This bathroom is situated on the second floor of an apartment overlooking Albert Park Beach. The bathroom has a window view and the owners wanted to ensure a relaxed feeling was created in this space drawing on the elements of the ocean, with the organic forms. Raw materials like the pebble stone floor, concrete basins and bath were carefully selected to blend seamlessly and create a muted colour palette. Tactile forms engage the user in an environment that is atypical to the clinical/ white space most expect. The pebble floor, with the addition of under floor heating, adds a sensory element pertaining to a day spa.

In this bathroom, the client wanted the contrast of the white subway tile and the black hexagon tile. We tiled up the walls and ceiling to create a wet room feeling.

In this complete floor to ceiling removal, we created a zero-threshold walk-in shower, moved the shower and tub drain and removed the center cabinetry to create a MASSIVE walk-in shower with a drop in tub. As you walk in to the shower, controls are conveniently placed on the inside of the pony wall next to the custom soap niche. Fixtures include a standard shower head, rain head, two shower wands, tub filler with hand held wand, all in a brushed nickel finish. The custom countertop upper cabinet divides the vanity into His and Hers style vanity with low profile vessel sinks. There is a knee space with a dropped down countertop creating a perfect makeup vanity. Countertops are the gorgeous Everest Quartz. The Shower floor is a matte grey penny round, the shower wall tile is a 12x24 Cemento Bianco Cassero. The glass mosaic is called “White Ice Cube” and is used as a deco column in the shower and surrounds the drop-in tub. Finally, the flooring is a 9x36 Coastwood Malibu wood plank tile.

This renovated brick rowhome in Boston’s South End offers a modern aesthetic within a historic structure, creative use of space, exceptional thermal comfort, a reduced carbon footprint, and a passive stream of income. DESIGN PRIORITIES. The goals for the project were clear - design the primary unit to accommodate the family’s modern lifestyle, rework the layout to create a desirable rental unit, improve thermal comfort and introduce a modern aesthetic. We designed the street-level entry as a shared entrance for both the primary and rental unit. The family uses it as their everyday entrance - we planned for bike storage and an open mudroom with bench and shoe storage to facilitate the change from shoes to slippers or bare feet as they enter their home. On the main level, we expanded the kitchen into the dining room to create an eat-in space with generous counter space and storage, as well as a comfortable connection to the living space. The second floor serves as master suite for the couple - a bedroom with a walk-in-closet and ensuite bathroom, and an adjacent study, with refinished original pumpkin pine floors. The upper floor, aside from a guest bedroom, is the child's domain with interconnected spaces for sleeping, work and play. In the play space, which can be separated from the work space with new translucent sliding doors, we incorporated recreational features inspired by adventurous and competitive television shows, at their son’s request. MODERN MEETS TRADITIONAL. We left the historic front facade of the building largely unchanged - the security bars were removed from the windows and the single pane windows were replaced with higher performing historic replicas. We designed the interior and rear facade with a vision of warm modernism, weaving in the notable period features. Each element was either restored or reinterpreted to blend with the modern aesthetic. The detailed ceiling in the living space, for example, has a new matte monochromatic finish, and the wood stairs are covered in a dark grey floor paint, whereas the mahogany doors were simply refinished. New wide plank wood flooring with a neutral finish, floor-to-ceiling casework, and bold splashes of color in wall paint and tile, and oversized high-performance windows (on the rear facade) round out the modern aesthetic. RENTAL INCOME. The existing rowhome was zoned for a 2-family dwelling but included an undesirable, single-floor studio apartment at the garden level with low ceiling heights and questionable emergency egress. In order to increase the quality and quantity of space in the rental unit, we reimagined it as a two-floor, 1 or 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment with a modern aesthetic, increased ceiling height on the lowest level and provided an in-unit washer/dryer. The apartment was listed with Jackie O'Connor Real Estate and rented immediately, providing the owners with a source of passive income. ENCLOSURE WITH BENEFITS. The homeowners sought a minimal carbon footprint, enabled by their urban location and lifestyle decisions, paired with the benefits of a high-performance home. The extent of the renovation allowed us to implement a deep energy retrofit (DER) to address air tightness, insulation, and high-performance windows. The historic front facade is insulated from the interior, while the rear facade is insulated on the exterior. Together with these building enclosure improvements, we designed an HVAC system comprised of continuous fresh air ventilation, and an efficient, all-electric heating and cooling system to decouple the house from natural gas. This strategy provides optimal thermal comfort and indoor air quality, improved acoustic isolation from street noise and neighbors, as well as a further reduced carbon footprint. We also took measures to prepare the roof for future solar panels, for when the South End neighborhood’s aging electrical infrastructure is upgraded to allow them. URBAN LIVING. The desirable neighborhood location allows the both the homeowners and tenant to walk, bike, and use public transportation to access the city, while each charging their respective plug-in electric cars behind the building to travel greater distances. OVERALL. The understated rowhouse is now ready for another century of urban living, offering the owners comfort and convenience as they live life as an expression of their values. Photography Eric Roth Photo

