The tub bath of a Capitol Hill second-floor remodel: glazed blue fish-scale tile on every wet wall up to the ceiling, a recessed niche, a brushed-nickel handheld, and a light-oak vanity with a marble top.
When the Capitol Hill second floor was re-planned for the next twenty years, it got three new bathrooms. The second of them keeps a tub — and gets the floor’s boldest finish: glazed blue fish-scale tile.
The tile runs on every wet wall to the ceiling, so there is no line where tile stops and paint starts. A recessed niche, a window over the tub for daylight and brushed-nickel fittings keep it practical; a light-oak vanity with a marble top and a shell-framed mirror make it warm.
Fish-scale tile is slower to set than a plain tile — every edge row and every corner is cut by hand so the scales run unbroken up the wall and around the niche. The glaze varies from piece to piece, which gives the wall its depth. A brushed-nickel handheld on a slide bar keeps the tub easy to use as a shower.
Across from the tub: a light-oak vanity with a marble top and an undermount sink, a shelf below for towels, a shell-framed mirror and warm bronze sconces on blush walls — the soft side of the room, set against the blue tile.
The room placed in the new floor plan; walls moved and re-framed, with structural checks and inspection.
New supply and drain for the tub, shower valve and vanity, inspected before the walls close.
Cement board and a waterproofing membrane on every wet wall around the tub.
Fish-scale tile set row by row, hand-cut at every edge, corner and around the niche.
Tub fittings, handheld, vanity, marble top, mirror and sconces installed.
Final inspection with the whole floor — covered by the 5-year workmanship warranty.
This bathroom came to $27,580 of the $283,000 second-floor contract; the other two baths on the floor were $36,940 (the walk-in shower bath) and $31,760 (the marble shower room). Here is where the $27,580 went.
This bath was built as part of a whole second-floor remodel: load-bearing walls moved, a new walnut kitchen, three new bathrooms, new closets, doors and one run of oak floor — 1,300 sq ft in 16 weeks on one fixed price of $283,000.
See the whole second-floor remodel →Every finish in this bathroom, and what is behind the walls.
Yes — it takes more cuts and more time than a plain tile, which is why it costs more to set. Once it is grouted and sealed, it cleans like any glazed tile.
No line where tile stops and paint starts, no painted wall in the splash zone, and the room looks taller.
Keep one tub in the house if you have children or grandchildren visiting, or if resale matters — this floor has one tub bath and two walk-in showers.
Yes — Evercrest works across Seattle, from Capitol Hill to View Ridge and Sand Point, and on the Eastside.
Get a real range — tile, layout, timeline and a fixed price — before you commit to anything.
