Marble Bathroom: Master Bath Reveal

See the before and after of a master bathroom renovation and get the source list for this gorgeous marble bathroom with gold and polished nickel accents!

white bathroom with marble tile and freestanding tub | Maison de Pax

I’ve told this story before, but did you know that we once lived with a 4’x8′ hole in our kitchen ceiling for almost a year?! That’s what sometimes comes of home improvement and remodeling in stages. Well, we did something similar in this instance: we just lived for almost three years without any vanity mirrors in our master bathroom… until now.

modern gold framed bathroom mirror with marble countertops | Maison de Pax

Here is what it looked like before:

master bath renovation before | Maison de Pax

But I recently said goodbye to the mirrorless bathroom. Goodbye, yellow walls. Goodbye, broken tile. Goodbye, 90’s garden tub. Goodbye, shower that was leaking into our living room (ewwwww…..).

Hello, marble bathroom floor. Hello, marble wall tile. And freestanding tub. And functioning shower. And large mirrors and lights and vintage rug. Hello, luxurious marble master bathroom.

white bathroom with herringbone marble floors and gold lighting | Maison de Pax

Ok, enough introductions. You can catch up on the unique floor plan and our original designs for this space here. Today, I want to show you the finished project (yippee!) and give you exact links to the sources we used (complete source list located at the bottom of the post).

Consider it a bathroom remodel picture gallery. All your master bathroom ideas and inspiration in one place. 😉

This post contains affiliate links. Click here to read my full disclosure.

Marble Tile in the bathroom

The first thing you’ll notice is that we used Carrara marble tile in the entire space. A lot of it. Since we’ve used marble subway tiles in our kitchen remodel and other shapes and sizes in another bathroom, I’m often asked questions like the following:

  • Is marble ok in the shower?
  • Are marble floors hard to maintain?
  • Do you need to seal marble tile?
  • How do you care for marble?

Rather than diving into those questions today in detail, I’ll just say this: YES, seal your marble (see how here). Suffice it to say that we’ve had marble in our kitchen and bathrooms for years, and I think it still looks beautiful. But marble is not for everyone. For more about the pros and cons, see this post about our marble kitchen countertops.

The square tiles that were in the room previously only highlighted the odd angles of the space, so I decided to go with the flow of the room by using a herringbone pattern on the floor with these 4″x16″ honed Carrara marble tiles. And we made the marble shower floor less slick with this tumbled marble hexagon tile.

marble herringbone floor and freestanding tub | Maison de Pax

We finished all the grout with platinum grout and 1/16″ grout lines.

For the tub and shower walls, I used 6″x12″ honed Carrara marble tiles. I usually prefer to pick out natural stone in person since there are so many potential variations…

marble shower tile and shower shelf with rainhead and handheld shower | Maison de Pax

But these were the most affordable option I found, and they had to be special ordered since my local store didn’t keep them in stock. I am so pleased with their gray marbling, natural patterns, and veining, though!

Tip: If you are ordering natural stone, order more than you need in case some of the pieces have patterns or colors that you don’t like. Just make sure you are allowed to return without a restocking fee!

I chose a pencil to edge the wall tile. Unfortunately, the pencil tile didn’t come in honed, only polished marble. But it is such a subtle difference, especially for such a small piece.

freestanding tub with Carrara marble tile surround | Maison de Pax

Marble thresholds, ledges, and baseboards

I also used polished marble for the shower thresholds, baseboards, and tub ledge because these 6″ white marble thresholds were such an incredible price.

marble shower with polished nickel shower system | Maison de Pax

GET THE LOOK:

I think the marble threshold adds an elegance that is difficult to match with grouted tile.

