Warren Jagger Photography
Perching above flood-prone shores, this 1,440-square-foot cottag…
One way to enjoy more elbow room in the master bath is to move it into the bedroom. Mark McInturff swapped spaces in this remodel to fulfill his clients’ desire for a lavish bathroom where they can pamper themselves at home. A glass chamber in the center of the room holds twin vanities, a double shower, and a glass surrounded tub. The concept for this glass bathing object came in a flash, McInturff says, but putting it together was another story. For that feat, he gives high marks to the contractor’s team. “It was like building a ship in a bottle,” he says. “They had to do everything in an exact order because each piece of glass supports another.” What’s more, plumbing and wiring had to fit into a 3-inch gap between vanity and shower walls. The labor was worth it according to our jury, who found the room “beautifully detailed.”
Privacy wasn’t a big issue, thanks to an adjacent wooded ravine, but sandblasting glass panels just over halfway up give bathers psychological comfort and add texture. They also create an architectural element that McInturff calls a horizon line emphasized by matching door handle heights, window mullions, and the fireplace surround. An entry portal clad in rich wood is the same size as the glass unit. McInturff says, “I looked at it like the portal was the box that the bathing chamber came in.”
Project Credits
Entrant/Architect: McInturff Architects, Bethesda, Md.
Builder: MT Puskar Construction, Flint Hill, Va.
Project size: 737 square feet
Construction cost: Withheld
Photographer: Julia Heine
Resources: Bathroom plumbing fittings: Bain Ultra and Kohler; Bathroom plumbing fixtures: Hudson Reed; Fireplace: Heat n’ Glo; Hardware: Forms + Surfaces and Hafele; Windows: Weathershield.
