A New Master Bath (and Tub!) for the Suburbs

Going down to the studs, a new footprint and closets emerge

Project: Renovate a master bathroom in Pelham, New York

Before: In advance of moving into their newly purchased Pelham home, a three-bedroom, two-bathroom in Westchester, Alexy and her husband decided to get some necessary renovations out of the way. The couple had a five-year-old and were pregnant with their second child. They were still living in Brooklyn, which made this reno project one that would be done from afar.

The house only had showers, which aren’t ideal for bathing infants. They decided to add a tub to the second-floor bathroom, which had already undergone a renovation by the previous owner that had stolen some space from the neighboring bedroom. “The bedroom closet was just a few inches deep with some shelves,” Alexy said. There was also the absence of a linen closet on the second floor. They posted their project on Sweeten, a free service matching homeowners with vetted general contractors.

After: Alexy was familiar with Sweeten from the service’s many renovations in Brooklyn, but didn’t know any general contractors in Westchester. She needed to find one she could trust since the house would be empty. They tried to get to Pelham on weekends to check on the work even though Alexy was nine months pregnant.

The general contractor they chose took space from the hallway to add a large linen closet to the bathroom. “It holds a lot, and that is exactly what I wanted,” said Alexy. The redistributed hallway space also provided the extra room needed to add a tub to the shower area. Alexy’s husband originally wanted a double vanity, but there just wasn’t enough room. After much soul-searching, he decided what he really wanted was adequate counter space. The vanity they went with had a counter that stretched to the wall while adding more storage underneath.

Bonus: The project was finished pretty much on time except for the vanity, which took a long time to be delivered, but their Sweeten contractor stuck to the budget and they encountered no surprises.

Style finds: Bathtub: Bellweather. Faucet: Purist. Toilet: San Souci. Towel racks: Porto. Vanity: Vanico Maronyx.

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