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Welcome back to the blog for another room reveal! We can’t really call this a room transformation, however, because it has looked like this since the day we moved in, minus a few styling details. I’ve just been a little slow on showing off.

I shared a little bit about how a trip to Europe influenced our master bathroom design in a recent article for Design & Living Magazine. You can read it here. There are also some more great wide angle shots of the bathroom taken by J. Alan Paul Photography.

As I mentioned in the article, the design of the bathroom is a bit unique in that the shower is large and includes a free standing tub within it. It is reminiscent of a wet room, where rather than having a built-in, enclosed shower cubicle, the room itself acts as the enclosure.

We came across a few versions of this type of bathroom while traveling through Europe and were smitten. They were mostly smaller and based on convenience, as a true wet room doesn’t require glass and is easily accessible since they usually lack a curb. We loved the simplicity of the design and one bathroom in particular stood out to us. In our Prague hotel a free standing tub and shower co-existed in one space, but not as a single unit.

I wish I had a picture to share of the bathroom, but unfortunately that was long before blogging was even on my radar and my iPhone gallery wasn’t full of interior design photos yet.

About a year after our vacation, it came time to draw up the layout for our master bathroom and the european restrooms stood out in both our memories. We told our builder, Titan Homes, what we had in mind and what we like to refer to affectionally as the “shower room” came about. We also refer to this as “the water fight room.” See Design & Living for details on why.

Shout out to Houzz and Pinterest, who also played a huge role in the final design. Just type in “wet room” and you will be treated to 100’s of inspiration photos.

The tub in the shower room is by Barclay. You can find it online here.

Of all the rooms in our house, the master bathroom is definitely our indulgence. While we erased things off our want list during the original build in many of the other rooms, opting to do them ourselves down the road to save money, we did not do that here. This is not a DIY story, this a we treated ourselves story.

When it came time to pick the finishes, once again, we were inspired by our overseas trip and opted for the always classic marble.

In the interest of being honest, I’d like to add a disclaimer here. Marble is a bit high maintenance, even in a bathroom. Our love of marble and tolerance for light etching, override the fact that we have to be selective about what cleaners we bring into our bathroom and that I actually scrub some of the grout lines with a tooth brush and baking soda, rather than use traditional grout cleaner. If these aren’t things you are willing to do I wouldn’t recommend marble in your home.

To modernize the room a tish, we had a glass accent wall installed. You can find a similar tile here. It’s hard to tell in the pictures, but the wall takes on a gray to almost sea-glass blue tone depending on the lighting. It adds vibrancy to the otherwise somewhat stark bathroom, especially on sunny days.

You can purchase river rock similar to what we have in our shower here.

We added another modern touch by picking chrome fixtures throughout the room..

The tub filler is by Delta. You can find it online at Wayfair here.

The smaller shower head and temperature valves are by Moen, while the rain shower is by Kohler.

When it came time to style the room, we kept it simple. We focused mostly on practical, but pretty items, with a few pieces of art and greenery thrown in for good measure. In my opinion, every room should have art and something green!

I mean how cute is the little guy above from Baker Garden & Gift. It bring’s some life to the glass shelf and I can’t help but smile when I see it. Now I just need to remember to water it’s “hair.” Otherwise both our smiles will be turned upside down in the near future.

While I’m always a little hesitant to use pre-made faux greenery, I weaved in some non-killable flower arrangements from Northern Home Furniture. I can only keep so many plants alive at one time, so sometimes well executed fake flowers are necessary.

Art also brings some liveliness to the space. The yellow canvas is an original by Linda Donohue. I bought if locally from McNeal & Friends, but you can purchase her work online here.

The drawing of a little girl standing in water is one of my faves for sentimental reasons. I love how innocent and serene it feels. It reminds me of my daughter playing carefree on our recent Hawaiian vacation. (You’ve probably noticed I tend to like art that reminds me of her.) It’s a print of a piece by Lisa Golightly’s called “In the Depths.” You can purchase it on her Etsy shop Kiki and Polly here. Best part about it is it only costs $22!

Decorating over toilets is always hard. In the long run, we may DIY an accent wall or build some shelving, but for now we filled the somewhat awkward space no one can avoid with a small piece by local artist Paul Allen, and some of my jewelry hanging on a Target find. The exact jewelry tree is no longer available, but you can purchase a similar style here.

The bathtub is Mommy’s place, or at least it was supposed to be until a two year old took over. Let’s be real, I’m a Mom and ain’t nobody got time for that anyways.

The pictures above were admittedly staged for the Design & Living shoot because the wood caddy from Rejuvenation didn’t look nearly as Instagram and Pinterest worthy with bathtub crayons rolling across it. However, in the off chance I ever get to use it for “me time” these are the actual items I’d use to get into zen mode. Back in the day and the handful of times I’ve sat in here when I should have been sleeping since then, I lit a candle, soaped up, and read a good book or sometimes just my Facebook feed. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend a phone in a tub though. My husband certainly doesn’t like it when I do this. Go with the Domino book instead. Also, the wood caddy holds wine glasses pretty well. Just in case you were wondering.

The candle, soap and matches are from one of my favorite new stores, Mint & Basil, while the soap dish is from Eco Chic Boutique. I actually use all of these items, just not necessarily in this setting. I adore both stores because they specialize in functional and pretty. Really what is better than that when it comes to home design?

P.S. I highly recommend these tub crayons. Your child(ren) will thank you. Whoever scrubs the tub probably won’t, but I promise it scrubs off pretty easily!

Giorgio Armani Acqua Di Gio Shaving Cream & Deodorant | Run.Sweat.Recover from Mint + Basil | TrueFitt & Hill Pre-Shave Oil

Another functional and pretty item is this hand soap from Murchison-Hume. Their products are all-natural and their packaging is pretty easy on the eyes for a soap dispenser. I have this soap in every room with a sink.

The faucet is from Restoration Hardware. Get it here.

We picked up the pivot mirrors from Pottery Barn and flanked them with classic factory sconces from Restoration Hardware in polished nickel.

Mirrors that tilt up or down are slightly more flexible than a simple framed mirror, and they have a traditional appeal that fits in well with classic styles like marble and subway tile.

The cabinets were designed by Wendt Custom Cabinets. They are finished in espresso stain and the hardware was supplied by Wendt. Spaulding Stone fabricated the Carrara marble counters.

All the tile and flooring was supplied and installed by Floor to Ceiling Carpet One. To replicate the look in your home use this subway tile and these 12×12 marble tiles. Since we invested in-floor heat, we didn’t need an actual rug to keep our feet warm. Instead we mimicked a rug with a marble inset. You can create the same look by using this and this tile.

To finish off the room and so that we could use the room for it’s intended purpose, we picked up some towels from Macy’s. The double towel bar is from Pottery Barn. Get it here.

Last but not least, my favorite indulgence is these hotel worthy robes. I usually throw one on fresh out of the shower. It keeps me toasty warm while I do my hair and makeup. Every once in a while I get a little carried away, and wear one around the house while pretending I’m on vacation. Then the doorbell usually rings. FYI… answering the door in a robe is kind of awkward. Don’t try this at home. Do try my decor tips, however.

For a complete list of our master bathroom sources see below.

Would you put a “shower room” in your own home? What about marble? Is marble always too high maintenance or totally worth it IYO?