Bathroom of the Week: Warm Style Infused With Natural Light
A bold floor tile inspires an inviting palette, while a new layout lends a more spacious feel
These parents of three in West Chester, Pennsylvania, had had great success working with Pine Street Carpenters & The Kitchen Studio when remodeling their kitchen and a few other rooms. So when they were ready to take their primary bathroom down to the studs a few years later, they reached out to them again. “These are fantastic clients to work with, and we had a great working relationship in place,” designer Dana Bender says. She and the rest of the team put together a warm transitional room that suited the clients’ style, made the most of the natural light and added a few new features the homeowners wanted.
After: Bender reduced the shower size from 3½ by 7 feet to a still-generous 3½ by 5½ feet. She opened it up with a glass surround that lets light into the entire stall. Shrinking the shower allowed her to extend the wife’s vanity (seen here on the left) by a foot and a half.
To the right is a toilet room. The footprint of this space remained the same. Bender also replaced the bathroom’s double entry doors with a pocket door. “This allowed us to maintain the symmetry walking into the space and also allowed room for each of them to have a towel bar next to their vanities,” she says.
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To the right is a toilet room. The footprint of this space remained the same. Bender also replaced the bathroom’s double entry doors with a pocket door. “This allowed us to maintain the symmetry walking into the space and also allowed room for each of them to have a towel bar next to their vanities,” she says.
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This is the family dog, Remy, who is a perfect match for the warm tones in the room. While it could be surmised that Remy’s coloring was the jumping-off point, it was actually the floor tile. “This was the first tile our design team presented the clients when we were showing them different options,” Bender says. “We brought 3D renderings and other visuals, which were really helpful in letting them see how it would look. The tile is bold. But being able to see what it looked like in the room with these visual aids sold them on it.”
The floor tile is durable porcelain that resembles terra cotta. It brings warmth and pattern into the space. From there, the designers chose Sherwin-Williams’ White Heron for the walls and Pure White for the trim. “White Heron is a really nice warm neutral that works well with the floor tile,” Bender says.
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The floor tile is durable porcelain that resembles terra cotta. It brings warmth and pattern into the space. From there, the designers chose Sherwin-Williams’ White Heron for the walls and Pure White for the trim. “White Heron is a really nice warm neutral that works well with the floor tile,” Bender says.
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The homeowners loved taking long soaks in their existing bathtub, so a soaking tub was an important element to keep. This freestanding model is generous in size and lends an airier look than the previous tub with deck. It also allows the floor tile to extend to the exterior wall, which makes the room feel more spacious and less chopped-up.
“We discussed window treatments, but with large evergreens outside, my clients have complete privacy from the neighbors,” Bender says. “They were on the fence about it, but after living without them for awhile, they decided they didn’t need them.”
Bathtub: Amalia 67-inch soaking tub, Jacuzzi; faucet set: Roman tub filler with hand shower, Saylor collection, Delt
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“We discussed window treatments, but with large evergreens outside, my clients have complete privacy from the neighbors,” Bender says. “They were on the fence about it, but after living without them for awhile, they decided they didn’t need them.”
Bathtub: Amalia 67-inch soaking tub, Jacuzzi; faucet set: Roman tub filler with hand shower, Saylor collection, Delt
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Before: The wife’s vanity was hemmed in by the shower stall and had an ornate style. “I believe the former owner owned a cabinet company, so these have just about every detail that was available in the late 1980s to early 1990s,” Bender says. The mirror to the left of the vanity was a recessed medicine cabinet.
After: By reducing the size of the shower, the designers were able to install a larger vanity with more counter space. “My clients really liked having medicine cabinets for storage, so they both have mirrored recessed medicine cabinets from Robern,” Bender says. The medicine cabinets have lighted mirrors inside.
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The designers took a less-is-more approach with the new vanities. The cabinetry is plain-sawn white oak from Wood-Mode Fine Custom Cabinetry. The style is Rockport and the stain color is French Biscuit, a light, warm hue that works well with the colors in the floor tile. The faucets and light fixtures are brass.
For contrast, the designers suggested bringing in some matte black in the hardware and accessories “Our clients were afraid adding matte black would look too modern farmhouse. But by mixing the brass and matte black together we found a balance,” Bender says. “Also, the black adds a crisp little detail.” She repeated the matte black on the mirror frame and the sconces.
For contrast, the designers suggested bringing in some matte black in the hardware and accessories “Our clients were afraid adding matte black would look too modern farmhouse. But by mixing the brass and matte black together we found a balance,” Bender says. “Also, the black adds a crisp little detail.” She repeated the matte black on the mirror frame and the sconces.
The cabinetry is a recessed inset style with slab drawers, a nice transitional mix. The Shaker style is traditional but also lends a more modern, unfussy look.
The countertops are Smithfield by Cambria, a quartz with subtle marble-look veining. It has a natural look that’s not distracting.
The countertops are Smithfield by Cambria, a quartz with subtle marble-look veining. It has a natural look that’s not distracting.
Some new functions in the shower include body jets and a handheld wand. The homeowners also wanted to get rid of their built-in shower bench in favor of more floor space in the stall.
The shower surround is covered in 4-by-12-inch polished ceramic tile. “This has a little texture to it and it’s glossy,” Bender says.
The shower surround is covered in 4-by-12-inch polished ceramic tile. “This has a little texture to it and it’s glossy,” Bender says.
“The husband had experienced pebble tile in a hotel shower and loved it, so we used that on the shower floor here,” Bender says.
Adding a pony wall as part of the shower enclosure provided space for a towel bar. There’s also a hook on the left side of the shower door.
Floor plan: This rendering shows the shower in the top left corner and the toilet room at the top right. Along the bottom, the new pocket door is flanked by towel bars. The team added supports in the pocket wall on the right to support the towel bar next to the husband’s vanity.
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Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple, their three kids and their dog
Location: West Chester, Pennsylvania
Size: 180 square feet (17 square meters)
Design-build firm: Pine Street Carpenters & The Kitchen Studio
Before: The homeowners liked the bathroom’s symmetry, window and large soaking tub. What they didn’t like was the shower stall, seen on the left side of this photo. “It’s nice to have a generous shower stall, but they didn’t like the dark, cavernous feel in there,” Bender says.
The couple each had their own vanity in the room, but the wife wanted one with more countertop space and storage. The swing of two double doors at the bathroom’s entry (pictured later) took up space in the room.
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