It makes an especially beautiful shower shelf. We used a 12×24″ piece of honed marble tile to back the shelf, giving it the look of a marble slab and avoiding distracting grout lines.

honed carrara marble shower shelf inset | Maison de Pax

The choice of marble baseboards was two-fold:

  1. Our previous leak was due to water seeping between tile and baseboards and damaging sheetrock. I wanted to do whatever I could to make this bathroom more waterproof than the last.
  2. The size of the marble wall tile and the specific height of our tub ledge was leaving an awkward 1/2″ sliver of a tile at the bottom of the wall. By using a “baseboard,” we were able to adjust the wall tile layout to avoid the tiny sliver.
marble floors and marble baseboards in master bath | Maison de Pax

I think they were an affordable, practical, and elegant solution to the problems.

Freestanding Tub

I’ve been dreaming of a bathtub like this for some time. Our space is actually rather small (58″ wide to be exact), so my options were limited. But I knew I wanted it to sit under all the beautiful natural light from this window. This tub was the perfect shape and could be ordered with the polished nickel hardware I was wanting.

marble bathroom with white freestanding transitional tub and vintage rug | Maison de Pax

It really is beautiful, but I have to admit a mistake on my part: I didn’t sit in the tub before I ordered it. I’m not even sure if there is a store that carries these, but I wish I had gone to the trouble of trying to find tubs to sit in.

I read so many reviews for so many tubs, and I thought I knew what I wanted. But the problem with a symmetrical tub (as opposed to a slipper tub like I put in the attic bath) is that the two sides are sloped evenly.

white freestanding tub under window | Maison de Pax

So if you have a sloped side to support your back (which I like), you also have a sloped side that keeps you from extending your legs very far (which I don’t like).

In short? Tubs are a personal thing. I suggest trying to sit in one before you buy, especially if you are considering a symmetrical freestanding tub for the first time.

marble tub ledge under window behind freestanding tub | Maison de Pax

But don’t worry, it hasn’t kept me from enjoying quite a few bubble baths already. 😉 And the ledge we put just behind the tub has made it easy to bring a book, a cold drink, or a candle to help my bath time be extra relaxing.

And the polished nickel deck mount faucet with the little telephone shower handle is so classically charming.

polished nickel classic tub deck mount faucet with handheld shower | Maison de Pax

Double Vanity with Marble Countertops

bath with marble counters, white vanity, polished nickel faucets, and gold mirrors | Maison de Pax

GET THE LOOK:

As I mentioned, we’ve had these Carrara marble bathroom vanity countertops and these sink faucets for almost three years. But the fresh Bher Cameo White walls (the same color we used in our master bedroom) and the accessories make such a difference.

mixed metals in bathroom: gold mirrors with polished nickel faucets | Maison de Pax

I eventually plan to replace the cabinet hardware with gold knobs and pulls, but I’m in no big rush to add the gold hardware.

Bathroom Lighting and Accessories

Mixing Metals in Bathrooms

Over the vanity, I mixed gold mirrors with polished nickel plumbing fixtures and lighting.

mid century metal gold mirrors, marble counters, and white cabinets in bathroom | Maison de Pax

I finished it all off with polished nickel towel rings and pretty hand towels.

gold bathroom mirrors and polished nickel towel rings | Maison de Pax

But over the tub, I used this gorgeous gold chandelier. I love a good chandelier over a tub! And the bathroom feels so elegant and centered, as a result.

marble bathroom design freestanding tub glass shower vintage rug-28

I also used a 4-light gold pendant in the closet and a 2-light pendant in the water closet to add a little elegance to those spaces. With 9′ ceilings it was difficult to capture the lights in these small spaces, but they feel bright, airy, and elegant in person.

master closet with built in shelves, marble and cedar floors, and gold lantern chandelier | Maison de Pax

I continued with my gold and polished nickel combo by using these polished nickel towel hooks – one by the tub and two by the shower (one for a towel and one for an extra bath mat since the rug doesn’t quite reach the shower ledge).

polished nickel towel hook with honed carrara marble and pencil edge | Maison de Pax

Vintage Rugs in Marble Bathrooms

Speaking of the rug, we’ve had vintage rugs in our bathrooms at the ranch for about six months now, and I’m completely in love. Not only do handknotted vintage rugs offer so much beauty, craftsmanship, and variety, I love a plush rug underfoot in a cold tile bathroom.

colorful vintage rug of Persian origin in marble master bathroom | Maison de Pax

This one was from my favorite ebay store for vintage rugs, and I love the variety of colors it brings into the otherwise all-marble and white space.

colorful vintage persian rug in front of freestanding tub | Maison de Pax

Sources for a marble Bathroom

I think that pretty much sums up the project!

