The Challenge
This Ahwatukee homeowner’s master bathroom hadn’t been touched since the house was built in the 1980s — and it looked it. A bulky corner garden tub took up the prime real estate under the arched window but was almost never used. The shower stall next to it was a cramped, gold-framed enclosure with frosted glass and dated tile. The vanity was a builder-grade double with a cultured marble top and white shakers that had seen better decades. And tying it all together: dark, dated tile floor that pulled the whole room down visually.
The ask was clear: gut everything, modernize the layout, and make the shower the centerpiece instead of the tub.
Our Solution
We started by pulling the garden tub out entirely — the homeowners hadn’t used it in years, and it was eating square footage we could put to better use. In its place, we extended the shower across the full width of that wall, giving them a generous walk-in with a frameless glass enclosure, a recessed niche, large-format vertical wall tile, and a pebble-mosaic shower floor that adds texture underfoot.
The original arched window — one of the few details worth keeping — got preserved and tied into the new shower wall, where it now adds character without compromising the cleaner, more modern feel.
For the vanity, the homeowner wanted something with personality, so we went with a freestanding navy double vanity instead of built-in cabinetry. Paired with custom-framed mirrors, new sconce lighting, and matte black plumbing fixtures and hardware, it gives the room a focused design moment that ties to the dark vanity, dark shower fixtures, and dark grout lines in the floor.
The floor itself is where this bathroom really comes alive: patterned cement-look porcelain tile that adds visual interest underfoot without overwhelming the rest of the design. Fresh paint throughout completes the transformation.
The Results
In 2 weeks, this 1980s holdover became a modern master bathroom the family actually enjoys using. The extended walk-in shower is the new daily driver, the navy vanity reads custom even though it’s a freestanding piece, and the patterned tile floor is what everyone notices first when they walk in.
This is what a full gut remodel does right: take what works (the arched window, the layout footprint), fix what doesn’t (the tub, the shower, the vanity, the floor, everything else), and end up with a space that feels custom and intentional from corner to corner.
Alpha Remodelers is a veteran-owned, husband-and-wife remodeling team serving Ahwatukee, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Tempe, and the greater Phoenix East Valley. Licensed CR-48, R-60, R-62. A+ BBB. 2-year workmanship warranty. Call or text 480-993-4000 for a free estimate.
