Kitchen & Bath MaKeovers suMMer 2009 9392 kitchen + bath makeovers summer 2009

The bath’s color palette started with a colorful window treatment. The room boasts an organic feeling with a bit of a spa-like sensibility.

retreatNatural

in this makeover clever storage niches ... furniture-style vanity ... pretty border tile ... invisible towel racks

Taking a small, outdated bath from blah to beautiful required careful planning and creative use of space. A designer employed both strategies to make this hall bath look pretty and live large. Then she added special touches to give it a soft, organic feel.

{writer heather shoning photographer jay wilde designer jeni wright}

Kitchen & Bath MaKeovers suMMer 2009 95

Material MagicA small swath of fabric covering a window is sometimes the only soft element in a bath, making it an important focal point and the driver of the room’s design. Here are some tips on how to outfit your bath using fabric as inspiration. Chooseawallcolorfromoneoftheaccent colors inthefabric. Selectaccentcolorsinthesametonal range—nottoolightortoodark.

Usethefabric’s background colortodeterminetrimcolor.Ifit’snotpurewhite,avoidusingpurewhitefortrim.

Coordinatethefabricwithaccenttile.ItstextureaddsanotherdiMensiontothecolorscheme.

above left Flowers raining down on the tub extend the fabric design into the rest of the room. above Using a glass half-wall lets natural light into the shower, making the room feel large and airy. The iridescent herringbone tile inset adds a custom look.

this photo In keeping with her subtle color scheme, designer Jeni Wright chose a natural shade for the tub instead of white, which would likely have dominated the space and defied the color palette.

The plan sprouted from fabric that designer Jeni Wright chose for the window shade. Using its color palette as inspiration, she picked the sage wall color and earthy tile colors. To make the room feel larger, she chose inexpensive field tile for the floor and installed it on a diagonal. Matching grout minimized joint lines, making the floor look like a single expanse of color. Next, she dressed the floor and tub surround with a more expensive glass border tile. Coordinating iridescent tile in the shower shines in the natural light of the room. “The original archway into the shower was cute, but taking it out opened up the entire space,” Wright says. Today a custom glass shower enclosure makes the room feel open and airy. “It allows natural light from the windows into the shower,” she says. In a small bath, carving out creative storage space is paramount. To do so, Wright built niches between the sink wall’s joists, then added chunky wooden bases that extend the niches. Between the storage niches, Wright replaced the original wall-mount sink with a sink cabinet for utilitarian storage. “In a small space, it’s important to have great storage to keep clutter out of sight,” she says. Above the sink, Wright opted for a flat mirror instead of a recessed medicine cabinet because there are electric and plumbing lines in the wall. Other details also give the space a custom feel. A brushed-nickel sink and fixtures are the jewelry for the room. Invisible towel holders take the place of bulky shelving. Acrylic flowers floating on the wall mimic the pattern in the window-shade fabric. “The fabric is important because it’s the only soft element in this room,” Wright says. “Everything, right down to the flowers on the wall, had to be an extension of the fabric to achieve the cohesive, beautiful design.” after

before

budget tip:use inexpensive

porcelain field tile as the primary material

and accent with pretty glass tile.

94 kitchen + bath makeovers summer 2009

kitchen + bath makeovers summer 2009 97

CABINETRYn Vanity 710plumBINgn Sink 136

n Sinkfaucet 463

n Showerfixture 250

n Toilet 315

n Tub 473

n Tubfaucet 508SuRFACESn Accenttile,fieldtile 2,000

n Countertop 458

n Showerglass 1,169mISCEllANEOuSn Fabric 155

n Lightfixtures 68

n Paint 47

n Toilettissueholder 78

n Towelholders 38

n Wallflowers 37

TOTAl $6,931

the budget

1. Designer Jeni Wright decided on the bath’s color scheme by picking out the fabric for the window treatment first. 2. The thick wooden bases on the storage niches add a modern touch. 3. Strech your tile budget by using a border made of decorative tile to perk up inexpensive field tile.

ResouRces begin on page 108

the details

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this photo Creative use of space and mixing hard-edge and fluid shapes makes the functional design look beautiful.

{about this makeover}

before

designer tip:

built-in niches create valuable storage on

otherwise unused walls. A round mirror breaks up

the square elements.

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