Absolute ablution

Custom Home, July-August, 2005 by Shelley D. Hutchins

Rather than one big bathroom with opposing functions--waking up and winding down--efficient revamping of two existing bathrooms in this California vacation home offers vibrancy and serenity just steps from each other. There's also enough separation for one to be allocated to guests. "This is really a retreat just for the client," says architect Barbara Brown about the decision to design a.m. and p.m. baths, "but she also wanted it to be comfortable for visitors."

Clever design techniques transform an 8-by-10-foot space into an oasis of calm in the bathing room. A curvilinear tub on a maple base takes center stage. The platform's chunky legs are imitated on matching vanity cabinets. The same recycled-glass tile from the kitchen backsplash finds its way onto the bathroom floor with larger squares on the walls. Natural wood caps the glass and outlines the top edge of the walls to make the room seem bigger than its square footage. Rice paper sandwiched inside a fixed window transmits natural light from the skylighted stairwell while providing privacy.

The morning bathroom uses brighter colors, with floor-to-ceiling aqua glass tile and a recycled concrete countertop embedded with sea glass confetti. The countertop continues into the shower as a utility ledge. A peek-a-boo piece of clear glass separates the sink from the full-length shower letting in ambient light and generating a nifty soap niche.

Builder: Peregrine Construction, Sebastopol, Calif.; Architect: Barbara Brown Associates, Sausalito, Calif ; Project manager; Laura Hamlin, Barbara Brown Associates, Sausalito; Photographer: Erik Tiemens. Resources: Plumbing fittings: Villeroy & Boch, Circle 195; Plumbing fixtures: Dornbracht, Circle 196.