Clean living: baths have blossomed into practical relaxation centers for busy homeowners

Custom Home, March, 2003 by Meghan Drueding

Baths aren't just utilitarian spaces anymore. Like the kitchen, these rooms, especially master baths, have become activity centers for multitasking homeowners, They're places to read, relax, or watch television, as well as shower, shave, or put on makeup. Architects and builders are adding items both high-tech (surround sound for maximum sensory enhancement) and low-tech (extra-wide tub ledges so family members can sit and talk with one another without sacrificing bathroom time). And in baths from coast to coast, the emphasis on natural light is stronger than ever. After all, the minutes spent in the bath are often the only quiet time a homeowner will have all day. The baths on these pages ensure that that time passes as peacefully--and productively--as possible.

Rhapsody in Blue

Don't tell Barry Sugerman his grout joints don't line up. The North Miami, Fla., architect painstakingly planned out the floor pattern, of his own master bath to create a seemingly random pattern reminiscent of an abstract expressionist painting. "I've spent my entire career lining up grout joints," he says. "In my bathroom, I purposely broke them up. You go in there and it works, but you don't know why. It's very calculated." * Sugerman designed every other aspect of the space with the same precision. The vertical and horizontal lines etched into the frosted-glass window above the tub repeat the pattern of the tiled floor. The tub itself features an ergonomically correct, extra-wide ledge. "It's easy to get into," Sugerman says. "You just sit on the ledge and swing your legs over." Hand-painted tile coasters he and his wife bought on vacation line a shower shelf for soap and shampoo. And the lighting above the his-and-hers vanities consists of high-temperature fluorescent bulbs that cast a more natural light than standard fluorescents. The rest of the room is illuminated with halogen lights. * The his-and-hers theme extends to the two water closets, two showers, and even a two-sided master walk-in closet connected to the bath. An off-white porcelain floor tile unites the bath, closet, and master bedroom; it also creates a nice backdrop for the ocean-blue tile that surrounds the tub and accents the floor, vanity mirrors, and showers. Cabinetry of Carpathian burl elm and prefinished maple injects a note of warm color into the bath and continues into the closet.

Project Credits: Builder: Bedrock Construction, Miami; Architect: Barry Sugerman, AIA Architecture, North Miami, Fla.; Project size: 450 square feet; Construction cost: $133 per square foot; Photographer: Dan Forer. * Resources: Fittings: Grohe, Circle 437; Fixtures: Hydro Systems, Circle 438, and Toto USA, Circle 439; Lighting: Lightolier, Circle 440; Paints/stains: Benjamin Moore, Circle 441.

Plain Sight

The clients for this vacation home in Beaver Creek, Colo., requested a dwelling infused with the practical, unadorned beauty of the Shaker style. Architect Jim Morter and builder Jim Abbott complied, creating a residence in which every object has a function. The master bath, for example, features exposed copper pipes and bare light bulbs. Simple white basins sitting on the poured-concrete counter serve as sinks, and the owners bathe in an old copper tub. "The Shakers did things in a very direct, straightforward way," says Morter. "They didn't try to hide anything." * So the vanity mirrors hang from a pegboard strip rather than float on unseen hooks. The pegs also make handy hangers for towels and robes. An exposed steel beam, found by Morter and his staff while rafting the Colorado River, holds a frosted-glass door that slides to close off the water closet and shower from the rest of the space. Nothing appears decorated or superfluous; each object has an obvious purpose. * The Shakers may have disapproved of frivolity, but that doesn't mean they opposed the luxury of natural light. It enters the bath through skylights above the tub and shower and through cutouts in the stone wall dividing the master suite from the living room. They also depended on local, natural materials. So the reclaimed-wood floors and structural supports were all obtained from nearby sources. And the one splash of color in the bath--the sea-green tile used in the shower--stays close enough to nature to content even the strictest Shaker. *

Project Credits: Builder: Trends West, Avon, Colo.; Architect: Morter Architects, Vail, Colo.; Project size: 170 square feet; Construction cost: Withheld; Photographer: Dann Coffey. * Resources: Sinks: Kohler, Circle 450; Windows: Pella, Circle 451.

Light Box

The master bathroom in this Boston loft serves all the standard functions of a custom bath, furnishing its owners with a spacious, comfortable place to prepare for the day and get ready for bed. But it also has an alternate purpose. Long, narrow windows cut into one of its walls look out over the loft's main, 18-foot-tall living space. At night, the bath becomes a source of ambient light for that room. "The window slits become glowing objects," explains architect Brad Walker. "The bath acts as a light fixture for the rest of the loft." * The effect is heightened by a frosted-glass shower wall that looks out over the kitchen. Walker left a strip of the glass unfrosted so that the owners can see across the loft, out to the terrace, while showering. And he installed a slot skylight above that wall. During the day, the sun's rays bounce off the frosted glass to create a soft luminosity. Artificial light from inside the loft produces a similar result in the evening. The bath's lights can be controlled from a dimmer switch in the kitchen, enabling the owners to change the mood of the entire home with one move. * The interior of the bath adheres to the loft ideal of openness. Two fixed-glass panels keep water from escaping the shower; the space between them serves as the shower's entry. Since the owners prefer showers to baths, there was no need for a tub. Instead, the shower received generous doses of space and budget, with its two showerheads and enclosure of white Carrara marble and honed limestone. *