This Midcentury Makeover Inspires Major Bathroom Envy

I am super pumped to be sharing this one. It’s a real full circle moment so sit tight. It’s also a total permission slip to design your home however you want because Lisa Mabli did just that and it’s so freaking good.

Let me back up a bit. It was Spring 2020. I got an email from Mabli asking if I could help her find a house. She was and is a big time CandysDirt.com fan. I said heck yes and we started the search in Oak Cliff, but nothing was really clicking. One day, Mabli spotted a house just outside Oak Cliff proper. She loved it. We made an offer and now she lives there. The end? Not even close.

The home is amazing and was almost completely original. It’s set on a hill so there is a WALK-IN CRAWLSPACE. The sunroom cantilevers over the driveway and creates a carport. It’s set on a corner lot with enough trees to feel like you’re lost in nature. But enough neighbors so you know you don’t really need a flare gun.

Mabli moved in and immediately knew she wanted to update the space, but she’s a smart one so she took her time. She found a design soulmate in Kurt Ortley with designkör architecture and together they got to work on creating the dreamiest primary suite.

In the meantime, the guest bathroom got a total refresh. The footprint stayed the same, but Ortley picked the most killer botanical wallpaper as a nod to the lush landscape out the window. They settled on a floating vanity, simple mirror, chrome Hollywood light fixture, and the coolest gray penny tile. My favorite, favorite, favorite part of this bathroom is all that penny tile. Mabli was inspired and used it on the walls of the shower as well. It’s freaking gorgeous in its grandiosity.

Now, I’m not an artist, but here’s why I think that penny tile might be magic. There’s just enough of the teeniest hint of red in it to tie with the vanity which ties with the wallpaper. UNDERTONES.

Now it’s time to lose your mind in the primary suite. Before it was a big ol’ long room with a small ensuite bathroom. Then Ortley came along and reconfigured the room…slightly. He borrowed from the closet to create a larger bathroom. He added a partial wall to divide the space and make the room feel cozier – a must for Mabli. On the flip side — leading into the bathroom, there’s a set of built-in drawers and tall cabinets to create an open closet. They dropped the ceiling slightly and created two vertical nooks that serve as nightstands and also make it feel like the room is giving the bed a hug.

The wallpaper is the latest addition and it’s stunning. Mabli wanted something dark because she suffers from migraines and when they hit she needs a cave. Now, through the power of Kurt’s floorplan – and blackout curtains – she can recede into darkness when necessary.

And when she REALLY needs it dark, she simply rounds the corner, heads through a pocket door, and is in one of the coolest freaking bathrooms I’ve ever seen. Especially in person. In the bathroom, Ortley headed up the space design and Mabli headed up picking every single material in there.

She started with a stone accent wall, light wood floating shelf, and motion-sensored lighted mirror. THEN it got REAL. Large format black tile on the walls, a black bathtub, showerhead, and fixtures. It is complete darkness when the curtains are drawn. The whole room feels like a Swedish spa. It’s brilliant in its minimalism — where every texture and tile are intentional and create a calming, neutral space.

Mabli had a few leftover pebble tiles, so she used them to line a window seat in a room she used for yoga, meditation, and zen. Currently she’s using another leftover tile to create artwork to hang over her bed. Now to close the circle…Mabli found me through CandysDirt.com, cut to a few years later and I’m writing about her remodel. Pretty freaking cool.

If you’d like to see what 4635 Dove Creek Way used to look like just click that lovely little link.