The water front: the custom bath scene is a study in perpetual motion

Custom Home, April, 2005 by Bruce D. Snider

If there is a theme in this year's collection of master bathrooms, we might phrase it this way: Who knew? Who knew that a north-facing bath could become a virtual temple of light, that a master bedroom suite could be successfully turned inside out, with sleeping quarters tucked within a larger bathing and dressing space? Who knew that a radical simplification of forms and materials could so deepen the experience of an otherwise modest space, that Bauhaus and farmhouse styles could harmonize like old friends, that Art Nouveau still can be new, or that somewhere in Manhattan there is a bathtub calved from a single block of Mexican limestone? A bathroom can be as prosaic as a crate full of plumbing, and many are. But at the other end of the spectrum, in baths that can make your jaw drop, the bar keeps moving higher. Who knew?

Glass Act

The San Francisco home that houses this bath dates from the teens of the last century, but the inspiration for its current remodel is older still: Ocean Beach, which is within walking distance. Architect Dan Phipps chose the limestone floor for its similarity in color and texture to beach sand, green glass for its suggestion of both seawater and sand-tumbled beach glass. With the exception of the figured sycamore cabinets, Phipps says, "Everything from the floor up is glass." The walls are covered with glass tiles; the countertops, tub deck, and tub facing are sheets of frosted glass. Two glass panels form a toilet alcove. Another delineates a minimalist shower enclosure. (To shed water in the right direction, Phipps says, the room's entire floor is sloped toward the drain.) * The room's single window is also frosted glass--for privacy--as are lighting strips at the tops of both mirrors. "The back side [of each mirror] was sandblasted to take the silver off," Phipps says. "Inside the medicine cabinet, you change the bulb." The detail is deceptively simple, and entirely in keeping with Phipps's intent, which he describes as "Just seeing what you can do with the minimum amount of materials to get the maximum bang for your buck."

Project Credits: Builder: Stroub Construction, Sausalito, Calif.; Architect: Dan Phipps, San Francisco; Project size: 103 square feet; Construction cost: Withheld; Photographer: John Sutton. ** Resources: Bathtub: Waterworks, Circle 400; Cabinets: Architectural Forest Enterprises, Circle 401; Fittings/fixtures: American Standard, Circle 402 and Kroin, Circle 403; Floor: Stone Selection, Circle 404; Glass tiles: Ann Sacks, Circle 405; Hardware: Doug Mockett Co., Circle 406.

** Details The glass tiles that cover the walls of this bath came out of a box. Getting glass counters, screens, and tub-deck surfaces in the same watery green, though, took some doing. The final color of the frosted glass panels is in part a function of glass thickness, architect Dan Phipps explains, and it shows only after sandblasting. "The thicker it is, the more green it is." Getting the perfect shade, he says, "took a little bit of experimentation. We went through three samples to get the right match."

Lofty Aspirations

Architects Kim Coleman and Mark Cigolle acquired a taste for loft living during their years in New York City, and they brought that taste west with them to their practice in Southern California. "We really like the open spaces," says Coleman. That affinity shows clearly in the couple's own master bedroom suite, which scatters sleeping, bathing, and dressing functions around an informal, flexible, and very loft-like space. * The sleeping area, delineated by a curved section of open roof framing above and an inlaid metal strip in the maple flooring below, can be part of the larger room or closed off with a floor-to-ceiling curtain. The remaining space consists of a loosely defined dressing/ circulation/sitting area flanked by two open baths--one with a tub, one with a shower. Both tub and shower are open to views of the ocean; the tub also shares a fireplace that breaches the curved wall of the sleeping area. Wall-hung sink bases intrude minimally on the interior volume, the perception of which is further expanded by zinc-clad walls that flow continuously from indoors to out. Interior materials reinforce the link with the environment outside. "The colors that we've used," Coleman says--pale green glass tiles at the tub bath, a green stone floor in the shower, and green glass drawer and door pulls--"are trying to connect with the colors of the ocean."

Project Credits: Builder/Architect: Cigolle X Coleman, Pacific Palisades, Calif.; Project size: 185 square feet; Construction cost: Withheld; Photographer: Undine Prohl. ** Resources: Fittings: Hansgrohe, Circle 430 and Hastings, Circle 431; Fixtures: Duravit, Circle 432, Kohler, Circle 433, and Porcher, Circle 434; Lighting fixtures: Bruck, Circle 435 and Targetti, Circle 436.

** Details The walls that define the two toilet areas in this shape-shifting multi-use room provide more than just privacy. Consisting of frosted Plexiglas panels on box-like wooden frames, the walls transmit light in both directions, alleviating any sense of confinement and radiating a moon-like glow when lit from inside at night. Each frame is closed on only one side; by mounting one panel of each wall on the inside surface, architects Kim Coleman and Mark Cigolle created a pair of twin display niches.