Master suites are developing more and more from what used to be the largest bedroom in the house with an attached bathroom, to a place a homeowner can now retreat to from the outside world. There has certainly been an increasing trend of designing personal retreats with very custom details that are considered the bonuses of life’s hard work. In this particular home, the master suite now incorporates His & Her bathrooms with the addition of this new bathroom that was added onto the existing home. With beautiful mountain and ocean vistas seen above the tree tops, it was no surprise to hear of the views being the client’s primary focus.
The first challenge was achieving a layout that accommodated the client’s list of wants and needs for this small space. A deep soaking tub was at the top of the list, followed by a separate walk-in shower, and maximizing counter space and storage. Of course, no bathroom is complete without fine material selections that provide a desired level of opulence for one’s personal retreat. Fortunately, these items fell into place once the client gave us her inspiration of a robin’s egg to serve as the jump off point for this design. It was not only an obvious direction for color, but the soft shape and gentle nature of the egg gave us hints of design elements to incorporate into this room as well.
After experimenting with several layouts, we settled on an open floor plan that allowed the tub to be out in the open and near the large windows. To continue this concept and to avoid an enclosed shower, we simply used a single glass panel to divide the toilet area from the shower and then tiled the walls from floor to ceiling within this same zone. With the tub abutted next to the open shower, a Carrera marble top and tile facade achieve the necessary waterproof surface while marble window sills transition into a chair rail that caps off the tile wainscoting. With these zones in place; we then designed a custom, built-in vanity and dressing counter to fit the last corner. The Black Walnut cabinetry compliments the softer tones of the marble and wall color, while the large drawers provide great organization and maintain everyday items within reach but out of sight! The same Carrera marble was used for the countertops and the upper vanity countertop completes the chair rail that encircles this room.
The crowning piece, the Victoria & Albert tub, is very unique in how it is made from a resin that incorporates volcanic ash for additional heat retention. The depth of this tub provides a great bathing experience and the curvilinear form mimics the shape of a robin’s egg. This softer, more feminine shape influenced the design of the tub deck & tile surround and achieves better circulation within the space. The curve also offsets the linear patterns of the Carrera tile; found in varying sizes ranging from 6×12 wall tile to the 1×1 mosaic of the surround. Varying tile finishes play with reflection and provide slip resistance for the 3×12 floor tile too!
The gentle warmth and glitzy finish of Polished Nickel became the go-to finish for the faucetry and hardware. The sconces and crystal pendants incorporate this same metallic finish to complete this design and also relate to the adjoining master bedroom. Lastly, the wall color was derived from the main inspiration and resembles a Robin’s egg nestled within the trees located just outside of this on-of-a-kind space.
The studio of Bauer/Clifton Interiors- a local source for quality products & materials- is located Downtown at 119A 2nd Street. Additional photos of their projects can be seen at www.bauerclifton.com or on Facebook & Houzz labeled under Bauer Clifton Interiors.