AFTER: The wood vanity in the former laundry room turned bathroom oasis.
Ulf Bjorlin
When Los Angeles–based interior designer Faith Blakeney was tasked with reimagining a 1930s Spanish-style home for a dear friend Deborah Burch, she had specific goals in mind. “She works very hard and she travels a lot for work, so she isn’t home that often,” Faith says. “I wanted to create a space so that when she got home, she could deeply, deeply relax and recharge.”
In order to accomplish this, Faith knew she had to add a crucial element that the house lacked. “This home, while glorious and with so many assets, only had two bathrooms. There was no master bathroom, so that was odd,” she says. “There was a room off the master bedroom that was a laundry room, which seemed ridiculous to me. We decided to move the laundry area to the garage and convert this laundry room into a bathroom.”
Once the logistics were sorted out, Faith was able to produce the calming, luxurious master bathroom the homeowner deserved. She thoughtfully combined wood and ceramic features for warmth and included arches and patterned tile for visual allure. Now, Faith’s friend calls her from the bathtub to express her gratitude. Here is how Faith assembled this pale pink haven.
BEFORE: Since there was no master bath, Faith looked to the laundry room for a convertible and convenient space.
Ulf Bjorlin
Location: Built in the 1930s, this cozy Spanish-style house is located in sunny Glendale, California.
The before: “The room was a sad, empty space when we got our hands on it,” Faith says. “It had a big water heater in a corner and a small window on one side. I saw a lot of potential right from the start. I was grateful for that window as well, because I think that bathrooms with no windows are a bit tragic.”
The inspiration: “I wanted to create a sanctuary for her,” says Faith. “I wanted to create an in-home Moroccan spa.” To achieve this, Faith knew she would use soft, soothing colors and construct a womb-like alcove to separate the bathtub from the rest of the room. As a way to honor and echo the existing Spanish architecture, Faith devised an archway as the entrance to the niche.
Square footage: 130 square feet
Budget: “With my friend, it’s kind of fantastic, we have these pliable budgets,” Faith says. “It wasn’t a cheap bathroom. We went all out. We knew this would be a home she’d stay in for a while, so it was going to be a worthy investment.”
AFTER: The vanity is actually an antique dresser sourced from Chairish.
Ulf Bjorlin
Main ingredients
Vanity: Antique Dresser from Chairish. “So much of what goes into a bathroom is hard, sleek surfaces, between porcelain toilets and tiles and tubs. I really like to bring natural materials into the bathroom, so I decided to get intentional about that and bring wood in with the vanity,” says Faith. She originally designed a custom piece, but it wasn’t going to be completed in time, so she found an antique dresser online and had it delivered from France within a week.
Sink: Duravit Washbowl
Water fixtures: California Faucets. “I love warm metals and I love brass because it’s quite matte and not shiny,” Faith says.
Paint: Portola Paints Roman Clay Persona and Roman Clay Memento. “I don’t think that there’s ever an occasion where I wouldn’t want to do a lime wash or a roman clay finish on a wall if I could. Sometimes it’s not in the budget, but those specialized finishes bring so much life and depth and natural texture to walls. Here I chose two paint colors. It was a tone-on-tone situation.”
Accent arch wall tile: Fireclay Tile Snow Flower. “We found a beautiful pattern that helps to define the space and brings a visual intrigue to that archway,” says Faith. “That was our big bang. The tiles are a little bit more costly, for sure.”
AFTER: The more muted shower tile helps the other colors and bold accents of the space stand out.
Ulf Bjorlin
Bath alcove tile: Westside Tile & Stone. “We wanted something simple. We wanted these big stones. They’re really large and monochromatic, with a little bit of texture and subtle color modulation,” Faith says.
Floors: Westside Tile & Stone
Lighting: Vintage 1960s Hanging Pendant Lamps. “I’m passionate about creative reuse and vintage pieces, so I knew I wanted to bring that into the bathroom. The pendant lights flanking the sink are vintage and ceramic. They have holes pierced in them, so when you turn the light on it creates these beautiful shadows.”
Mirror: Lamps Plus
Toilet: DXV. “We went toilet shopping and sat on toilets like you would on sofas to try them out. We had a lot of fun,” Faith says.
Rug: Vintage Moroccan Rug from Etsy. “I wanted to make sure that when she’s brushing her teeth in the morning it’s not cold on her feet,” says Faith. “You don’t need a living room to have a fun patterned rug.”
Most insane splurge: The Fireclay Tile was the most expensive purchase, but Faith says it was worth it: “We knew the feature wall that has the arch was going to really carry the space, so that is where we decided to put our money.”
Sneakiest save: Opting to convert an antique dresser into a vanity, rather than building a custom piece, resulted in significant savings.
The best part: “My favorite part is definitely the vanity. The fact that this piece came directly from France to us in Glendale was really special. The craftsmanship of this older piece, with the dovetail, you don’t get that with newer pieces—especially not for $1,000.”
What I’d never do again: “While we ran into some issues, I think we found pretty creative solutions for them,” says Faith. “There isn’t anything that sticks out to me that I wouldn’t do again.”
Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest