Master Bathroom Remodel – Princeton, NJ
This 90-square-foot master bathroom remodel in Princeton was completed in twelve working days. The scope included a walk-in shower with rain showerhead and matte black fixtures, a freestanding bathtub, a custom double vanity, large-format tile on both the floor and walls, and new lighting. Matte black was used consistently across all plumbing fixtures — shower valve, faucets, drain hardware — creating a deliberate finish thread that ties the room together against the neutral large-format tile.
Scope of Work
- Full demolition
- Large-format tile on bathroom floor and walls
- Walk-in shower built with glass panel enclosure
- Rain showerhead installed
- Matte black fixtures throughout — shower valve, vanity faucets, drain hardware
- Freestanding bathtub installed with dedicated supply and drain
- Custom double vanity installed
- New lighting above vanity
Matte Black Throughout: The Finish Decision
Using a single fixture finish consistently across an entire bathroom — shower valve, showerhead, drain covers, vanity faucets, towel bars, cabinet hardware — is what makes the finish feel like a design decision rather than an accumulation of separate purchase choices. In this Princeton bathroom, matte black was applied to every plumbing fixture and fitting in the room. Against neutral large-format tile, matte black provides strong, clean contrast without the coolness of chrome or the warmth of gold.
Matte black as a finish also has a practical characteristic: it does not show water spots the way polished chrome or polished nickel does. In a daily-use bathroom, a matte finish maintains its appearance between cleanings more readily than a reflective one. That is a maintenance consideration worth noting alongside the aesthetic one.
Walk-In Shower with Rain Showerhead and Glass Enclosure
The walk-in shower was built with a custom base sloped to drain correctly, walls tiled to match the large-format tile used throughout the room, and a glass panel enclosure. A rain showerhead — a large-diameter overhead fixture — delivers water in a wider, lower-pressure pattern than a standard showerhead. The experience is different from a standard shower: broader coverage, gentler pressure, and a different relationship between the user and the water flow. It also requires adequate water pressure and flow rate at the shower supply to function correctly, which is evaluated during the plumbing rough-in phase.
The glass enclosure keeps the shower visually open — a frameless or minimal-frame panel allows the tile work inside the shower to read from outside the enclosure rather than being blocked by an opaque surround. In a 90-square-foot bathroom where the shower is one of the dominant elements, glass keeps the room from feeling divided.
Freestanding Bathtub
A freestanding bathtub was installed adjacent to the walk-in shower. A freestanding tub is visible from multiple angles and its position in the room has to be considered as part of the floor plan rather than placed wherever the existing plumbing happens to be. New dedicated supply lines and a drain were run for the tub’s freestanding faucet. The matte black tub faucet continues the consistent hardware finish across both bathing zones.
Having both a walk-in shower and a freestanding tub in a 90-square-foot master bathroom requires careful floor plan allocation so each fixture has adequate clearance and neither crowds the vanity or the door swing. In this case the two fixtures were positioned to work with each other rather than competing for the same floor area.
Custom Double Vanity and Lighting
A custom double vanity was installed — built to the specific dimensions of the space rather than selected from a standard catalog size. Custom vanity construction allows the cabinet width, depth, drawer layout, and countertop overhang to be specified exactly, which matters in a 90-square-foot room where a standard vanity that is a few inches too wide or positioned incorrectly relative to the door can affect circulation throughout the room.
Modern lighting fixtures were installed above the vanity, positioned to provide even illumination at mirror height rather than relying on overhead ceiling fixtures alone. Lighting at or slightly above mirror height — from the front rather than from above — is the functional position for daily grooming and eliminates the downward shadows that ceiling-only lighting creates on the face.
Large-Format Tile on Floor and Walls
Large-format tile was installed on both the bathroom floor and the walls. Running the same tile format across both the floor and the wall surfaces creates a cohesive field that makes the room read as a single finished space rather than separate tiled zones. In a 90-square-foot bathroom, a consistent tile field makes the room feel more expansive than tile that changes between surfaces. Fewer grout lines across both the floor and walls also reduces long-term maintenance.
Twelve Working Days
Twelve working days for a 90-square-foot master bathroom with a walk-in shower build, freestanding tub installation, custom vanity, and full tile on floor and walls is an appropriate timeline for this scope. The walk-in shower rough-in, the freestanding tub plumbing connections, and the custom vanity installation each add time compared to a standard bathroom refresh. The twelve-day completion with no rework indicates the sequencing was correctly planned before construction started.
Bathroom Remodeling in Princeton and Mercer County
Princeton is a Mercer County community with a mix of residential property types. Master bathrooms in homes across the area vary widely in age and condition. A 90-square-foot master bath at this finish level — custom vanity, walk-in shower, freestanding tub, consistent matte black hardware, large-format tile throughout — represents the upper-mid tier of what a full master bathroom remodel involves in this region. Belmax Remodeling works throughout Mercer County and the surrounding area. For more on our bathroom work, see our bathroom remodeling service page. Homeowners in the Princeton area can also visit our Mercer County service area page for more completed regional projects.
Considering a Similar Project?
Master bathroom remodels in the 90-square-foot range with a walk-in shower, freestanding tub, custom double vanity, and large-format tile throughout typically fall in the $11,000–$16,000 range in Mercer County. This Princeton project came in at $12,300, completed in 12 working days in March 2023. To discuss what your bathroom would involve, request a free estimate.