Starting Each Day Clean and Refreshed In This Classically-Modern, Marble Masterpiece

In 1985, the previous owner of the house had added an addition of which part included a 17 feet by 13 feet space off the master bedroom for both a master bath and walk-in closet.  Irrespective of the dated red carpet that blanketed the entire bathroom of this 1964 colonial in Annandale, VA, the combination bathroom/closet space had its other oddities, primarily in that there was no shower.  The current homeowners — a family of five, who has been in the home for 7 years, was tired of going down the hall to use the kids’ bathroom to take a shower before work.  The renovation that they have created now is a bright and luxurious space that one could bask in all day.  They used this bathroom renovation opportunity to total remake the layout and function of this essential room that sets the tone for the day ahead.

Prior to the renovation, the existing bathroom oddly had two entrances, a typical one off of the master bedroom, but another straight off the upstairs hallway.  As the toilet was out in the open in the previous design, ensuring that this second door was closed when company was in town was essential and a nuisance.  As you entered the room, situated below the arc window, a large soaking tub that was covered on three sides with wooden steps dominated the room from the corner it projected.  A relatively small 42” single bowl sink did not leave much space for his and hers toiletries, and there was no other linen closet or cabinetry for storage in the bathroom.  The 8 foot by 5 foot closet with accordion doors had poorly laid out rungs not letting the storage space to be fully utilized.  At over 220 square feet, the room did offer considerable space to work with, yet the existing layout, which even included a partition wall behind the vanity, felt cramped and dysfunctional.

The homeowners wished to create a classic yet modern, private, deluxe bathroom that would better integrate into their master suite and enable them to start and end each day in a luxurious way.  They wanted to maintain having a soaking tub, add in a large shower, have an enclosed commode, expand to include double sinks, and add more storage for toiletries and linens.  We worked with the customer to develop a creative design with extensive plumbing rework that accomplished all these needs and more.

The first order of business was to gut out all the carpet, tub, cabinetry, and non-load bearing partition walls.  The new tub would be generally in the same location, but as the previous walk-in closet would be repurposed for the commode and the walk-in shower additional water lines, plumbing, and draining needed to be added; fortunately the room below is the garage, which enabled the team to frame out some bulkheads to accomplish this complex plumbing.  Following the framing, including walling up the second entrance to the bathroom, adding in a pocket door for the commode, and creating the shape of the new shower, the team also laid down the wiring for one of the luxuries of this room – heated flooring.  A glossy percaline boarder, and two-inch hexagon shape percaline tiles cover the entire floor, making it much easier and cleaner than the previous carpet.

Marble look tile is predominant throughout the bathroom as despite the angled frameless glass door, the entire shower is covered in 18 inch polished marble look tiles.  The shower coats the user in water from either the overhead rain head, large main showerhead and/or the hand held sprayer.  Over 7 feet of white Italian Statuetto marble countertop, enable the couple to have two sink bowls and plenty of room on each side.  The bowls are exposed in this stainless steel console sink design which required the team to ensure that the exposed plumbing looked pristine, and painting the bottom of the porcelain bowl to match the coloring.

The white cast-iron 72-inch Cecilia claw-foot soaking tub and its chrome lion’s paws complement that other chrome and white used throughout the room.  A tall, almost floor-to-ceiling linen closet finished in arctic white is nestled in the corner near the tub, enabling ample storage of towels, etc.  Other cabinetry includes an 18 inch-wide vanity with decorative footing is centered between the two sinks, and a 27 inch wall mounted cabinet with shelf is above the Kohler Devonshire elongated toilet.

Billowing cloud colored grey blue paint was a great choice for this room to pick up on the veining in the marble.  Mirrored medicine chests, a chandelier, wall sconces, and overhead recessed lighting also were incorporated into the design and function of the new room.

The artful combination of classic design from material choices, such as free-standing Victorian claw-foot tub along with the modern design as seen in the angled shower, frameless medicine cabinet mirrors, and frosted glass pocket door on the commode, make this bathroom quite a masterpiece.

The clients are enjoying having their private space and not having the use the kids’ bathroom anymore.