Baia Stay Bathroom Renovation Q&A

Meet Brooke and Gemma Cavallaro. The sisters are the faces behind Baia Stay, a tranquil Airbnb situated in Jervis Bay, NSW that was “born from a deep desire to share our love for thoughtful design, intentional living, being surrounded by nature and swimming in the sea”.

While the vacation rental as a whole had recently been renovated before Brooke and Gemma were handed the keys, the sisters recently took on what they described as a “glow-up” for the bathroom and other areas in the house. With the bathroom refresh talking only four days!

“When we bought the house, it had already undergone a renovation. We knew we wanted to inject more character and warmth into it and align it with how we like to enjoy a space,” they explained. “We felt that colour was a good place to start. We prioritised creating a cosy backyard with the kitchen window being transformed into a breakfast bar. Most of our budget went into these two things which didn't leave us much for the bathroom.”

Like most renovators, Brooke and Gemma didn’t have a blank cheque when it came to their budget, so they had to compromise on a few small things and focus on what was really important to their vision – and found some savvy solutions to problems along the way. “We were aware that we wouldn't be able to afford a full reno of the bathroom so we decided to paint over the old floor tiles – they were originally a dark navy blue and made the bathroom feel cold and kind of boring,” they said. “We knew the muted pink paint job wouldn't be a long-term solution but it tied us over for a bit.”

However, the time eventually came that Brooke and Gemma knew they needed to find a more permanent fix for their bathroom flooring.

“After a while, the paint started to chip off and we knew it was time for a glow up. Again, with the small budget and time, we threw the idea of tiling over the old tiles instead of ripping them up,” they shared. “We spoke to a couple of tilers and they confirmed that it was possible so then came the exciting part – choosing the style. We've always been drawn to colour and pattern that bring warmth into every room and had always loved a checkerboard floor.”

To achieve the look they were envisioning, Brooke and Gemma opted for TileCloud Bronte Terracotta Checkerboard Tiles for the flooring and complemented this with Yabby’s Antique Brass Tapware fixtures. “We used TileCloud for the bathroom, aiming to change the look and feel and remove the outdated floor tiles that lacked character and uniqueness,” they said.

Fortunately, the sisters were on the same page when it came to the aesthetic they wanted the bathroom to have, eliminating any arguments or issues during the renovation. “We are lucky, we have similar taste, so it was pretty smooth sailing. We both wanted to bring more personality to the space and when we saw the release of these tiles, we were both instantly drawn to them,” they said.

“TileCloud had a unique collection with the Checkerboard Tile which was quite tricky to find. Visiting the showroom was easy and a very valuable and helpful part of the process. The service and TileCloud team were great.” Overall, the “glow-up” process took just four days to refresh the bathroom floor with the new Checkboard Tiles – not bad given the top-notch results speak for themselves!