The 2016 CTC&G IDA Winners: Bath

The owners of this circa 1895 converted gatehouse had two requests for the design of their new bathroom: first, to resemble a beloved Tuscan villa where they had vacationed; second, to keep the room open to the structure’s original exposed stone walls in the adjacent hallway. Fortunately, architects Shea Murdock and Kelly Solon Murdock are familiar their clients’ tastes: They’ve been working on the home for the past 15 years, and first worked on this space in 2000.

Additional Resources:
Interior design, Linherr Hollingsworth. Floor tile, Ann Sacks. Glass (throughout), Westport Glass. Door hardware, Dorma. Showerheads, Speakman, through Klaffs. Recessed lights, Patdo.

To achieve the airy vibe, Shea Murdock and Kelly Solon Murdock strayed from the traditional, installing a frosted-glass sliding door from Westport Glass at the entrance. A foot of clear glass remains near the top of the door, revealing the original brick-and-stone walls. The rest of the space was equipped with glass walls and little-to-no visible hardware. “All the tracking was placed above the ceiling, in the Sheetrock,” says Shea Murdock, “resulting in glass walls that disappear into slots in the ceiling.”

Finding a match for the existing stone structure was a bit tougher. “We believe the gatehouse was built from the excavated stone of the mansion itself,” says Shea Murdock. “This made it a challenge to match.” Stone from three different quarries was used to achieve the look. And a mosaic of tile in the shower complements the stone that’s visible through the glass walls. The architects then worked with interior designer Linherr Hollingsworth on the finishing touches, painting the windows in the same red as the original structure’s, installing custom cabinetry and utilizing a mirrored cabinetry wall for storage and to reflect light throughout the space.

Over the course of several years, architect Mac Patterson and his team at Austin Patterson Disston Architects have worked on varying aspects of this beachside home. “The clients call us and say, ‘Okay, now let’s do this room,’” explains Patterson. What was once a dark room, with utility sink and closet, is now a light-filled space, equipped with a showstopping floating vanity.

To meet the challenge of transforming the space without altering the placement of the sink or windows, a closet was turned into the new shower space. The windows were too low for a traditional vanity, so Patterson and project architect Marti Cowan worked around, or over, the issue, installing steel inlets into the walls that are covered with fin-shaped solid wood supports. The supports were then covered in a glossy finish to match the vanity and allow the pieces to go unnoticed, while still reflecting light throughout the space. The result is a levitating two-inch-thick Cararra marble slab that is entirely stable. “You can sit right on it,” quips Cowan.

Additional Resources:
Wall tile, floor tile and vanity slab top, Greenwich Tile & Marble. Glass cabinet fronts, GlassKote USA. Washbasin, Duravit. Fittings, Lefroy Brooks. Lighting (vanity LED), Aamsco. Lighting (recessed), Lightolier. Finish trim, Schluter Schiene. Cabinet pulls, Whitechapel Ltd. Shower door, Mr. ShowerDoor.

The vanity itself shines with polished annealed glass on the face of the cabinets and stainless chrome pulls for the hardware. The structure floats over large gray porcelain tiles from Greenwich Tile. The oversized wall tiles provide a simple, flat tone and reveal almost no grout lines. “It was neat stuff,” Patterson says. “The walls look like they’re limestone.”

The recurring theme of this Kathy Hodge–designed bathroom is glass: on the walls, in the shower, over the mirrors, in the cabinetry. Early in the design process, Hodge and her client decided to use the bright light of nearby Long Island Sound to their advantage, reflecting the scenic brilliance throughout the space with four identical mirrors—two of which are recessed medicine cabinets—and custom-painted gray-back glass. “You feel like you’re partly in the ocean,” says Hodge. “It all feels so natural.” A shade from Conrad Shades adorns the single window, adding subtle texture to the room and serving as a continuation of the light, airy atmosphere.

Additional Resources:
Construction, Threebeans Design/Build. Medicine cabinet, bath fixtures and hardware, Plimpton and Hills. Glass (throughout), Fairfield Glass. Tile floor, New England Tile & Marble. Countertop (vanity), Shore & Country Kitchens. Sconces, Waterworks. Roman shades, North Shore Windows. Window covering, Conrad Shades, through North Shore Windows.

The designer took a page from her own book when choosing the cabinetry material and additional features. “I had done their kitchen about two years earlier, so we were very used to each other,” explains Hodge. “I really understood her tastes from the beginning: clean and modern.” The wall-mounted, custom vanity from R. Fusco mimics the cabinetry in the kitchen, and, due to the abundance of drawers, simple edge pulls were utilized to minimize clutter. But installing the drawers wasn’t simple. Hodge and her team had to custom cut the pieces in order to fit around the existing plumbing. That attention to detail is exhibited throughout the fresh, airy space—a reflection of what’s just outside the window.