Willo Historic District · Phoenix
Historic character.
A more comfortable everyday.
A curbless shower, warm wood cabinetry, and new arched openings give this primary bathroom a different way to live. Beneath the finishes, carefully rebuilt framing makes that easier movement possible.
Residential Bathroom $70,000–$100,000
Willo, Phoenix
Design and construction: Homework Remodels
The couple was returning to the house where the husband grew up. Preparing it for their next chapter meant rethinking one of its most personal spaces.
The bathroom belonged to a home with a long family history, but its arrangement no longer served the way the homeowners wanted to live. An aging tub and leaking shower occupied valuable space. The vanity offered limited storage, and an entrance from the hall kept the room connected to the public side of the house.
The new suite needed privacy and comfortable circulation, with room for two people at the vanity and a shower they could enter without stepping over a curb. Those practical goals shaped the architecture, from the openings between rooms to the floor beneath the tile.
A different daily routine
A private suite, with a clearer path through it
We closed the hall entrance and reorganized access through the primary closet. Two arched openings connect the spaces and repeat the curved forms that suit the home’s Spanish Colonial character. Removing the tub freed room for a double vanity, while the former shower location became an arched passage to a landing area with custom cabinetry.
The change is easiest to understand in the before-and-after views. The room’s functions moved, allowing each part of the suite to work with the next. The shower now occupies the old vanity area, where two new privacy windows bring daylight into the enclosure.
The work beneath the tile
A curbless shower began three inches below the floor
A level entry could not be achieved simply by changing the shower pan. The home sits over a crawl space, and the existing wood framing left too little depth for the recessed floor and its drainage slope. We needed to lower the shower framing three inches beneath the surrounding bathroom floor.
The work involved removing the joists within the shower area and building a new support arrangement. Ledger boards carried the lowered framing, including a ledger anchored to the existing exterior concrete footing. A new concrete footing and post provided additional support. This created the recessed structure needed for the finished shower to meet the bathroom floor without a curb.
The exterior walls required attention, too. The old tile had been applied directly to double-brick masonry. For the new shower, we furred out the walls, added foam-board insulation and cement board, and waterproofed the walls and pan before installing tile.
Comfort in the details
Light, texture, and room to move
Ivory zellige-style wall tile keeps the shower light while bringing variation to its surfaces. Two recessed niches align with the privacy windows, giving the enclosure an ordered rhythm. Small porcelain hexagon tiles distinguish the shower floor from the patterned bathroom floor outside it.
A central drain serves the sloped shower floor. Inside the walls, plywood backing prepares for future grab bars and a wall-mounted seat. The supports are concealed now, but their placement anticipates needs that may change over time.
The shower combines a curbless entrance with glass that keeps its light visible from the rest of the bathroom. Its openness comes from the layout as much as the finishes.
A place for everyday things
Storage that earns its space
The double vanity gives each homeowner a sink and adds useful counter space. Warm wood cabinetry anchors the room beneath a light quartz surface. Mirror-mounted sconces illuminate the vanity, with recessed ceiling lighting supporting the room as a whole.
Across from the water closet, an alcove holds additional custom cabinetry and a charging station. This landing area gives small daily items a place outside the main vanity. It also makes use of the circulation space created by the revised layout.
Privacy and preservation
Making room while keeping an original door
The water closet had its own space problem. A furred-out wall concealed the toilet vent and reduced the usable width. During replacement of the underfloor plumbing, we moved the vent to the shared shower wall and removed that extra build-out. Extending the adjoining wall added depth to both the water closet and shower.
We preserved the original water closet door and adapted it to the new arrangement. Changing the swing required relocating the hinges and carefully cutting new mortises. We installed a new lockset, filled the old lock opening, and refinished the affected area. Retaining the door kept a familiar piece of the home within a substantially changed room.
Comfort behind the walls
An air-distribution system we could reach again
Air conditioning had been added after the home was built, with ducts routed beneath the wood floors. The old arrangement was difficult to service and contributed to uneven temperatures. New supply and return ductwork in the attic above the suite allowed us to serve the redesigned spaces and accommodate the arched transitions.
The bathroom’s new plumbing, ventilation, and lighting were coordinated with that work. These systems are less visible than the cabinetry and tile, but they were part of making the revised layout function as a complete suite.
The completed room
A bathroom ready for the years ahead
The finished suite offers a more direct route between the bedroom, closet, and bathroom. Daylight reaches the shower. Two sinks and additional cabinetry make room for daily routines, and the curbless entry removes a step at the shower threshold.
Arched openings, patterned tile, and the restored door keep the room connected to the older house. New framing and updated systems support the changes underneath. This bathroom received a 2026 local NARI Greater Phoenix award in the Residential Bathroom $70,000–$100,000 category.
This was part of the couple’s larger return to the family home. Explore the complete Willo home renovation to see how the kitchen, former porch, and living spaces changed around it.
What would make your bathroom work better?
A useful starting point is the part of your routine that feels awkward today: stepping into the shower, sharing a small vanity, finding storage, or moving between rooms. Those details can guide the plan, especially when an older home’s structure needs to be understood before the layout changes.
Award-Winning Home Remodeling Services
Tell us what you love about your home and what your bathroom needs to do better. We’ll begin with a conversation about your goals and the possibilities for your space.