bath: double dipping

Residential Architect, July, 2005 by Shelley D. Hutchins

A vacation home usually promotes languorous living, and no room encourages relaxation like a soothing bath. But sometimes bathing is a practical affair and saving time the essential goal. Instead of balancing these opposing functions--waking up and winding down--in one large room, the two realms were divided in this project. Two existing bathrooms nearby each other were reconfigured and optimized for the client, but one is also allocated to share with guests. "This is really a retreat just for the client," says Brown of the decision to design AM. and P.M. baths, "but she also wanted it to be comfortable for visitors."

Clever design transformed the bathing room from an 8x10 space into an oasis of calm. A curvilinear tub on a maple base commands 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 of glass applied to the walls. "Because it was a small room, I kept the tile low as a tub surround," says Brown. 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 rectangular fixed window transmits natural light from the sky-lit stairwell. Brown particularly likes the feature because it preserves anonymity while offering a titillating silhouette to the stairwell.