Designer-builders provide their 1960s-style bathroom with an open-air feel thanks to large showers, an open double vanity, and warm, textured finishes.

Kaveh and Alena Zoghi are the owners of an architectural firm and originally purchased this 1960s-era house in Southern California to remodel and sell. They then fell in love with their home and the neighborhood and decided to move.

However, they first needed to change the home, particularly the outdated 77-square-foot primary bathroom with floor tile, white walls, and a decorative wall holding curtains on top of a large shower and tub.

Looking for a modern, soft look with a warm palette of colors, The couple scoured pictures of inspiration on Houzz to get ideas. They removed the bedroom closet to make the bathroom more open and added 11 square feet of space, giving them a more spacious layout that included the wood-look double vanity and a storage tower. The tub was also removed to create a large low-curb shower. The beige porcelain floor tile and the warm white walls of the storm give the contemporary, modern look they hoped for.

Bathroom at a Glance

Before: The couple thought the old bathroom was outdated and cold due to its plain, light-colored tile and traditional wood vanity. Additionally, the decorative wall that held curtains in front of the large tub and shower combo had to be removed. Eskan Developers After Kaveh knocked the bathroom back to the foundation and discarded the tub in favor of the spacious shower set-up with a low curb. “The tub made the space feel small,” the architect states. After installing the shower, “the shower feels bigger and more spacious. There is another tub in the bathroom, so we thought it appropriate to get rid of it in this one.”

The bright wall of this shower has white-colored ceramic tiles with an elegant texture, a soft glaze, and various tones. “We did a 90-degree herringbone pattern to do something interesting and modern,” Alena states. “The tile was a natural fit for us. We put it across the flooring and fell in love with it.”

Beige 10-by-11 1/2-inch porcelain hexagon floor tiles with matte finishes complement the shower tile and create another design. “It makes the space feel nice and warm,” Alena states.

The warm off-white walls, ceiling, and trim (Whitetail from Sherwin Williams) with a flat-finished finish and a wood-look flat-panel Melamine vanity finish off the modern style.

A new exhaust fan mounted in the ceiling increases the ventilation. It also can detect humidity and motion.

Shower tile Flash color: Ivory, Arizona Tile and F tiles: Makoto Hex Tatami Beige 10 x 11 1/2 inches Stone and Bedrosians Tile

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Before PhotoBefore: When the space was a former space, the wall across from the vanity constituted an extra closet within the bedroom that was forced to create a narrow pathway to the bathroom. Eskan Developers After Kaveh incorporated the bedroom closet into the bathroom layout, making the bathroom larger by 11 square feet, and then used the additional space to move the toilet and build the storage tower.

The wood-look floating vanity and tower create an illusion of openness. The vanity has countertops that look like marble, a backsplash, and 4-inch flat black finger pulls. “We put all drawers on the vanity because it’s a better space utilization,” Kaveh says.

Modern sconces that are brushed black and brass look great with fixtures mounted on brass walls and brass frames for mirrors. “The round shape of the mirrors is a nice balance for the hard edges of the vanity,” Kaveh says.

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Eskan DevelopersThe wall-mounted faucets paired with under-mount sinks allow you to wipe down your countertop with a breeze. “When faucets come out of the countertop, they get a lot of hair and dust in them and are harder to keep clean,” Kaveh says. “And the wall-mounted faucets give us the modern style we wanted and look more chic.”

Eskan DevelopersA frameless shower enclosure made from glass shower with a low curb gives the bathroom a modern look and feels more spacious and airy. “The shower door had to be custom-made due to the large size of the shower,” Alena says. “We did add a low-iron option for that ultra-clear glass and brushed gold hardware.”

The shower’s flooring and the niche have two inches of round, white matte mosaic tiles with cream-colored grout.

The shower also has an elongated bench covered using the same tile that lines the walls. A linear drain adds a modern design element they’d like to have.

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Eskan DevelopersA pressure-balanced showering system with the same style as faucets (Kohler’s Vibrant Brushed Moderne Brass) includes a shower head mounted on the wall and hand shower as well as valve trim. “The whole bathroom is so warm and welcoming and feels like a sanctuary,” Alena states.