The way this California couple’s Minneapolis-area townhome came together was a bit unusual, but it worked out well. Because they were living out of state before moving back to Minnesota for their retirement, their daughter, who lived near the townhome, handled the remodel for them. She hired interior designer Jami Ludens, who had completed work on another relative’s home that she admired. That gave her trust in Ludens’ skills, so she gave the designer free range on the project. The result is a primary bathroom with a mix of soft blues, creams, whites and grays, tied together by a beautiful floral wallpaper.
“The fun scalloped shower tile was my inspiration for this bathroom,” Ludens says. “I had just seen it in a showroom and knew I wanted to use it. The colors in these tiles are so pretty that I wanted to base my design on them. They paired beautifully with the soft-blue-stained cabinetry color I wanted to use.”
While the room has lots of soft blues, the designer considers them neutrals. “Most people are afraid to use color,” Ludens says. “Softer tones can act as neutrals.”
The flush-mount ceiling light adds curved lines and matches a larger version of the fixture that Ludens chose for the primary bedroom.
Light fixture: Murray Feiss Patrice three-light in Deep Abyss
The cabinet profiles are beaded Shaker style. The dark finishes on the cabinet hardware and faucets add a modern touch within the transitional-style mix.
The flooring is porcelain tile in a variety of gray hues, laid in a herringbone pattern. “The larger scale of this pattern played nicely with the small scale of the scalloped shower tiles,” Ludens says.
Cabinet manufacturer: Decor Cabinets; cabinet hardware: Melon knob, Emtek
The designer chose oval mirrors to maintain the sense of softness in the room. They provide large enough reflective surfaces without covering up too much of the lovely wallpaper. They also play off some of the oval shapes found in the petals in the wallpaper’s pattern.
The single-mount faucets save countertop space and make cleaning easier. Their Venetian Bronze finish adds dark contrast to the soft hues in the room and coordinates nicely with the oil-rubbed bronze cabinet hardware.
Faucets: Cassidy single-handle bathroom, Delta
Here’s a wider view of how the shower, toilet room and linen cabinet come together. The toilet room has a pocket door.
The shower stall measures 5 by 3½ feet. Ludens used the inspirational scalloped tile around the top as an accent. The main shower tile is a subway tile with subtle variations in tones that range from creamy white to light gray.
Throughout the process, the homeowners’ daughter would approve Ludens’ selections, changing very little. Once the project was finished, the clients moved into their forever home. “These clients really just let me pull together what I thought would be a great design and they loved it,” Ludens says. “Sometimes designers just need to help clients find their style or show them a well-designed space that was thoroughly thought out.”
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Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: A retired couple
Location: Minneapolis area
Size: 124 square feet (12 square meters)
Designer: Jami Ludens of Studio M Interiors
Contractor: Ben Garvin of Garvin Homes
The existing bathroom hadn’t been touched since the 1980s, so this project was a down-to-the-studs renovation. “The clients wanted a transitional design that was easy to maintain and mostly neutral,” Ludens says. “That is why my color palette in this room has muted hues throughout.”
Trim paint: White Dove, Benjamin Moore
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