Dale Clark-Arc Photography
For veteran homeowners, tricks for increasing a home’s resale value have gotten stale. Re-painting the interior, replacing the roofs, landscaping, maybe build an in-ground pool. These improvements certainly work as intended, but have you ever thought about converting a seldom-used closet into a bathroom equipped with full cabinetry and a shower cabin?
The homeowners of a quaint home overlooking Grandview Heights asked remodeling company Hope Restoration to do exactly that. The completed project is not beneath the craftsmanship of a luxurious ancient Roman bathhouse.
Marble-topped cabinetry on the left and a full-size shower cabin – also marble – on the right accost guests upon entry. The material was not chosen pell-mell.
Dale Clark-Arc Photography
“Marble never goes out of style,” says Todd Renger, president of Hope Restoration. “It’s always classic, always upscale. If you go to an upscale hotel like Ritz-Carlton, the bathroom will be marble. Really, in any luxurious place, you’ll see marble.”
After marveling the marble finish, one is immediately pulled toward the hand-painted tile flooring. The equally complex and elegant black and white mandala patterns add to the immaculate feel of the room. Note that even the drain follows the floor’s pattern. Now that is true attention to details.
“The hand-painted styles are kind of a new thing. You used to see them more in the ‘20s and ‘30s, but it has come back. Style tends to cycle every 20 to 30 years.” Renger says.
Dale Clark-Arc Photography
As for the peculiar patterns themselves, Renger says they are of Mexican of South American tradition. Despite their far-flung heritage, these patterns have been in high demand in the Grandview area recently.
Amid all this opulence, the custom brown barn door separating the bathroom from the hallway stands out. One might have expected a sliding glass pocket door that echoes the white pristineness of the bathroom but, according to Renger that would be poor planning.
“The door style works best space-wise,” he says. “We couldn’t do a pocket door because of the electric chords inside the wall. Swing doors are also out of the question. Swing it in and it’ll hit the shower; swing it out and you’ll hit someone in the hallway. The barn door was really the only functional option.”
But ergonomic doesn’t have to equal a passé.
“The barn door’s style has come into play,” says Renger. “You see a lot of use for reclaimed wood these days.”
This newly constructed haven did not come easy. The closet, from which the bathroom is founded upon, was not particularly spacious. How did Renger and his team manage to fit everything in such a cramped area? The answer lies in creativity. While the cabinetry and the wall-mounted toilet fit in the initial space, the shower cabin had to intrude upon the adjacent bedroom. Thus, a small area of that room was remodeled as part of the bathroom, and a wall was put in place to seal the two rooms apart.
Dale Clark-Arc Photography
“Everything had to be custom-made to fit the space,” Renger says, acknowledging the project’s challenges.
Homeowners and Hope Restoration can be proud of the results, however. Turning three bedrooms and one bath into three bedrooms and two baths is no easy feat. Now, homeowners can enjoy increased functionality and revel in a surge in resale value.
Emile Lin is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com
