Primary bathroom remodel in Burke, VA: walls opened into a wet room, with a freestanding tub in the bay window inside the shower glass

What did the homeowners want?

The homeowners had lived here for years with a builder-grade primary bath. They wanted a full renovation with a bigger shower, and they liked pictures they had seen of an open shower and tub area. To keep the cost sensible, the toilet stayed where it was. They wanted a light, neutral look, and they were open to moving walls.

Before

After

Before, a small framed shower sat in a corner and a drop-in tub took up the tiled deck under the windows. Now the shower and the tub share one open wet room across the whole bay.

How we designed it: from a separate tub and shower to a wet room

The first design kept the tub and shower apart

Sena, our designer, drew the first design after her first visit: a separate glass shower, a freestanding tub in the bay, a new double vanity and tall linen storage. The homeowners sketched their own ideas too, and the conversation kept coming back to one open area for the shower and the tub.

The wet room in 3D, and finished

3D design

Finished

In the final design, one wet room runs the full width of the bay-window wall: a shower wall at each end with its own ceiling rain head, the freestanding tub centered under the windows between them, and glass along the front. The double vanity moved to the facing wall. The 3D design still shows a makeup counter by the entry; that changed during the build.

Building it: an angled entry, a pebble floor and a shower at each end

A wider, angled entry with a frosted-glass door

Once the old walls were open, we taped out the new space on the floor and measured it with the homeowners, so they could see each option in the room itself. During the build, the homeowners chose to add an angled entry wall with a wider 36-inch door with a frosted glass lite. They left out the makeup desk planned beside the vanity, which gave the room more open floor, and walking in, you now look at the tub and the bay windows.

One shower pan and a pebble floor across the whole bay

Going in

Finished

Our crew built a new mortar shower pan across the whole wet room, with a curb along the front. The county inspected it, and it was waterproofed before the tile went on. The floor is Best Tile's flat pebble mosaic in black, gray and white, running under the tub as well as the shower.

Marble-look walls and four pebble-backed niches

Going in

Finished

The walls are Tile Optima Platino Blanco, a glossy white marble-look porcelain in 12 by 24-inch tiles, laid in a third offset from the floor to the ceiling and wrapped around the bay windows. Each shower wall has two recessed niches beside it, four in all, backed with the same pebbles as the floor.

Two rain heads, body sprays and a hand shower

Each end of the wet room has a Delta Vero rain head in the ceiling, so there are two, each with its own diverter.

One end has the Delta Vero TempAssure 17T thermostatic system: three body sprays and a hand shower on a slide bar. The thermostatic valve holds the water at the temperature you set. The other end has its own Delta Vero Monitor 17 valve. Every trim is stainless.

The ceiling has six LED recessed lights, and two new exhaust fans vent outside.

A freestanding tub inside the shower

The tub is a Signature Hardware 67-inch acrylic freestanding tub with a curved shape, set on the pebble floor under the center window. A Delta Trinsic floor-mounted filler with its own hand shower stands beside it. Because the tub is inside the wet room, splashes land on a shower floor.

One long vanity instead of two

Before

After

The old bath split the sinks into two sections. The new double vanity runs along one wall: Fabuwood Galaxy shaker cabinets in Nickel, a light gray, with a 60-inch double-sink base between two 15-inch drawer bases, soft-close drawers and satin-nickel Sutton bar pulls.

Quartz, brushed-nickel faucets and tilting mirrors

A white quartz top with a 4-inch backsplash holds two undermount sinks and Moen Genta widespread faucets in brushed nickel. Two Gatco Elevate pivot mirrors tilt over the sinks, with three Possini Euro Ludlow sconces between and beside them. The rest of the floor is Best Tile Tulia, a white wood-look porcelain plank, and the walls are Sherwin-Williams Reflection, a soft gray-blue.

Video: the Burke primary bath, with our designer (4 min)

Sena, our designer, walks through this finished primary bath in Burke: what the old bath was like, with a few clips of it before, how the design went from a separate tub and shower to a wet room, the angled entry with its frosted-glass door, and the finished shower, niches, pebble floor and freestanding tub.

Press the photo to play.

▶ 4:05

What happened in what order: the Burke primary bath, step by step

From demolition to the county's final inspection, this bath took about six weeks. Every job sets its own schedule, and your contract gives you a written estimate for yours. How our process works →

1. Design: our first in-home visit; the first design with a separate tub and shower; the wet room design and its 3D views, refined at our showroom; the contract; the final measurement; every material ordered before demolition.
2. Demolition: the old shower, tub deck, vanities and floor out, with all the materials on site from the first day.
3. Entry: the new space taped out and measured with the homeowners; the angled entry wall framed for the wider frosted-glass door.
4. Rough-in: plumbing for the rain heads, body sprays, hand showers and the floor-mounted tub filler; wiring for the recessed lights, sconces and exhaust fans; the electrical rough-in inspected by the county.
5. Shower pan: the new mortar pan and curb across the wet room, inspected by the county, then waterproofed.
6. Wall tile: marble-look tile from the floor to the ceiling, wrapped around the bay windows.
7. Vanity and pebbles: vanity cabinets delivered and installed; the pebble floor laid across the wet room and the four niches backed with pebbles; the quartz top templated and installed; walls painted.
8. Trim-out: mirrors, sconces and faucets on; shower trims, body sprays and the tub filler on; the shower run and tested.
9. Glass: the two frameless glass panels installed.
10. Last: the county's final inspection.

Who built it: designer Sena planned the bath with the homeowners, and our crew, led by Bryan, built it. Only the shower glass and the quartz vanity top were made by our fabrication partners, under our supervision.

Budget: about $50K–$60K for the primary bathroom.

What came up during the design and build, and how we solved it

• Hard to picture a wet room. This layout was different from the wet rooms the homeowners had seen in pictures, so the design went through several rounds in 3D until the tub, the two shower walls and the vanity all fit.
• A new entry, decided in the room. With the walls open, we taped the options out on the floor so the homeowners could stand in each one. They chose the angled entry and the frosted-glass door over the planned makeup desk.
• A tub inside the shower. One shower pan with a curb runs under the whole bay, so the tub sits on the same waterproofed pebble floor as the shower.
• Tile around three windows. The large marble-look tiles wrap the bay windows to the ceiling, finished with bullnose edges.

Burke primary bath materials: pebble, marble-look porcelain and stainless

The exact products in this bath, from our order records.

More photos: Burke primary bath

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