Ansel Olson Photography.

The layout of the master bathroom was created to be perfectly symmetrical which allowed us to incorporate his and hers areas within the same space. The bathtub crates a focal point seen from the hallway through custom designed louvered double door and the shower seen through the glass towards the back of the bathroom enhances the size of the space. Wet areas of the floor are finished in honed marble tiles and the entire floor was treated with any slip solution to ensure safety of the homeowners. The white marble background give the bathroom a light and feminine backdrop for the contrasting dark millwork adding energy to the space and giving it a complimentary masculine presence. Storage is maximized by incorporating the two tall wood towers on either side of each vanity – it provides ample space needed in the bathroom and it is only 12” deep which allows you to find things easier that in traditional 24” deep cabinetry. Manmade quartz countertops are a functional and smart choice for white counters, especially on the make-up vanity. Vanities are cantilevered over the floor finished in natural white marble with soft organic pattern allow for full appreciation of the beauty of nature. This home has a lot of inside/outside references, and even in this bathroom, the large window located inside the steam shower uses electrochromic glass (“smart” glass) which changes from clear to opaque at the push of a button. It is a simple, convenient, and totally functional solution in a bathroom. The center of this bathroom is a freestanding tub identifying his and hers side and it is set in front of full height clear glass shower enclosure allowing the beauty of stone to continue uninterrupted onto the shower walls. Photography: Craig Denis

Victoria Herr Photography

Colin Price Photography

Photo by: Elaine Fredrick Photography

Ripping out the old, dated tub made room for a walk-in shower that will remain practical as the client gets older. The back splash wall tile provides a stunning focal point as you enter the Master Bath. Keeping finishes light and neutral helps this small room to feel more spacious and open.

Michael Lipman photographer

High Res Media

Beautiful updates to dated spaces. We updated the master bathrooms and 2 guest bathrooms with beautiful custom vanities with recessed fronts. The beautiful gray finish works wonderfully with the Carrara marble and white subway tile. We created recessed soap niches in the guest bathrooms and a deluxe recessed niche with shelves in the master bathroom. The lovely gray and white palate gives a fresh calming feeling to these spaces. Now the client has the bathrooms of their dreams.

Gray tones playfulness a kid’s bathroom in Oak Park. This bath was design with kids in mind but still to have the aesthetic lure of a beautiful guest bathroom. The flooring is made out of gray and white hexagon tiles with different textures to it, creating a playful puzzle of colors and creating a perfect anti slippery surface for kids to use. The walls tiles are 3x6 gray subway tile with glossy finish for an easy to clean surface and to sparkle with the ceiling lighting layout. A semi-modern vanity design brings all the colors together with darker gray color and quartz countertop. In conclusion a bathroom for everyone to enjoy and admire.

Justin Adams

Master Bath with Freestanding tub inside the shower.