Renovation Diaries | Choosing Materials for Our Japandi Primary Bathroom

Following my post on planning out our primary bathroom here, I promised a post going more into details on the materials we chose to go with our design. As mentioned in my last post, we really wanted to go for a zen look and honestly just evoke the feeling of being at a spa.

Originally the plan was to do an entire tiled shower, but the cost of tiles is quite $$$$. We really liked the look of an all plaster (looking) bathroom and took inspiration from Spanish/Mediterranean/Southwestern homes so we opted to go for a tadelakt which is a waterproof plaster material. We plan to smooth this over our entire open shower as well as any non-tiled wall in our bathroom. Originally there was the option to have the shower portion (aka any wet area) be finished with tadelakt and then a lime wash paint everywhere else in the room to best match the tadelakt. We weren’t sure if there would end up being a contrast difference in paint and with the area being so small and continuous, we didn’t want to risk it. In the end, we decided to follow through with tadelakt everywhere.

For the tile portion, we still wanted to incorporate a type of tiled feature wall within the bathroom. We decided to go for covering the half wall and ledge behind our vanity and are using the most beautiful mossy/forest green color Japanese tile from Inax. This helps create a wet safe space for our mounted sink faucet as well as a fun pop of color in our space. On theme with shopping Japanese brands/materials, we opted for towel bars, hooks, and TP holders from Chiba METAL Works & Design as they were dainty and minimal. To continue with the brass theme, we went for plumbing fixtures from Phylrich. One of my biggest peeves of walk in showers is when the handle/valve is right under the shower head as there is no way to turn it on without getting semi sprayed. One of our firm requirements was to have this near the entrance with plenty of space away from getting hit by the water lol. We also decided to add a little corner bench with a handle spray in case we needed a quick rinse for our feet or to give our pup a quick bath.

For our floors we wanted something that could continue from our overall bathroom area but also into our shower. Just to create a seamless transition since our space is already so small and open. We had wanted concrete floors in our kitchen area but since we live in the Bay Area and in an earthquake prone area, we decided it wasn’t the best idea with all the potential for cracks. The option for larger ‘tiles’ was given to us, but we would have wanted just a clean pour across. However we decided for our bathroom that would be ok, so we went for some concrete looking floor tiles from Waterworks.

Our vanity will be a beautiful custom wood oak piece with reeded cabinet doors. To help keep the space feeling open and airy, we decided to do a floating vanity. To save some costs, we decided to use the same countertops throughout our house. We went for a light concrete color from Caesarstone which pairs nicely against our cabinetry + compliments the floors.

One thing we also liked while visiting hotels over the years was a vessel sink, which is a sink that sits on the counter rather than being under the counter. We were looking at concrete sinks and were debating between two brands, Concretti Designs + Nood Co. I do wish I had done a little more research into both brands as when looking at the cost of the sink alone, Concretti was significantly more affordable than Nood. However, when you account for shipping fees, Concretti is just so slightly cheaper than Nood. I originally went with Concretti and to say I was disappointed in the sink I received, that would be an understatement. From most of the pictures I had seen and posts on social media, I understood there could be a few divots as comes with the nature of using concrete as a material. When we received our sink, the frequency and size of the “imperfections” we received was so significant, I didn’t feel comfortable accepting it. I just thought of all the little things that would get stuck in these holes and any mold growth within these. We did reach out to the brand as we felt the imperfections were higher than what was disclosed on their website, and they sent pictures back of what they deemed acceptable as well as a tiny link in their FAQ about the potential of these “natural imperfections”. My immediate thought was how they did a very good job of hiding any pictures of these imperfections and really only chose to feature the good ones without. Ultimately the cost to return the sink was so high that we decided to take the loss and keep it. I’ll probably repurpose this somewhere else in our garage or garden in the future. In the end, we decided to order a Nood Co sink as our interior designer used it on another brand and noted how they had no imperfections. Watching through videos on their site, they use a mechanism to shake out bubbles to avoid those imperfections. If you’ve been debating between the two sink brands for your project, 10/10 recommend avoiding Concretti and going with Nood.

I hope you gathered some inspo from our primary bath plans! Will be working on the guest bath posts which is going to be a super fun one!

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Interior Designer: @CathieHongInteriors (materials sourcing)