Bathroom Design
Before and Afters
Now Arriving on Platform 2, a Playful Powder Room
Subway graphics from a New York City station add unexpected depth and humor to a tiny half bath in California
Interior designer Lisa Konjicek-Segundo had worked on the rest of this grand home in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Alameda, California, over the years, but somehow this dated powder room evaded her touch until recently. "I returned to work on one of their daughter's rooms and told them it was high time we did something about it," she says.
"My clients love New York City, so we decided to make it an ode to the city, with an industrial vibe and photography," she describes. The powder room is quite a divergence from the more traditional style of the rest of the home. "Because the door swings out into the hallway, it's always closed. People open the door, flip on the light and are very surprised," the designer says. Here's a peek behind that door — brace yourself for the unexpected!
Powder Room at a Glance
Who uses it: A family with 5 kids
Location: Alameda, California
Size: About 4 feet by 10 feet
Budget: About $10,000
"My clients love New York City, so we decided to make it an ode to the city, with an industrial vibe and photography," she describes. The powder room is quite a divergence from the more traditional style of the rest of the home. "Because the door swings out into the hallway, it's always closed. People open the door, flip on the light and are very surprised," the designer says. Here's a peek behind that door — brace yourself for the unexpected!
Powder Room at a Glance
Who uses it: A family with 5 kids
Location: Alameda, California
Size: About 4 feet by 10 feet
Budget: About $10,000
BEFORE: The teeny room featured a dated white porcelain shell sink with a dated splatter-painted surround, an odd niche filled with air fresheners, a shell-motif mirror and a lot of randomly hung artwork.
AFTER: For the wall-size photograph, Konjicek-Segundo turned to MegaPrint and selected a photo of New York's Spring Street subway station. "Luckily my clients are forward thinkers, and they have great senses of humor, so they thought that the fact that the toilet looks like it's sitting on the subway platform was hilarious," she says.
The perspective adds depth to the tiny room, as does the large custom mirror on the left side, which extends from the base of the sink to the ceiling. Konjicek-Segundo combined a very low-profile, modern toilet with old-school hex tile that looks like something one would see in a subway station.
Tile: San Francisco Best Tile
The perspective adds depth to the tiny room, as does the large custom mirror on the left side, which extends from the base of the sink to the ceiling. Konjicek-Segundo combined a very low-profile, modern toilet with old-school hex tile that looks like something one would see in a subway station.
Tile: San Francisco Best Tile
Konjicek-Segundo pulled the green color from the photograph for the walls. "People always think lighter colors will add depth, but it's darker colors that do — I mean, look at the before picture," she says.
For the same reason, she painted the ceiling black. The metal light fixture, from Policelli, adds an industrial touch. The couple already had the sign, which fits right in above the door.
"The husband is a mathematician, so I pitched this toilet paper installation to him," the designer says. It's inserted between the studs, and the rolls create circles in the boxes. The bottom of the niche has a toilet paper dispenser and two shelves for magazines. The installation is framed in ebony.
More clever places for the t.p.
For the same reason, she painted the ceiling black. The metal light fixture, from Policelli, adds an industrial touch. The couple already had the sign, which fits right in above the door.
"The husband is a mathematician, so I pitched this toilet paper installation to him," the designer says. It's inserted between the studs, and the rolls create circles in the boxes. The bottom of the niche has a toilet paper dispenser and two shelves for magazines. The installation is framed in ebony.
More clever places for the t.p.
"The husband really wanted a vessel sink, which was tricky — we needed a space saver," Konjicek-Segundo says. She found this one via San Francisco's DJ Mehler and had it imported from France. Mounting the faucet to the side instead of between the vessel and the wall saves space. A built-in bar for a hand towel saved them from cluttering up the wall with one. "During big parades on my clients' street, people knock on the door and ask to use the bathroom," Konjicek-Segundo says. "After they see it, they often call out to their friends in the street and say, 'You have to come see this!'"
Your turn: Please tell us about your creative home remodeling project below.
Your turn: Please tell us about your creative home remodeling project below.