Center of Balance This bathroom addition unites two distinct, but surprisingly compatible, architectural themes: the traditional farmhouse style of the existing house and the Modernist taste of its new owner. The latter shows in the room’s plan, which locates paired elements—two walk-in closets, toilet and shower, vanity and dressing table—along an axis that follows the exposed timber ridge above. “There is a very strong symmetry,” says architect Dick Osborn, who detailed the room in a no-frills functionalist style that relies on natural materials for warmth. Limestone tiles line the floor. Counters are pale granite. Rosewood cabinets serve as screens for the shower and toilet area.
The design expresses its farmhouse heritage in a somewhat abstracted form.
Farmhouse and Bauhaus form a rewarding partnership in this master bath addition. Photo: Tim Maloney Painted aluminum casements with horizontally divided lights suggest traditional double-hung sash. The floor-standing tub, with its plumbing sprouting exposed from the floor, recalls its iconic clawfoot ancestor. The exposed fir timber framing overhead recalls roofs of wood shingles on skip sheathing. But while it provides rhythm and visual interest, it doesn’t keep the rain out. That job goes to a conventionally framed—and well insulated—roof of 2x12s hidden above. Project Credits:
Builder: Marsey Brothers Construction, Napa, Calif.; Architect: Ozborndooli, Santa Rosa, Calif.; Project size: 277 square feet; Construction cost: Withheld; Photographer: Tim Maloney.
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Photo: Tim Maloney
Fittings/fixtures: Dornbracht, Duravit, Kohler, Speakman, and Toto; Medicine cabinet: Robern; Towel rails: Samuel Heath. Details If Modernist design aims at extracting a maximum of function from a minimum of material, this cabinet-cum-shower wall scores a direct hit. Its flush rosewood millwork wraps the end of a flat-stud wall that, faced with limestone, forms a watertight surface on the shower side. “The cabinet sort of wraps the corner,” says architect Dick Osborn, whose seemingly effortless work poses a tantalizing question: If it’s really that simple, why didn’t we think of it?
