Two Distinct Bathroom Renovations for One Champaign Home
Champaign, IL
A dramatic guest bathroom and a romantic primary bathroom designed several years apart for a client who wanted each room to have its own identity.
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Scope Full guest bathroom conversion and primary bathroom renovation |
Guest Bathroom Designed By: Cory Rodeheaver
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Primary Bathroom Designed By: Dawn Bane |
TWO BATHROOMS WITH SEPARATE IDENTITIES
The two bathrooms in this Champaign home were never intended to match. The guest bathroom is dark and architectural, built around black marble and a grayscale mural. The primary bathroom is unabashedly pink, with a painted clawfoot tub, Chinoiserie patterns and a French commode adapted as a vanity. They were completed several years apart.
In both projects, the homeowner came to the process with a clear appreciation for antique furniture and rooms that feel collected rather than standardized. That shared perspective gave each design a foundation while leaving room for two very different results. It also meant finding practical ways to use unusual pieces in spaces exposed to water and daily wear.
FINDING SPACE FOR A FULL GUEST BATHROOM
The first project began in 2018 with a room that served as both a half bath and a laundry room. Without a shower, it could not fully accommodate overnight guests. Expanding the footprint was not necessary. Moving the washer and dryer down the hall freed the portion of the room needed for a shower and allowed the existing half bath to become a complete second bathroom.
That planning decision also gave the room a new purpose, and its design became more assured as a result. A custom mosaic of Nero Marquina and Thassos marble established the black-and-white palette. The Nero Marquina continues into the wainscot and across the shower walls, so the small room reads as one composition rather than a collection of separate surfaces.
Above the marble, a grayscale Chinoiserie-inspired mural softens the geometry and introduces the homeowner's personal taste. She also sourced the intricately carved antique side table used for the vanity. Adapting it for a vessel sink and wall-mounted faucet preserved the open profile of the furniture while providing the plumbing a working bathroom requires. Existing pendant lights and a vintage ornate mirror completed the room without making every element feel newly purchased.
COORDINATING THE GUEST BATHROOM CONVERSION
Relocating the laundry involved more than finding another open wall. The team coordinated municipal code requirements and the plumbing changes needed for the new locations. Inside the bathroom, plumbing also had to shift to accommodate the recessed shower niche. Tile and plumbing work were sequenced closely because the marble pattern, shower layout and fixture locations depended on one another.
The specified shower fixtures were delayed for months because of the brass finish. Temporary fixtures kept the new bathroom usable until the correct pieces arrived, allowing the homeowners to use the room without giving up the finish selected for the final design.
A PRIMARY BATHROOM WITH A LIGHTER POINT OF VIEW
When the homeowner renovated the primary bathroom a few years later, she wanted the room to feel entirely different. The palette moved toward blush pink and warm gold, with birds, florals, and scenic Chinoiserie motifs giving the surfaces a delicate level of detail. This bathroom was also meant to offer a comfortable place to slow down and enjoy a bath, so the tub became the visual and experiential focus.
A new arch defines the bathing area and gives the clawfoot tub a more intimate setting. Painting the arch to continue the wallpaper keeps the opening integrated with the walls rather than outlining it as a separate feature. Beneath it, the custom-painted tub has enough presence to hold its own among the patterns without making the room feel crowded.
The vanity began with a collaborative search by the homeowner and designer. They found a vintage Louis XV-style French commode at an auction house in Georgia, then worked with local craftspeople to convert it for modern plumbing. The commode brought the age, ornament, and individuality the homeowner wanted, while the adaptation made it useful every day. A natural-stone pinwheel mosaic floor and Brizo fixtures in a Luxe Gold finish support the room's period references without turning it into a reproduction of one particular era.
MANAGING A HIGHLY DETAILED BATHROOM RENOVATION
The primary bathroom required a different kind of coordination than the earlier conversion. Spectrum Design Group handled procurement, deliveries, subcontractors, installation review, and day-to-day communication while the custom vanity moved through several hands. Careful oversight was especially important where vintage furniture, modern plumbing, and newly built architectural details met. That coordination allowed the antique commode to function as a bathroom vanity without losing the character the client loved.
TWO BATHROOMS THAT BELONG TO THE SAME HOMEOWNER
The guest bathroom now gives visitors a shower where there was once only a half bath, making the home easier to share with overnight guests. Its dark marble, mural, and antique vanity make the small room feel deliberate rather than secondary.
The primary bathroom offers a very different daily experience. The arch gives the tub a defined place within the room, while the pink palette and carefully sourced vanity reflect the homeowner's preferences more closely than a standard suite of bathroom finishes could.
Seen together, the bathrooms show why a home does not need one decorative formula carried from room to room. Both belong to the same client because both were designed around what she genuinely likes. One is dramatic and grounded; the other is soft and expressive. Neither could be mistaken for someone else's bathroom.
PROJECT GALLERY
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