Raised Roof for a Master Bath: After
Cosmetic flaws often scare off home buyers. But not Tim and Wendy Hogan, who saw past 6-foot ceilings and musty carpeting covered in cat hair to envision the finished attic in their new Portland, Oregon, home as the site of their future master suite.
Shown: Raising the roof with shed dormers and removing an old chimney freed space for a luxurious master bath. Homeowner Tim Hogan built the vanity from salvaged walnut; blue milk-glass knobs add a vintage touch.
Sinks: George Morlan Plumbing Supply
Sink faucets, vanity lights, and marble shower tile: Lowe’s
Vanity knobs: Astoria Vintage Hardware
Low Ceilings With Cramped Style: Before
Three weeks after buying the house, they tore off the roof, gutted the top floor’s two walk-through bedrooms, and built a pair of full-length shed dormers, gaining ceiling height and increasing their usable floor space by 200 square feet. Half the floor became their bedroom and the other half a walk-in closet and this master bath. Tim, a former contractor, did the wiring and plumbing and flexed his carpentry muscles, building linen cabinets, a walnut vanity, and medicine cabinets. Wendy handled the finishes, snagging many at a deep discount. “I build, she designs,” Tim says. “If left to just one of us, we’d have low ceilings with great decor or a well-built house with white walls.”
Together, as this luxurious master bath makes plain, they’re a perfect team.
Shown: A low attic ceiling made rooms feel cramped and left dead space behind the walls.
Airy Shower Area
The doorless shower and bright-white plate-rail-capped wainscoting give the bath an airy feel. Porcelain floor tiles offer the look of slate for less.
Tile: Emser
Ceramic shower tile: The Home Depot
Rain showerheads: Amazon
Chandelier: Hippo Hardware, Portland, OR
Room Made for a Soaker
The room’s dimensions were expanded mid-renovation to fit Wendy’s favorite feature: a claw-foot soaker tub.
Tub: Signature Hardware
Floor tile: Emser
Tub and tub-filler faucet: Signature Hardware
Marble Accented-Shower
A 5-inch-high marble border dresses up standard ceramic subway tile.
Floor Plan Before: Wasted Space
Sloped ceilings and a retired furnace chimney left wasted space behind the walls.
Floor Plan After: Accommodating Dormers
Full-length shed dormers yielded more usable space and 8-foot ceilings in the attic. The new bath claimed the exterior wall that the bedroom closet had backed up to.
1. Tapped into what had been dead space behind a bedroom wall. Plumbed for fixtures; added a window over the focal-point tub.
2. Removed the defunct chimney to make way for storage cupboards and for a walk-in shower roomy enough for a bench.
3. Built a double vanity along the wall that separates the bath from the walk-in closet.
4. Moved the doorway and created a short hall that leads to the adjacent closet and to the master bedroom.