It was the project every designer dreamed of, stated Kayron B. Rosen, CMKBD of Cupboard & Clay (Tacoma, Washington): “To be given free creative reign.” In transforming this primary bath into a welcoming respite space, she completely reworked the footprint of the room, relocating fixtures and greatly tweaking the lighting and color schemes. It was a vote of confidence from the client, and an act of thoughtful, purposeful design on her part.
Righting the Wrongs of Poor Designs Past
The old bath made poor use of its open space, and as such, it was completely lacking in counter and storage space. By shifting the cabinet wall and tub, Rosen was able to substantially increase the length of the vanity, however. The move even allowed it to turn a corner and establish a dedicated makeup area in a section of the room that lets in a tremendous amount of natural sunlight.
The new design literally turns pain into pleasure. A complete rework of the surface treatment eliminated the pebble floor in the original bath—an uncomfortable design element for the homeowner to say the least—and replaced it with a honed limestone in the main area of the bath and one-inch tumbled limestone tiles for the shower floor. In doing so, Rosen created a space that provides texture, softness and slip resistance for the shower floor.
Adopting Color Nuances For Engagement and Joviality
“As a designer, I strive to create classic spaces that will stand the test of time,” said Rosen. “Gray is a color that has been on trend for many years now, and I am careful how it is used so it doesn’t feel too cold and dull.”
Pulling from the adjoining bedroom’s décor of rugs, furniture and artwork, she selected a hand-made ceramic tile from Tempest Tileworks for the bathroom walls. The same tile, except with a satin-finish glaze, was used on the fireplace surround in the bedroom.
“You see the warmth of the white clay body coming through the gray, hand-applied glaze,” said Rosen. “The brush-stroke application provides an abundance of color variation to keep large expanses of tile from appearing flat and cold. It has warmth and movement, and the gloss finish allows daylight to dance on the tile.”
Another version of this article originally appeared on our sister site KBB Online.