St. Matthews Walnut Master Bath

The challenge

A primary bathroom in a St.

A primary bathroom in a St. Matthews home from the early 1990s had every issue a 30-year-old bathroom accumulates: original cultured marble tub surround that had yellowed past cleaning, a cramped fiberglass shower with a builder-grade glass door, oak vanity that dominated the room, tile grout that had darkened past what a steam cleaner could fix, and a layout that separated the tub and shower into two small alcoves instead of giving the family one generous spa space. The homeowners — empty-nesters who had been talking about the renovation for five years — wanted a primary bath that felt like the nicest hotel they had stayed in, with room for two people to use the space at the same time without bumping into each other.

Our approach

We started by walking the bathroom with both homeowners and asking them to describe their perfect morning routine.

We started by walking the bathroom with both homeowners and asking them to describe their perfect morning routine. Two answers came up immediately: she wanted a deep soaking tub (the original was a 60-inch builder standard — they wanted 72 inches with a flat bottom for long baths). He wanted a shower big enough to actually move in — body jets, dual showerheads, no glass door to step over. Both wanted a vanity with two sinks, two mirrors, and storage that did not require crawling on the floor. We removed the wall between the original tub alcove and the shower alcove to combine them into one 9x6 spa shower, kept the original window (which let in beautiful west-facing light in the afternoon), and ran large-format 24x48 porcelain tile on the walls and floor to make the room feel twice as big as the 1990s 12x12 ceramic made it feel.

The work

From our camera roll.

Walnut vanity with white quartz top, sconces between mirrors — The walnut double vanity — His + Hers sinks, soft-close drawers, programmable heated floors underneath.

Walnut vanity with sconces, large mirrors, walk-in glass shower — Looking back toward the vanity from the shower — the combined layout gives the room real breathing room.

Freestanding soaker tub with glass shower enclosure behind — 72-inch freestanding soaker tub with floor-mounted filler. The original west-facing window frames the tub like art.

Primary bath overview with walnut vanity, glass shower, and soaker tub — The full primary bath — walnut vanity on the right, glass shower center, freestanding tub under the window.

Primary bath vanity with quartz countertop and undermount sinks — Quartz countertop detail — undermount sinks, soft-close drawers, electrical outlets inside the drawer.

Bathroom lighting with pendant and recessed lights over vanity — Lighting detail — vanity sconces + recessed ambient. Each on its own dimmer.

Freestanding tub with floor-mounted filler and tile surround — Tub filler detail — floor-mounted, separate hot/cold handles, hand shower for hair rinse.

Bathroom corner detail with tub filler and large-format tile — The 24x48 porcelain tile — one piece runs floor to ceiling on the shower wall. Almost no grout lines.

Glass shower enclosure with marble-look tile surround — Shower entry — the frameless glass swings both ways for easy access.

Bathroom vanity with walnut cabinets and chrome faucet — Faucet detail — widespread chrome, separate hot/cold, touch-toe drain.

Walnut vanity with white countertop and large mirrors — The vanity, lit up. Each sconce is on its own dimmer — they keep them at 30% for morning, 100% for evening.

Bathroom with walnut vanity and chrome hardware — Drawer detail — soft-close, dovetail joints, full-extension slides. No junk drawer.

Project scope

What we built

Full demo to studs (preserve original window + exterior wall)
Combine original tub alcove + shower alcove into single 9x6 spa shower
Custom walnut double vanity (His + Hers sinks, drawer storage, soft-close)
Frameless glass shower enclosure with dual showerheads + body sprays
Freestanding 72-inch soaker tub with floor-mounted tub filler
Large-format 24x48 porcelain tile (walls + floor)
Heated floors (programmable thermostat)
New lighting plan (4 zones: shower, vanity, tub, ambient)
Quiet inline exhaust fan rated for 200 CFM

Project facts

Duration

7 weeks

Budget

$68K (mid-range primary bath gut)

Trade

bathroom

Location

St. Matthews, KY

Completed

2026

The result

The homeowners got the primary bathroom they had been quietly planning for five years.

The homeowners got the primary bathroom they had been quietly planning for five years. The combined shower is the daily workhorse — dual heads + body sprays + bench make it a real two-person space. The freestanding tub gets used 2-3 nights a week. The walnut vanity grounds the room against all the white tile and gives it warmth. Heated floors mean they never step on cold tile in winter. The original west-facing window now frames the new freestanding tub like a piece of art in the late afternoon. Two years in, everything still works, nothing has cracked, and the grout is still white.

What the homeowner said

"We had been talking about this bathroom for five years. Zach and the crew did it in seven weeks and we use the spa shower every single day. The walnut makes it feel like a high-end hotel without being pretentious."
— Wilson Way client, St. Matthews, KY • 2026-04