Washington, DC
Bathroom Remodeling
Planning a bathroom remodel can be daunting. These intimate rooms are usually among the first spaces we see when we wake up, and the last ones we see before bed. We all spend a not-insignificant chunk of our lives in these rooms! We need them to be highly functional, but given how important a role they inhabit, bathrooms should be an opportunity to highlight designs that make you happy and comfortable. This idea informs our design practices at Four Brothers. We take pride in crafting one-of-a-kind personal spaces that are a reflection of our clients’ personalities. Below, we have addressed three pertinent topics: various elements of style that we consider when planning a bath remodel, our bathroom design processes, and our construction processes.
Elements of Style
There are multiple aesthetic choices we need to consider when designing a new bathroom. Although the sheer volume of options can be daunting, throughout the planning stage our designers will help curate a selection that caters to your specific tastes. Below, we've assembled a list of design elements that we think help to solidify a bathroom’s identity, and some of our recommendations for each element.
Floor Tile: Starting from the ground up, floor tile sets the mood for the whole room. We utilize a range of styles, from pebble mosaic flats, to polygonal network designs, to large format slabs, and each has its own advantages. Pebble tiles can be regular or irregular, flat or domed, but tend to offer a luxurious under-foot texture. These small individual tiles tend to be hand glazed, with some irregularity, but as there will be thousands of them on an average bathroom floor, small variations blend well into the overall look. Various polygon shapes are another popular choice. These attractive arrangements create strong visual interest through geometric design, and often play well with minimal cabinet and hardware elements. With large format tiles, anywhere from 8” to 24” squares or rectangles, we can create a smooth, consistent look. Often cut from slabs of mined stone or marble, these large tiles look stunning in a primary suite bath, and lend themselves well to designs which incorporate them onto the lower part of the walls as well.
Tubs: If there’s room, many of our clients love to include a freestanding soaking tub into their designs. These tubs offer an excellent end-user experience, are a perfect place to relax after a long day or hard workout, and come in a variety of materials and styles for a range of budgets. The most economical acrylic tubs will look smooth, are light and easy to install, and are fairly durable, though they will likely show their age over time. Solid-surface tubs, made of natural materials and resins, are quite a bit stronger and heavier than the acrylic type. On trade, however, they offer vastly superior heat retention (meaning your baths will stay hotter longer,) luxe matte finishes, and a more durable construction. For some clients though, nothing but the most classic will do, and we have installed claw-footed cast iron freestanding tubs to match older stylings in historic homes throughout the DMV.
Showers/Glass Enclosures: Large footprint glass-walled showers are evergreen in popularity among bathroom remodels, but no matter how much square footage you have to devote to your shower, wrapping it in glass is an excellent way to elevate the look and feel of your shower. We contract with local experts who mill, deliver, and install beautiful and durable shower glass doors and enclosures, which not only look stunning as a crystalline showpiece, but are also simple to clean.
Vanities: We have the advantage of working with two incredible custom cabinet builders, who design many of our cabinet vanities custom for the spaces they inhabit. However, we habitually work with many other styles as well, from floating stone countertops to freestanding consoles with exposed plumbing, in double or single basin varieties.
Hardware/Plumbing: Hardware is like the glue that brings a bathroom theme together. The functionality is a given: We can easily manage a steam bath, or a rainshower head, a standalone tub filler, or wall-mounted faucets. But collating the various robe hooks, towel bars, faucets, light fixtures, and door catches so that every detail complements and completes the overall look is a skill, one in which our staff designers are well versed. Once we decide on a coherent theme for the space, we can deliver a range of options that will deliver perfect functionality and beauty.
Bathroom Design Process
Every bathroom renovation is unique, but successfully navigating the process from the initial design consultation to breaking ground does not work without a general structure. Our in-house team of architects, bathroom designers, and interior designers has developed and continues to refine our process. The general steps are outlined below:
Initial Design Consultation: This meeting at your home is critical for the bathroom design process to get started on the right foot. Meeting with you in the space and having an open conversation allows us to understand your needs and vision for the new space. The problems with your current bathroom are just as important for us to understand. We’ll come with a list of questions to help organize thoughts, but the meeting should be informal and conversational.
