If your bathroom played out, the team at Acclaim Renovation & Design can cast a new lead

By Patricia Nugent

When designing a room, it’s a fundamental rule of thumb to establish a focal point, an interesting spot for the eye to land, a visual punctuation mark that other elements in the room highlight. Sometimes a focal point emphasizes the room’s best existing architectural feature, such as tall windows or a stone fireplace. And other times, you need to create one or two focal points to bring movement and flow into a space.

With more than 40 years in the home remodeling business, Bob Gallese, founder of Acclaim Renovation & Design, knows his way around a focal point.

In the master bathroom renovation featured here, this was the first time the 1970s home had been renovated.

Realizing that it was a square space with a muted color palette of grays and whites, Bob immediately started coming up with ideas for a design element of mosaic tiles to emphasize the new modern shower and sculptured standalone slipper tub.

“Using CAD design, we showed the homeowner, Maria, several ideas,” he says. “In the end, she opted for a two-foot-wide vertical stripe of travertine tile centered behind the tub, set in a double herringbone pattern that’s quite striking. It’s like a ribbon that creates up and down movement. To top it off over the tub, she selected a glamorous, showstopping crystal chandelier. And mirroring the graceful curve of the tub, we chose a similarly shaped bowl sink with a sculptured effect.”

They also created a vertical stripe in the shower, which strikes a nice balance.

In keeping with the trend of larger tile flooring, they opted for 12-by-24-inch charcoal porcelain tiles, with the same size tile in the massive shower.

“Creating a glass half wall opens up the space visually, and also draws more attention to the mosaic,” he says. “We arranged the valves in the shower so she can reach around to turn them on without getting drenched. And for added functionality, we created two niches and a little seat. Tapping into Kerdi-Board panels on the walls, a Ditra system to heat the floor, along with a high-end Schluter drain, this is a completely waterproof shower that will be around for ions to come.”

Re-Engineering the Footprint
“Maria’s goal with the renovation, in addition to contemporizing the décor, was to make the space less congested,” explains Bob. “We didn’t enlarge the square footage, but we did have to juggle it. There was a clunky little hallway of closets leading from the master bedroom into the bathroom. We ‘borrowed’ that square footage to expand the bathroom.”

The homeowner also hired Acclaim to renovate her bedroom.

“Again, we reworked the space we had to work with,” he says. “We took space from an existing closet in a nearby bedroom and built a beautiful walk-in closet for her room. Then we created a focal point across from her bed with a recessed fireplace.”

Working Around Supply Chain Issues
Due to a myriad of conditions going on, the materials required for home remodeling are in short supply.

The good news for Acclaim clients is Bob was crafty enough to research and discover new suppliers. Couple that with his loyal crew of employee tradesmen and his work flow this year—in what has been a challenging time for most remodelers—has been steady.

“We are in a fortunate place,” he says. “Experience matters. Our master craftsmen take pride in their workmanship. They are innovative, creative and resourceful.”

Acclaim Renovations & Design powered by One Man and a Hammer is located at 8550 East Avenue in Mentor. The company has been awarded Contractor of the Year by NARI (National Association of the Remodeling Industry). Call 440-974-8082 or visitAcclaimReno.com.