Carmichael Mediterranean Spa-Tier Primary

Project Brief

Location: Carmichael, off Fair Oaks Boulevard between Engle and Marconi.
Year built: 1985 (custom Mediterranean, single-builder).
Scope: Primary bath spa-tier rebuild — demo to studs, new tile package with an arched niche detail, freestanding tub centered on the courtyard window, dual vanity rebuild in alder, brushed-bronze trim throughout.
Timeline: 10 weeks demo to walkthrough.
Investment range: $104,000 to $120,000. Concept lands at $112,000.

Existing Conditions

The original 1985 primary bath had real Mediterranean bones — barrel-vaulted ceiling, coved plaster transitions, an arched window onto the side courtyard, a 60x60 step-up tile soaking tub on a Saltillo-tile deck, and a separate 36x48 corner shower with framed glass. The original tile was 6x6 hand-painted Mexican Talavera in a saturated cobalt-and-mustard pattern that read genuinely Mediterranean in 1985 and reads visually exhausting in 2026. Floor was 12x12 Saltillo, sealed beautifully but the homeowner had stopped polishing it years ago.

Vanity was an 84-inch alder cabinet with two undermount oval sinks, a single-slab travertine counter with a 4-inch backsplash, and Price Pfister Marielle widespread faucets in polished brass that had clouded over. The brass Roman-tub trim on the step-up tub had pitted at the lever stems. Lighting was a wrought-iron chandelier above the tub deck that worked, plus two iron-framed wall sconces flanking the mirror that did not. Wall plaster was original three-coat — sound, undamaged, but yellowed at the corners from a previous resident's habit of burning candles in the bath.

Behind the walls we expected what we found — original Type-L copper, sound, plus original 2-inch ABS DWV. The shower had been retiled once in the late 90s with no membrane and a thin mortar bed; we found efflorescence at the curb on first inspection. Master valve was original Price Pfister; cartridge was end-of-life.

Design Approach

The brief: "Keep the Mediterranean — make it spa-tier, drop the saturation, dial in the warmth." The room's bones (barrel vault, coved transitions, arched window) get preserved and celebrated. The tile package shifts from saturated cobalt-and-mustard Talavera to a quiet terracotta-warm mix — handmade unglazed terracotta (Tabarka Studio Selvaggio in Toscana) on the floor, hand-glazed 4x12 zellige (Cle Tile in Weathered White) on the walls in a stack-bond, and a single arched niche behind the tub clad in a Tabarka Studio terracotta-encaustic pattern with a soft warm palette.

The step-up soaking tub demos out. In its place we set a freestanding Victoria + Albert Napoli in white volcanic-limestone composite, centered on the arched courtyard window with a Brizo Litze freestanding tub filler in luxe-bronze finish. The 36x48 corner shower expands into a 60x42 walk-in with low curb, a single recessed arched niche above the bench (a sister to the niche behind the tub), 3/8-inch frameless glass with antique-brass U-channel, and Brizo Litze trim — thermostatic valve, 8-inch rainfall, handheld on slide bar — all in luxe-bronze.

The vanity rebuilds in alder (continuous with the home's existing alder doors and trim) — a custom 84-inch double in flat-panel doors and drawers with a hand-rubbed warm-walnut stain, antique-bronze cup pulls and knobs from Rocky Mountain Hardware. Counter is a single 9-foot slab of honed Pental Quartz in Calacatta Renoire with a 2-inch mitered eased edge. Two undermount Kohler Caxton sinks. Faucets are Brizo Litze widespread with cross handles in luxe-bronze. The wrought-iron chandelier above the former tub deck gets rewired and rehung — the homeowner loved it and the room asks for it. Two new Hudson Valley plaster sconces flank the mirror; both on Lutron Diva dimmers.

Build Notes

Three real surprises during demo. First, the late-90s shower retile was failing exactly as the curb efflorescence implied. Once the tile came off, the bottom plate of the framed wall behind the corner shower was wet to the touch over a four-foot run. We pulled and replaced 6 linear feet of bottom plate, dried the framing for three days, and rebuilt with full Schluter Kerdi membrane wall-to-floor including a Kerdi-Drain integration. No mold remediation needed — the moisture had been steady but not severe.

Second, the original 1985 step-up tub had been framed with 2x6s on edge over the slab, with the deck tile carrying the visual mass. The freestanding tub needed a flat slab ready for setting. Once we demoed the deck framing, we found the slab below was actually in great condition — no cracks, no signs of moisture migration, ready for a clean tub set with a Schluter Ditra layer for thermal isolation.

Third, the wrought-iron chandelier was hanging from a single 1985 ceiling box rated for 35 pounds. The fixture itself weighed 28 — fine for a static load — but the homeowner mentioned that her teenage son had "used it as a pull-up bar once" several years prior. We replaced the ceiling box with a new 70-pound-rated fan/fixture box with proper bracing between the joists, just in case. New 14/3 home-run wiring on a separate dimmable circuit. Inspector signed off in one trip.

Materials List

• Floor tile: Tabarka Studio Selvaggio handmade unglazed terracotta in Toscana, sealed
• Wall tile: Cle Tile 4x12 hand-glazed zellige in Weathered White, stack-bond
• Niche tile (tub and shower): Tabarka Studio terracotta-encaustic pattern in a warm Mediterranean palette, hand-set in 4x4 dimension
• Shower wall tile: Cle Tile 4x12 zellige in Weathered White, full-height, stack-bond
• Shower floor tile: Tabarka Studio Selvaggio terracotta 4x4 mosaic for traction
• Shower glass: 3/8" frameless tempered with antique-brass U-channel
• Shower trim: Brizo Litze thermostatic valve, 8-inch rainfall, handheld on slide bar — luxe-bronze throughout
• Tub: Victoria + Albert Napoli freestanding in volcanic-limestone composite
• Tub filler: Brizo Litze freestanding tub filler with hand-shower wand in luxe-bronze
• Vanity: custom 84-inch double in solid alder with hand-rubbed warm-walnut stain, antique-bronze cup pulls and knobs from Rocky Mountain Hardware
• Counter: single 9-foot Pental Quartz in honed Calacatta Renoire, 2-inch mitered eased edge
• Sinks: Kohler Caxton undermount (two)
• Vanity faucets: Brizo Litze widespread with cross handles in luxe-bronze
• Toilet: Toto Aquia IV one-piece in white
• Lighting: original wrought-iron chandelier rewired and rehung on a new 70-pound box, two Hudson Valley plaster sconces flanking the mirror, all on Lutron Diva dimmers
• Mirror: custom antique-bronze-framed beveled, sized one-to-one with vanity
• Hardware: Rocky Mountain Hardware bronze towel bars, robe hooks, paper holder
• Heated floor: Schluter Ditra-Heat under terracotta, Lutron-controlled timer
• Waterproofing: Schluter Kerdi membrane, Kerdi-Band, Kerdi-Drain integration in shower; remediation of 6 linear feet of bottom plate
• Exhaust: Panasonic WhisperGreen Select 110 CFM with humidity sensor, ducted through the existing roof vent
• Wall finish: existing barrel-vaulted plaster ceiling and coves preserved, walls finished in Portola Roman Clay limewash in custom warm-bone tone