The homeowners' goal for their bathroom renovation was purely aesthetic. The homeowners liked the overall space of their master bath but no longer appreciated the outdated and blasé white, pre-fabricated/MDF cabinetry, white tile flooring, and ivory, cultured marble countertops original to the 12-yr. old home. The lack of light at the shower needed to be remedied as this area was very dark receiving almost no natural light. The garden tub, the focal center of the bathroom, was rarely used as the homeowner felt the wide double-rim was more suitable as a clutter collector and made the tub difficult to clean. The aesthetic of the bathroom needed to be enhanced to invoke a warm, inviting retreat for this busy husband and wife.
After meeting with the homeowners and discussing their tastes, which tended toward the casual-eclectic with southwestern influences, we designed a spa environment with organic elements, including slate flooring and wainscoting tile, granite countertops in "Jurassic Green Gel" (a grass-green shade to complement the wall color and beautifully variegated with honeyed tones of amber, coral, and chocolate), and semi-custom maple cabinetry stained in "Pecan", a rich, warm shade.
The new, claw-foot bathtub became a more dramatic focal point and worked well with the spa theme; and, the home owner has indeed enjoyed relaxing baths in her new tub. The deep and narrow tub basin is easier to clean, and the stone ledge built-into the wall behind the tub easily replaced the wide bathtub rim as a discreet area to place bath supplies.
We extended the shower door opening to the width of the shower wall and replaced the narrow, brass-rimmed, glass door with a wider, frameless glass door and panel to visually enlarge the shower space. The amount of natural light entering the shower was significantly increased with the larger door opening, and a light fixture was installed in the shower providing direct task lighting. The shower became more functional with the removal of the wide built-in seat that was replaced with a smaller stone bench. Shallow niches and shelves were built into the walls of the shower to covertly store toiletries.
