Master bathrooms have become one of my favorite projects and (behind kitchens of course) most rewarding to design. Why? Because it’s a personal and private space that provides my clients with the ultimate in luxury personal care for their body and soul as well as a peaceful refuge to begin and end their day in.
This master spa bathroom was designed for a lovely woman who was recently widowed. She had a lot to handle downsizing from a large home here in CT, decompressing from the loss of her husband and packing up years of mementos to bring along. Her only real design request was that her new home was to be all about her, and this included a luxurious master bathroom in addition to a modern kitchen. I do love a bathroom with a quiet neutral palette, one that creates a feeling of calm. But this wasn’t my bathroom. So what was on my client’s wish list?
She wanted a simple modern space but not edgy or cold. She said ” Not too high tech” but she did want relaxing amenities with state-of-the-art bath products and a touch of feminine color. Grass cloth always creates lovely texture, so a Phillip Jeffries wallpaper was selected in soft lavender. Modern comes into play subtly with accent large format tiled walls on both ends of the bathroom. Using a sculptural leaf pattern as a nod to nature.
As in most bath renovations, this 1980’s bathroom was taken completely down to the studs. While I never like to repeat the existing design layout in a new design, it was almost inevitable. The space was narrow and long and changing the footprint was not possible. The vanity in the old bathroom was on the front wall of the house, albeit in a different configuration with windows facing the street and one mirror in the center. To maximize the space for the new design, the natural place for the new vanity was on the same wall and became the perfect opportunity to try something I’d seen done in a bathroom online. By positioning the mirrors in front of the windows I was able to provide necessary privacy without blocking our only source for natural light. The use of large format tile for the walls with a wave pattern gave the bathroom just the right amount of organic movement and feel I had been wanting to achieve.
