Open Concept Bathroom Remodel with Wet Room in Arlington, Edison St – Project #52

The Challenge: What We Were Working With

The original master bath had the same problems we see in a lot of Northern Virginia homes built in the '90s and early 2000s. A traditional shower stall and a built-in tub occupied the bulk of the floor space, leaving the room feeling smaller than its actual square footage. The layout felt chopped up - more functional than intentional.

The infrastructure underneath wasn't in any better shape. The existing subfloor and floor joists weren't rated for the weight load a modern wet room requires, and the drain placement was wrong for the redesign we had in mind. Cold tile floors were another issue. Like most homes in the area, the original bathroom had no radiant heat (uncomfortable from November through March).

The client's goals were specific: they wanted the shower and tub to share one unified, fully waterproofed zone, the toilet completely separated for privacy, and the overall space to feel open without feeling exposed. Those are reasonable asks. Getting there just takes the right execution.

The Scope of Work

• We started with a full gut demolition, stripping everything back to framing and subfloor. That step matters. It's the only way to verify what's actually going on behind the walls before committing to a design.
• Before a single tile went down, we reinforced the floor joists to handle the new structural load and leveled the entire subfloor (a step that's easy to skip and expensive to regret later).
• The centerpiece of the design is the integrated wet room, where the walk-in shower and freestanding soaking tub share a single waterproofed area. A custom frameless glass partition with a smooth-glide, matte-black rolling door system defines the space without boxing it in. You can see through the glass enclosure all the way to the bedroom beyond. That visual connection to the master suite is part of what makes the room feel so open.
• The freestanding white soaking tub sits against the tiled accent wall, positioned beneath a black-framed horizontal window that brings in natural light and a view of the tree line outside. A matte black floor-mount tub filler was installed alongside it, paired with a built-in recessed niche in the wall — tiled to match, clean-lined, and practical. Inside the shower, the system includes a ceiling-mounted rain head and a wall-mounted hand shower, both in matte black.
• For flooring, we installed large-format, slip-resistant porcelain tile over a professional-grade radiant floor heating system. No more cold floors in January. The tile runs continuously through the wet zone and into the main bathroom floor, keeping the visual plane uninterrupted.
• The vanity wall is its own focal point. A custom-built, navy blue floating double vanity with a bold chevron-textured cabinet face anchors the space with color and dimension. The cabinetry is topped with a dark stone countertop and fitted with undermount sinks — finished with brushed brass wall-mounted faucets that add warmth against the cooler gray and navy tones. Above it, a large backlit mirror with a black frame reflects the warm-toned vertically stacked tile accent wall behind it, drawing the eye upward and adding height to the room.
• Waterproofing was handled with the latest membrane technology throughout the entire wet zone — walls, floor, and the recessed niche. Nothing was left to chance.
• Ventilation was treated as a non-negotiable part of the wet room design. A high-capacity exhaust fan was installed to actively remove moisture-laden air after every shower or bath, eliminating the humidity buildup that creates conditions for mold and mildew growth over time. In a fully waterproofed wet zone, proper ventilation is what keeps the entire moisture management system performing the way it should, not just in the first year, but for the long haul.