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Behind every beautiful “after” photo is a hard-won lesson (or three). In this summer’s series, “Gutted,” renovators share the biggest mistakes they made on a recent project, how they fixed ’em, and more wisdom they gained along the way.
New Yorkers have restaurants, bars, and museums at their constant disposal, but it’s not often they get to experience the city’s beautiful hotels. So when Brooklyn-based digital creator Brigette Muller had a friend staying at the Ludlow Hotel on a work trip years ago, she seized her opportunity to peek inside a suite. She never forgot about the stone tub surround in the bathroom.
“I’m a fiend for Carrara marble. It feels so timelessly French, and I love that it instantly elevates a plain white tub,” says Muller.
Fast-forward to present day—Muller is projects-deep into her Greenpoint rental renovation, documenting every clever DIY on her @hummusbirrd Instagram account. When she finally got around to tackling her tiny bathroom, she decided to bring the Ludlow to her by reglazing her tub and cladding the edges in marble. There was just one small oversight: Every time she took a shower, water would accumulate on top of the stone and spill onto the floor. For almost a year, she tried various shower liners, but she always ended up mopping the floor with a spare towel. “Ultimately I knew I had to come up with something better,” says Muller.
Turning back to the Ludlow for inspiration, she bought a piece of brass edging and tested it out against the tub edge. While it could have solved the problem, Muller didn’t love the way the metal and stone clashed. So she decided to stay in the same material family and, after a lot of Googling, bought four pieces of polished Carrara marble pencil liner from Tilebar for $12 each.
Using a small circular saw with a masonry blade, Muller’s father helped her cut one of the 12-inch-long pieces to about 3.5 inches in length so they would all align perfectly. “Then he smoothed it with a bench grinding wheel,” she notes. Between the trim itself and hiring a Taskrabbit to adhere it using silicone, the fix cost a mere $100 total.
Now with a brass squeegee she bought at CB2, Muller can simply wipe away any water that accumulates on the edge, leaving her floor as it should be: dry.
Carrara 1×12 Polished Marble Pencil Liner, Tilebar ($12)
