Crisp, Clean & Timeless - Kansas City Homes & Style

Renovation gives a fresh look to Lee’s Summit primary bathroom.

Story by Joan Bellinghausen / Photography by Matt Kocourek

When time came to transform a dated primary bathroom from the 80’s into an updated space, homeowners Karen and Rocco Florio knew exactly what they wanted – lots of natural light, a better layout and classic finishes.

“We really like the classic black and white look with a little bit of barnwood,” says Karen. “We wanted clean lines and an overall look that can stand the test of time.”

The Florio’s, who live in the Lakewood community of Lee’s Summit, also knew the perfect contractor for the job – builder Josh Laughlin, owner of True Point Construction. The Florio’s previously worked with Josh when he remodeled their son’s bathroom.

The project started with removing the old whirlpool jet tub, freeing up significant space and allowing a better configuration of the L-shaped space.

”My bathroom looks huge now,” says Karen

Finish selections greatly influenced the timeless feel of the bathroom.

A large white and black hexagon tile adorns the bathroom floor while the shower floor repeats the hexagon shape but in a much smaller black tile. Classic white subway tile covers the shower walls. Black quartz countertops grace the vanities, and the sinks and tub feature black vintage-inspired faucets.

The large shower showcases a rainhead, two traditional showerheads and a handheld wand as well as two LED lit recessed niches, one for him and one for her. A heated towel bar gives a nod to the Florio’s travels.

“My husband and I love Europe and one thing we wanted was a heated towel bar,” Karen says. “It has been wonderful in the winter.”

The new layout created separate vanities for Karen and Rocco. Doing so gave each of them more counterspace and additional storage.

“It’s nice to have your own space in the bathroom,” she says.

Most importantly, natural light floods the bathroom from windows located on two walls. The remodel retained a bank of three large windows at the far end of the bathroom while two smaller windows were added on the adjacent tub wall.

“We wanted to maximize the amount of natural light in the space,” Josh says.

The windows look out onto the lake, resulting in a “beautiful view”, according to Karen.

Karen cites Josh’s creativity as a being a major bonus of working with him. He put that talent to work in solving a couple issues during construction.

First, the location of the worksite at the far end of the house meant that workers and debris would move down a long hall, through the primary bedroom and finally into the primary bathroom. But Josh had other plans, wanting to lessen the disruption to the household during construction.

“Instead of constantly walking through the house, we cut a hole in the adjacent garage wall and put in a temporary door to the bathroom,” he explains. “This mitigated dust and eliminated ‘project travel’ through the house. It seemed to work out well.”

Karen echoes that sentiment. Sealing off the bathroom from the primary bedroom proved to be a game changer, minimizing issues for her husband who has asthma.

Another challenge arose related to the soaker tub, which wouldn’t support a deck-mounted faucet.

“We had to come up with a solution to house the plumbing on an exterior wall,” Josh says. “So, we built a ledge behind the tub with enough space to insulate the piping and give us a surface to mount the faucet.”

The ledge has provided an added benefit for Karen, who has since filled the ledge with lots of potted plants.

“I’ve turned the area into an atrium of sorts,” she says. “Soaking in the tub feels like being in a luxury hotel.”

Now, the Florio’s have the bathroom that they wanted and they credit Josh with bringing their vision to life.

“We can’t say enough good things about Josh and his crew,” Karen raves. “They just do a fantastic job.”