in the market!

The “Adessi Antico Grigio Matte Porcelain Tile” tile from Floor & Decor was the catalyst for this room design. This bathroom is located in between the two kids’ bedrooms, so practicality was very important. I wanted tile that could stand up to everyday use and typical messes left by little kids, but also be ready for guests at any given moment. This matte gray-green-charcoal tile does just that, with its handmade, artisan look and high durability rating. On a PEI durability scale of 1-5, this tile is rated at 4 PEI, meaning it can withstand moderate to heavy traffic.

I could see this option working for a mudroom or laundry room, too, and briefly considered using it there.

Next item I ordered was the vanity cabinet, which is currently 40% off. My first stop is always Home Depot’s “Special Buy” sales, and we scored this 49″ vanity for 50% off back in July. As I mentioned, it’s currently 40% off and is available in gray, white, and navy.

Between Lowe’s and Home Depot, I’ve found that the latter usually has more options that fit my style preferences. Although the vanity color is listed as gray, it’s a beautiful chameleon. Depending on the surroundings and amount of natural light, it can look gray, soft blue, or muted green. The vanity came with a beautiful Carrara marble countertop, which can be a controversial material, but I personally love it in both a bathroom and a kitchen setting.

Excitement was short-lived; while our plumber was installing the faucet, he accidentally broke the backsplash. I am currently searching for a replacement and simultaneously flirting with the idea of tiling the entire back wall,  because we have lots of subway left over from the shower. Another thing I’m currently doing? Looking for a new plumber, because this “accident” was one of far too many.

Speaking of the shower, I went with white subway tile for two reasons: 1) it’s a classic choice that won’t date the house, and 2) we were already going beyond our budget with the custom tiled shower, so a budget-friendly option was a must.

Although you can’t see the tub in these sneak peeks, it deserves to be mentioned. You might think, a tub is a tub – right? But no, this one is so symmetrically beautiful without any embellishments, it makes my OCD heart oh-so-happy. We first used it in our bungalow guest bathroom back in 2015.

Going back to the plumbing, I was so excited to find these beautiful shower trim pieces in this specific cross style. You know I am extremely particular about every detail, and I was adamant on the 3-cross handles. Combined with the modern subway tile, they create a beautiful juxtaposition of old-world charm versus modern.

The showerhead that came with the set was plastic and very basic, and you already know how I feel about basic. I ended up having to purchase the full set along with this Victorian showerhead from Kingston Brass, but no worries, because it was less expensive that way rather than buying each piece individually. Go figure.

I ended up having to order a different sink faucet than the one in the feature photo, which I mentioned earlier. Another plumbing issue we ran into was that the original faucet was too short for the extra-thick vanity countertop. Sadly, it was too late to return the first one, so there’s some renovating reality for you. But I’m glad it worked out that way, because I like the second choice better, despite it being nearly twice as expensive as the first. Call it a happy accident – unlike all the other accidents, ha!

I really want to find a floral shower curtain to break up all the geometric shapes, maybe something like this one from Amazon. Unfortunately, this one only comes in regular length. I love using extra-long shower curtains to elongate the bathroom. Tiling all the way to the ceiling does that too. We have 9-feet ceilings on the main floor of the Greystone House, and tiling the showers all the way to the ceiling has great visual benefits. What’s more, tiling to the ceiling has a practicality aspect, too. It helps keep the areas surrounding the shower clean and dry.

I spent entirely too long deciding which trim tile to use around the shower and chose a bullnose trim. Other options I considered are Schluter trim and jolly tile trim. I actually used jolly tile trim on the shower niches, which made it look sharp. See below.

Would you find a post outlining different tile trim pieces helpful? Let me know in the comments section, so I can add it to my content calendar!

Moving on to a couple other details that aren’t included in the initial moodboard: the mirror and the sconces. I chose a brushed brass finish for both, which will add another layer to the overall look. When choosing finishes for any room, it’s important to add dimension by using contrasting finishes – polished and brushed, chrome and brass, feminine and masculine lines, etc.

The sconces are such a great find from Amazon – they’re right under $60 and look incredible in person. Looking for affordable brass sconces? Check out the massive roundup I shared a couple weeks ago, all of which are under $60.

The mirror I have planned for this space is a simple round, brass one. I’ve been hoarding an entire mini-collection of them for several years after waiting forever for it to come back in stock in 2017 while doing the One Room Challenge. I love that the round shape mimics the sconces and makes that detail feel intentional and thought-out. The round shape also breaks up the lines of the vanity cabinet and square tile.

In case you missed a link within the article, I’ve rounded up all of them below.

Vanity Cabinet | Patterned Floor Tile | Subway Shower Tile | Bullnose Tile Trim | Jolly Tile Trim | Apron-Front Bathtub | Round Brass Mirror | Brass Wall Sconces | Showerhead | Shower and Tub Faucet with Cross Handles | Tub Drain Trim Kit | Widespread Bathroom Faucet | Shower Curtain | Paint Color: “Chantilly Lace” by Benjamin Moore