Before I list our sources, I want to say one thing about the total cost of a master bath remodel and specifically the choice to use some premium materials, like marble.

This master bathroom remodel cost us more than any other bathroom remodel we’ve ever done. Eek. But I’ve always said that renovation costs should be weighed against your budget and the potential increase in your home value. We felt that our neighborhood home value supported this level of materials, especially since they’re classics, and the investment in our home would pay out at selling time.

That said, if you’re looking to save money on your renovation, you might check out these budget bathroom tips or these save/splurge ideas for bathrooms. Either way, I hope this master bathroom renovation and these sources help you plan the next project in your own home!

For this space, we used the following:

Tile

Faucets and fixtures

Lighting

Accessories

Don’t forget to pin it!

bathroom with freestanding tub and text overlay: luxurious marble master bathroom reveal | Maison de Pax

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29 Comments

  1. It’s a beautiful room and i like your tub, it’s small and cozy. I know you will enjoy this room.

  2. You should have your own show. You have amazing taste. I use to love watching Candice Olson. She was my favorite interior designer but you top her now.

    1. Thank you so much, Christella! It would be a crazy show with all the kids running around in the background.

  3. Wow – that’s beautiful Rachel! I really want to work on our bathroom now – I’ve been threatening it for years! 🙂 Thanks for the inspiration!

  4. I love everything!! The marble, the mixed metals, and all the small details… can’t say enough good things about it. Thanks for sharing!

  5. Lovely tile work, but I am so sorry to say that the very busy pattern and red of the rug distracted my eye from all your beautiful marble work. I am so sorry to say it. I absolutely adore every other design decision you made.

  6. This bath is the closest thing I can find to exactly what I want. Can you share some boring, technical advice on that little ledge wall that runs behind the tub and into the shower? We are removing an ENORMOUS jacuzzi tub with a stand alone to make the bathroom feel larger but….. having issue with the faucet being under a window. To complicate matters, I want to use slab stone on the walls. Also, can you comment on the faucet you selected for the tub? Type? Thanks so much.

    1. I’m so glad you like it! The tub faucet is also linked in the post, and I’ve been happy with it. We were also removing a large tub, and I didn’t need the full width for the new tub, so a ledge seemed a logical option. I originally considered a tub that didn’t have a deck mount faucet option, so I considered mounting the tub faucet on that ledge. In the end, though, we chose a tub with a deck mount and were able to mount the faucet there. The ledge has been wonderful, though, as the tub doesn’t have anywhere to put anything! We built a box running the length of the wall using 2×4’s on their sides and then covered it with cement board. We tiled the sides like we would the wall and used a 6″ wide marble threshold piece (trimmed down by ~1/2″) as a little countertop. We then set the tub right next to the ledge. I hope this helps!

  7. Hi! Your bathroom is gorgeous! Oddly enough, we have a substantial amount of marble in our master (done exactly the same way in the shower and carrying around the free standing tub). I had googled “white walls with carrara marble” and this popped up! I think I read that your wall color is Cameo White by Behr. Is that correct? What color are your doors and the trim? Same color? Thank you!!!

  8. Hi Rachel,

    While I realize this blog is from last year I was hoping you would be able to share where you got the vanity lights from. It’s exactly what I’m looking for in my new master bath but the links are not working. Hopefully they still make them!

    Thank you!

  9. What a beautiful bathroom! I love the grout you chose. Can you please give me the name of the exact color? Thanks so much!

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