There is never nothing to do in New York City; the place is practically synonymous with sensory overload. For Manhattanites, the question is not where to find excitement, but how to get a break from it. This prewar townhouse, remodeled in classical Modernist style, offers a gallery-like respite from the world outside. And nowhere is the isolation more splendid than in its fifth-floor master bath.
Because the room is relatively small, says architect Peter Rose, “We wanted things to be light, and the spaces to be relatively uncluttered.” A 6-foot-by-8-foot light shaft opens the room to the sky, washing light across the soft, sandy surfaces of the limestone floors and wainscot. Minimalist detailing maximizes the sense of space. “The stone is flush with the plaster,” Rose says. “There is no break in the surfaces.” A wall of frameless glass encloses the water closet and shower. From some angles, the glass sink counter nearly disappears. “You see the wall continuously, instead of seeing the front of a sink cabinet.” The effect was not easily achieved. “It’s an enormous, several-hundred-pound piece of glass,” says Rose, noting the lack of any visible means of support. “It’s a total cantilever. It goes way back into the wall.”
Project Credits: Builder: Clark Construction, New York City; Architect: Peter Rose, Cambridge, Mass., in collaboration with Guggenheimer Architects, New York City; Project size: 189 square feet; Construction cost: Withheld; Photographer: Michael Moran.
Resources: Fittings/fixtures: Dornbracht, Circle 417 and Kroin, Circle 418.
Details In custom building, the simplest details are often the most difficult to execute, and this bath provides a perfect example: a tub carved from a single slab of limestone. First, says architect Peter Rose, “We went to Mexico to the quarry and picked the stone.” Shipped back home, the chunk took shape in the hands of a New York City stone carver. To make the porous stone watertight, builder John Houshmand applied multiple coats of a special acrylic sealer, sanding between coats to leave a surface that looks like naked stone.
