Comfort Zone This South Carolina space contains all the hallmarks of a classic den or living room: a raised-hearth fireplace, tongue-and-groove wall paneling, a framed and lit painting above the mantel. But it’s not a den—it’s a bathroom. The wood-burning masonry fireplace, one of six in the house, allows the owners to jump from a warm bath right into the toasty air heated by a crackling, freshly built fire. And the tongue-and-groove paneling brings a design element from other parts of the house into the bathroom. As for the painting, its presence just adds to the room’s sit-and-stay-awhile atmosphere.
Of course, architect Jimmy Walker didn’t forget about the bath’s more utilitarian pieces. A vaulted ipé ceiling bestows a roomy grandeur on the 8-by-8-foot shower. Separate vanities tucked into niches lined with mirrors on three sides give the owners the space to take their time getting ready for the day. A generous amount of glass lets light in over the shower and tub, along with views of the surrounding secluded, wooded site. The bath may not actually be a living room, but it’s as welcoming as one.
CH060401097L13.jpg Photographer: Rion Rizzo/Creative Sources Photography Builder: Meadors Construction Co., Charleston, S.C.; Architect: Schmitt Walker Architects, Charleston; Interior designer: Michael David & Associates, Charleston; Project size: 300 square feet; Construction cost: Withheld; Photographer: Rion Rizzo/Creative Sources Photography. Builder: Meadors Construction Co., Charleston, S.C.; Architect: Schmitt Walker Architects, Charleston; Interior designer: Michael David & Associates, Charleston; Project size: 300 square feet; Construction cost: Withheld; Photographer: Rion Rizzo/Creative Sources Photography. A windowed tub nook, full-sized fireplace, and spacious shower impart a sense of luxury to this South Carolina bath. Separate vanity niches allow two people to use the room simultaneously. Builder: Meadors Construction Co., Charleston, S.C.; Architect: Schmitt Walker Architects, Charleston; Interior designer: Michael David & Associates, Charleston; Project size: 300 square feet; Construction cost: Withheld. Project Credits: Builder: Meadors Construction Co., Charleston, S.C.; Architect: Schmitt Walker Architects, Charleston; Interior designer: Michael David & Associates, Charleston; Project size: 300 square feet; Construction cost: Withheld; Photographer: Rion Rizzo/Creative Sources Photography.
Resources: Fittings/fixtures: Kohler; Hardware: Alno and Baldwin; Lighting fixtures: Circa Lighting.
Details When choosing materials, architect Jimmy Walker and interior designer Michael Shewen avoided preciousness. Honed granite floor tiles, oil-rubbed bronze fittings, and an iron chandelier convey tradition while maintaining a pleasing simplicity.
Free Form With the possible exception of the tub, the shower is a bathroom’s most notorious space-gobbler. Berkeley, Calif., firm Union Studio came up with a clever way to handle that reality when designing this renovation for a San Francisco couple. After gutting the existing master bath, it inserted a slim, steel-framed shower wall into the middle of the room. “We added the freestanding shower wall so you can walk in from either side,” says Union Studio’s Matt Bear. “There’s also a passage around the back, so the couple can use the bathroom at the same time.” An overhead skylight and a step-down floor help delineate the doorless shower. A pair of pocket doors leading from the bath to the master bedroom eases the flow of traffic within the entire master suite.
CH060401097L16.jpg Photographer: Douglas Adesko Builder: Matarozzi/Pelsinger Builders, San Francisco; Designer: Union Studio, Berkeley, Calif.; Project size: 175 square feet; Construction cost: Withheld; Photographer: Douglas Adesko. Builder: Matarozzi/Pelsinger Builders, San Francisco; Designer: Union Studio, Berkeley, Calif.; Project size: 175 square feet; Construction cost: Withheld; Photographer: Douglas Adesko. Builder: Matarozzi/Pelsinger Builders, San Francisco; Designer: Union Studio, Berkeley, Calif.; Project size: 175 square feet; Construction cost: Withheld; Photographer: Douglas Adesko. Simple, industrial-looking light fixtures and a wall-mount vanity and faucets work to keep the space uncluttered. The freestanding shower wall serves as the room’s defining element. Union Studio designs furniture as well as interiors, and that experience shows in the well-crafted jarrah wood storage system of boxes and shelves it fashioned for the bath. Jarrah, a sturdy Australian eucalyptus, also makes up the custom vanity, the Japanese-style soaking tub, and the vertical louvers for the window above the tub. “It’s an oily wood—really dense and water-resistant,” says Bear.
Project Credits: Builder: Matarozzi/Pelsinger Builders, San Francisco; Designer: Union Studio, Berkeley, Calif.; Project size: 175 square feet; Construction cost: Withheld; Photographer: Douglas Adesko.
Resources: Fittings/fixtures: Agape and Waterworks; Lighting fixtures: Poulsen; Tile: Bisazza.
Details The dark jarrah wood of the tub, window louvers, vanity, and storage shelving provides a warm counterpart to the ice-blue glass tiles cladding the shower and structural walls.
Opposite Attraction The existing bath in this Tucson, Ariz., remodel possessed a complicated, choppy layout. “The space that was there before had a lot of compartmentalization,” says architect Luis Ibarra. “It was not relaxing.” He and partner Teresa Rosano restored a sense of order, knocking out unnecessary walls and transforming the space into an open oasis. They congregated the “wet” portions of the room—shower, bathtub, and commode —on the north end, giving the tub a view out the window to the patio, pool, and firepit. The “dry” section, a wall of maple closets and a dressing area, occupies the opposite side. A floating maple vanity unites the two extremes, both physically and symbolically. Not only do its long, horizontal mirror and cabinetry span the divide between wet and dry, but its mixture of tile and wood encompasses each space’s dominant material. “It represents the coming together of the two sides of the room,” Ibarra says.
CH060401097L19.jpg Photographer: Bill Timmerman Builder: Repp Design + Construction, Tucson, Ariz.; Architect: Ibarra Rosano Design Architects, Tucson; Project size: 200 square feet; Construction cost: Withheld; Photographer: Bill Timmerman. Rows of tall, narrow closets lend the room an orderly appearance. Builder: Repp Design + Construction, Tucson, Ariz.; Architect: Ibarra Rosano Design Architects, Tucson; Project size: 200 square feet; Construction cost: Withheld. Builder: Repp Design + Construction, Tucson, Ariz.; Architect: Ibarra Rosano Design Architects, Tucson; Project size: 200 square feet; Construction cost: Withheld; Photographer: Bill Timmerman. The tile-topped vanity balances on maple legs while a structural wall supports the mirror for a levitating effect. The bath’s clean, spa-like design makes the most of the light coming in through the clerestory windows above the closets. Glossy materials like Carrara marble floor tiles and glass mosaic countertops reflect the sun’s rays. And the architects wisely kept the high ceilings left over from a 1980s renovation, allowing borrowed light to penetrate the shower.
Resources: Backsplash: Lumicor; Fittings/fixtures: Americh, Grohe, Hansgrohe, and Hastings; Lighting fixtures: Nora Lighting; Paint: Dunn Edwards; Tile: Bisazza.
Details Inside the walk-in shower, a custom stainless steel sheet conceals the everyday clutter of bathing necessities. Glass shelves on its back side hold soap, shampoo, and towels, keeping them dry and out of sight.