Schematic Design: We’ll use our prior conversations and measurements to put together a presentation of what the your new bathroom can be. Usually there will be multiple options, and our presentation is tailored to your preferences for format. Typically, we’ll use a combination of 3d renderings, 2d plans and elevations, and a storyboard for finish concepts.
Revisions to Schematic Design: You will come away from the schematic bathroom design meeting with a lot to think about. Typically, our clients give us feedback within a week that allows us to work towards a final schematic plan. We combine elements of two or three options that were presented in the first meeting to arrive at a final schematic (or conceptual) plan.
Trade Walkthrough: Once you’ve signed off on the schematic design, we will schedule a walkthrough with our trade partners. We’ll spend a good part of a day in your house meeting with plumbers, electricians, engineers, and others. These will be the tradesmen and women working on your project, and it is important that we communicate well at an early stage. Their feedback will also allow us to develop accurate pricing.
Selecting Finishes: By now we have a good idea of your aesthetic and will likely have the bathroom finishes planned in broad strokes. It is time to begin selecting, pricing, and documenting exactly what will be used in each section of the bathroom. We will help you prioritize selections by lead time and connect you with any showrooms that you are interested in visiting. Many of our clients finalize all or most of their selections in our offices, and we try to curate your choices to a few good ones. Others prefer to spend the time to visit tile, counter, and fixture vendors with whom we have existing relationships and negotiated discounts.
Construction Documents: Once finishes have been selected, plans will be brought to a level needed to communicate the design intent to the construction team. While some of these drawings are boring and technical, other elements are critical to make sure the final product is refined and detailed. We’ll need your input from time to time, but the ball is largely in our court at this point.
Planning and Executing a Bathroom Remodel
A smooth bathroom renovation does not happen by accident. Rather, it is a carefully choreographed and meticulously planned series of steps that should be coordinated weeks in advance. In addition, the process is largely the same for the smallest bathroom in a Washington DC row house as it is for a bathroom remodel in a Bethesda mansion. Our bathroom designers coordinate with our in-house carpenters as soon as the final plan is agreed on and we have received a signed construction contract and deposit. The preparation begins as follows:
Ordering: We identify items with the longest lead time. Typically, these are bathroom cabinetry and windows and doors (more or less eight weeks for both). However, tile and specialty items can also take a surprisingly long time to arrive. Once we identify the bottlenecks, we can prioritize.
Scheduling: Once we have a good sense of the arrival dates of materials, the bathroom designer meets with our in-house construction team to review the project. There are several parts to the meeting:
Plan review: Having another set of eyes on the plans before the bathroom remodeling work begins often allows us to prepare for potential bottlenecks and spot problems ahead of time. Everyone is on the same page before the renovation begins.
Building a Construction Calendar: The construction team builds a day by day calendar that is shared with everyone on the team. A bathroom renovation is a linear process, and if certain milestones are not prioritized, the project can extend for weeks. Generally the critical milestones are close-in inspections (to allow subfloor, drywall and waterproofing to begin), setting of the sink base cabinetry (to allow for the countertop template which typically takes a week between template and install) and countertop install (to allow for wall tile and plumbing and electrical finals to begin).
Pre-construction Meeting: Our bathroom designers and construction team will meet with you at your house one to two weeks before the remodel is scheduled to begin. This allows us to plan for practical considerations such as a temporary bathroom during renovation, what hours we will be working, and what areas of the house we can use for staging materials if needed.
Adjusting on the Fly: Having the bathroom design and construction teams in-house has many advantages. However, it also puts the responsibility squarely on us to make sure the process is seamless. On a typical day, our construction and design teams make between ten and twenty phone calls, emails, and texts with outside parties to keep the wheels turning. Supplies and finishes are ordered, tracked, inspected, stored, and delivered. Trade partners are scheduled, confirmed, reconfirmed, and adjusted based on progress. And of course, there is an open line between the bathroom designer or architect who played a critical role in the beginning and the team who is managing the day to day of the renovation. Throughout the process, the calendar will be updated, and you will be informed of any critical changes or adjustments.
Written By Steve Hershberger
Updated: July 24, 2024
“We hired Four Brothers to help us create a long-awaited third floor master suite. We had very high expectations, but the end result still managed to far exceed them, both aesthetically and functionally…….We are thrilled with our new master suite and thank Four Brothers for their hard work.”
Maryland