Luxury look, from floor to ceiling

Home’s history: The Duluth home was built in the mid1990s, but had a ’80s look in the bathroom, with its wallpaper, tile, cabinets and brass fixtures. The homeowner sought a French Country look that fit with entire remodel of the home.

Big splurge: The bathroom project, estimated at $75,000, included hand-painted wallpaper and hand-made tile in a fleur de lis pattern.

“The misconception out there is that wallpaper is outdated. I think that what gave wallpaper a bad name is so many people were putting cheap wallpaper in. The higher-end wallpaper, a lot of people are using it in higher-end residences,” said Charley Hipple, owner of Cardinal Construction, based in Duluth.

Biggest challenge: The bathroom had a barrel vault ceiling, which was 10 feet at its peak, but lowered the walls to only 8 feet elsewhere in the bathroom. Cardinal Construction divided the space with an arch to keep the barrel vault ceiling over the tub, and have a flat 10-foot ceiling elsewhere in the bathroom.

“It just looked so much bet- ter. We had so much more flexibility once we raised everything to 10 feet, to do everything we wanted and to increase the size of the shower and water closet,” Hipple said. The barrel vault ceiling over the tub mimicked the window arch.

What you’ll want: The shower has three showerheads (two wall-mounted and a rain shower), and a steam generator. The walnut cabinet has the look of an armoire. Tile and countertops are marble. Resources Countertops and tub surround: Marmi Natural Stone, Norcross Floors: Builders Floor Covering, Buford Tub: MTI Baths Shower: ThermaSol Interior designer: Fowler Interiors, Greenville, S.C.