Enlarging a Master Bath
 Red Counter Extends Over Foot of Tub |
| Like many baths from the 1950′s and before, the original bath was quite small — with pink and maroon tile. This is the story of creating a roomy, modern bath in a 1950′s split level in Washington, DC. The remodeled bath is dressed almost completely in grey — grey porcelain floor tile; grey large-format wall tile – floor to ceiling; grey custom cabinets, grey towels, stainless and brushed metal hardware and fixtures, cararra marble tile on the floor of the shower. The spark of energy comes from a bright red Ceasarstone countertop. In addition to topping the vanity, it extends on one side over the foot of the tub and on the other side into a niche in a custom tower cabinet. An additional sparkle comes from the vertical lines of glass random length mosaic tile on either side of the medicine cabinet and under the sconces. |
| The room enjoys radiant in-floor heat, a shower head and handheld shower both controlled by the same thermostatic valve but with separate volume controls, a Toto toilet, a soaking tub with it’s own hand-spray, a shower with a deep bench and two niches for shampoos and soaps, and lot’s of storage. Ambient light comes from “ceiling washing” sconces placed about a foot from the ceiling; task lighting is provided by sconces flanking the medicine cabinet. All lighting is compact fluorescent. |
| The cabinets were fabricated by a local cabinet shop using a local mill — saving shipping fuel. We customized the cabinets in color and form for this bath. The vanity is shallow at 18″. The medicine cabinet has an inside mirror. The combination saves the owner’s back when he shaves. The tower cabinet has a lower cabinet that opens for the convenience of the toilet containing extra toilet tissue. A niche facing the vanity with 2 hidden outlets keeps clutter off the counter. A wall-mounted hotel-style hair dryer further keeps clutter off the countertop. The front of the niche has a false panel to maintain a uniform look along with a cabinet pull that does duty as a towel rod. The cabinets over the toilet provide lots of additional storage as well as a shelf for extra towels. All but the top middle drawer in the vanity are functional — including drawers that are cut around the plumbing. |
| The large bath was created out of the original small master bath plus 2 closets — one serving the master bedroom and one serving the hallway. We pushed the bath 9 inches into the master bedroom to allow sufficient space for a separate shower and soaking tub. |
 View From Bedroom |
 Shower has Frosted Glass And Forms Nook for Privacy on the Toilet |
 Niche Facing Vanity Removes Clutter From Countertop |
 Single Thermostatic Valve Controls Separate Volume Controls for Shower Head and Handheld |
 Floor Plan - After - Enlarged Bath Took Over 2 Existing Closets |
 Floor Plan Remodel |
 Pink and Black 1950's Bath "Before" |
| All images courtesy of Braitman Design/Build |
[...] In the bath was used a combination of ceiling washers and task lighting (see “Enlarging a Master Bath”) [...]