A whole-home refresh in Ann Arbor

Three rooms. One cohesive vision. An Ann Arbor homeowner turned a dated primary bath, a tired half bath, and an unfinished basement into something that actually works for the way they live.

The primary bathroom had a tub nobody used, tile that had seen better decades, and a layout that wasted more space than it gave back. The ask was straightforward: rip it out, start fresh, and build something that feels intentional. That meant converting the tub to a walk-in shower, waterproofing the entire enclosure with GoBoard, and running new plumbing and electrical to support the new footprint.

The design anchors on a navy tongue-and-groove shiplap accent wall that runs about three feet up behind the vanity. It’s a bold move in a bathroom, and it works because everything else stays disciplined. The dark wood vanity sits against it with a white quartz top and matte black fixtures. The frameless glass shower enclosure keeps the sightlines open, and the cream porcelain wall tile reads warm without competing for attention.

Look at the floor tile. It’s the same dark charcoal running through the shower and out across the bathroom floor — one continuous plane that makes the space feel twice its size. The matte black corner shelves, drain cover, and shower valve all match. Details like that don’t happen by accident. They happen because someone sat down during the selections phase and thought through every touchpoint.

Down the hall, the half bath got the same treatment in miniature: charcoal shiplap accent wall, a dark wood vanity with marble top, matte black hardware, and a basketweave floor tile that gives the space its own personality without breaking from the home’s material language. New light fixture, fresh trim, and the chair rail sits right along the shiplap edge for a clean transition.

Then there’s the basement. It was a mess — exposed joists, drop ceiling panels going yellow, cinder block walls, and a laminate floor that had given up. The homeowner wanted a dedicated workout space, and the bones were there to make it happen. Wright’s demolished the drop ceiling, sprayed the exposed joists and mechanicals matte black, added recessed LED lighting on a new electrical circuit, ran a new HVAC supply vent for airflow, installed rubber gym mats wall-to-wall, and mounted full-length mirrors. The painted cinder block and existing knotty pine paneling stayed — they give the space warmth and character you can’t fake.

The result is a home that feels like the same designer touched every room. Because they did.