Personally, I think the bathroom is one place where it's OK to deviate from the rest of the house's style. As the daughter and sister of architects, I do get upset when people go against the style of their home (especially such a cool old home as yours!) by, say, putting a Tuscan-style kitchen in a humble New Englander or working-class Victorian, as happens around here. But I feel like bathrooms, especially master baths, are sort of private, separate reclusive spaces, and it's OK for that space to be it's own thing.

Also, it IS possible to do a clean-lined, zen spa-like bath but also bring in a few touches of the rest of the house. In our house, the overall aesthetic is a sort of modern coastal cottage blend. The house has double-hung windows with divided panes above, for example. In our master bath reno, we used a very modern aesthetic, but we also brought in just a few touches of the rest of the house : we stuck with the same window style, we used fairly cottagey overhead light fixtures from REstoration Hardware (along with more modern sconces) and we re-used the old, vintage glass-paned exterior door of the house as the bathroom door. These elements soften the modern stuff and tie the bathroom to the rest of the house, even though the bath is definitely more modern and spare than everything else.

Perhaps you can do something like that. Take a look at inspiration pics on Houzz.com and other sites... there are a lot of very beautiful, spare, modern spa baths that also bring in a little bit of rococco glam -in the form of a light fixture or elaborate mirror maybe- that might be just the thing to satisfy your needs.

Our bathroom looks like this, below. In the second shot you can see one of the cottage-y ceiling lights, the very non-modern-looking window, and a bit of the old vintage glass door...

These are definitely not EXACT examples but just to get you thinking...

Here's a modern bathroom that pulls in a few fancy details, like the chair and chandelier. Maybe you could do something similar, maybe if your house has gothic arches you could make your shower niches or other details arched..??

Also, some materials can easily cross over between clean-lined modern and gothic/rococo/hollywood glam... like calacatta marble, for instance:

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Modern combined with gothic/rococo:
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Not a bathroom, but showing how nicely a gilded mirror can play with clean-lined, calm modern pieces....

Hope that helps a bit!

The other thing to consider is that the things you mention as being more "gothic" are easily changed - mirrors, light fixtures, etc. If you choose tile, vanities and fixtures that can "go either way" you can then add in the easily changed items as modern/zen. Things that read as classic to me - marble, wood floors, simple paneled vanities.

When it's time to sell you can adjust those things if you like to bring it back to the gothic style. But if you're not thinking of selling anytime soon, do what you like!!

When your house has so much personality, I'd try not to fight it -- to 'spin' it perhaps, but not fight it.

What about going for an austere 'monastery' look instead of 'castle'? Or a more rustic interpretation using a few simple, beautiful, large-scale pieces of substantial materials and NO gilt?

I can't see glass tile and an ofuro tub -- but could see French limestone floors, a stunningly simple freestanding tub, a washstand and fabulous armoire...

I feel your pain, having been through this myself with 1920s and '30s houses. And I am guilty of putting a Japanese-influenced powder room in my current "pre-ranch" 1931 house.

First, leave the architectural elements alone (windows, doors). But you can tone down the gothic in the rest of the house to blend a little better with the zen bathroom. Light fixtures are probably the most obvious place to start.

In your case, I would go for a more rustic version of the zen aesthetic, with rough stone and wide plank floors rather than bamboo, for example. That would work better with the old-style castle style. Then other elements could be more refined. I'm not seeing sharp angles being right with the rest of the house, so maybe you could use gentle curves instead. Or you could do marble as suggested.

Last but not least, even if the styles of rooms are different, you can always use color to tie things together.

Wow, I cannot thank you all enough for weighing in...truly! Those are great pix Stacyneil, and looking at the white chandelier in the glass bath was inspiring, though mine is such a small bath (200 sq ft) that I don't think I need a ceiling light except for decoration. One thing I found since posting this item are miniature swivel klieg lights that could be used on both sides of the sink mirror -- I thought these could be cool to tie in the old "Hollywood" theme.

Jillalameda - so you are guilty of a zen bath in an old home...do you regret it? And yes, you are right, color will help tie things in. I didn't expect to go with the color green, but the tile I've fallen in love with for this bath is a soft green...so here we go, the color tie-in is green...not really a color I would ordinarily choose, but I have to admit I love the look of green with stainless and wood. And I, too, have been thinking of those wide plank floors as well. Sad as it is, all the old hardwood floors have to be ripped out, so here I start anew.

You'll be seeing me around these INCREDIBLY helpful, useful and friendly forms because I have quite the project ahead of me.

I am all about being unique and keeping you guessing when it comes to house design. I don't want anyone knowing what's just around a corner because every other house is layed(sp?) out that way. I don't want you expecting my bed & bath to be country French because my kitchen is designed in that style (bedroom is in fact rather modern Victorian and bath has a warmed up minimalisitc spa feel to it--surprise!) So I say if you want Zen in your Gothic house, go for it (unless, of course, you're looking at selling in the near furture & looking to please/attract potential buyers who will expect the house to have a more uniform theme that matches the exterior). It is your house, afterall and you're the one living in it day in and day out, so you might as well make it your own. You'll definitely keep people guessing and on their toes wondering what room you'll tackle next and what style it will be designed in!

You know something do what YOU love, I was so stressed out doing my bathroom trying to please everyone. I think I came up with something that was pleasing to the eye for all, but really in the end please yourself cause in the event that you sell your home, they are probably going to say "I would have to gutt that bathroom" that said I think you will have a broader audience with the zen approach. And if that is the style that you like now I am guessing that the rest of the house will slowly follow.