Alexandria VA Primary Bathroom Remodel | Geometric Hex Tile Floor & Matte Black Fixtures

With an older Alexandria home (and an existing bath that had seen its share of small repairs over the years), demo turned up the usual range of behind-the-wall surprises. Outdated plumbing in a couple of spots, a junction box that didn't pass current code, and waterproofing on the tub deck that had to come out completely. None of it changed the scope, but each piece had to be addressed before tile work started.

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The floor was the design anchor. Large hexagonal porcelain tile was laid out in a four-color mix - white, light gray, mid-gray, and matte black - with the tones distributed in a loose geometric pattern rather than a strict repeat. That kind of layout looks easy in photos, but it takes planning. Tile gets dry-laid first to make sure the color rhythm reads right from the door, with no awkward clusters of any one tone landing where the eye stops first (toilet, vanity, tub).

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The drop-in soaking tub was kept but completely redressed. The deck and skirt were retiled in a large-format gray porcelain that quiets the area around the tub and lets the floor pattern do the work. A new matte black deck-mounted tub filler replaced the original chrome.

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The walk-in shower (separate enclosure to the right of the vanity wall) was rebuilt with a frameless glass door on matte black hardware. The shower floor is a pebble mosaic in mixed gray tones, picking up the floor palette without trying to match the hex pattern outright. A built-in niche was framed and waterproofed during the rebuild.

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The vanity is a single-sink configuration in gray shaker cabinetry with matte black drawer pulls and door knobs. A speckled white quartz countertop sits above, with a rectangular vessel sink set on top. That detail (vessel vs. undermount) changes the rough-in - faucet and drain heights have to be planned around the basin sitting on the counter, not below it. The faucet is a tall matte black single-hole vessel filler, sized to clear the rim cleanly. A square LED-backlit mirror sits flush above the vanity, switched separately from the room's recessed lighting so the perimeter glow can be used on its own at night.

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The water closet was kept as its own enclosed space (a feature worth holding onto in any primary bath that already has it). Walls were repainted in the same light gray tone as the main room, a wall-mounted gray shaker cabinet was added above the toilet for actual usable storage, and the same hex tile pattern carries through underfoot so the room reads as part of the suite rather than an afterthought.

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Matte black hardware runs throughout the project - cabinet pulls, faucets, tub filler, towel ring, shower glass clips - so every metal touchpoint reads the same. Recessed lighting was reset to a clean grid, with a vent fan in the main room and a round LED flush-mount in the water closet.