Bathroom Design
Room of the Day: A Stylish Guest Bath With Universal Design
Gray and black tones, lots of tile, a no-curb shower and several grab bars punctuate this graceful, functional space
Interior designer Julie Risman had two directives when designing this guest bathroom in San Antonio: Make it stylish and make it functional for the mother of one of the clients. Risman responded with lots of elegant grays and blacks, plus universal design features like grab bars and a curbless shower.
Risman covered the walls and the vanity in the same gray paint but gave the custom cabinetry a sheen using a water-based alkyd semigloss finish. For the countertops, she went with black granite for “the dramatic pop every space needs.”
In an effort to keep all materials easy to clean, Risman chose porcelain field tile to be the main element in the shower.
Paint: Passive, Sherwin-Williams; countertops: Black Pearl granite via Houzz
In an effort to keep all materials easy to clean, Risman chose porcelain field tile to be the main element in the shower.
Paint: Passive, Sherwin-Williams; countertops: Black Pearl granite via Houzz
The same mosaic tile on the floor appears again as a decorative focal point — an inset niche for shampoo or soap, positioned at a height that’s easily reachable.
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Bathroom at a Glance
Location: San Antonio
Size: 45 square feet (about 4 square meters); 9 by 5 feet (2.7 by 1.5 meters)
Designer: Julie Risman of The Inside Story Design
To assist the mother, who lives in the house, Risman added grab bars in two areas of the shower and near the toilet, and established a curbless shower floor.
For style, Risman aimed for “a historic 1920s black-and-white retro look,” she says. Working with contrasting light and dark tones, she used a basket-weave mosaic tile for the floor and the shower accent. The tile picks up on all the white, black and gray tones in the room.
Vanity light: Elk Lighting; tile: The Tile Shop