The palette of materials — granite, wood, slate, and glass — used in this light and airy bathroom remodel is fitting for the home's woodland site and views of nearby treetops.

Source: UPSCALE REMODELING MAGAZINE
Publication date: 2006-10-01

By Wanda Jankowski

“The couple who own the home are repeat customers of mine,” says designer David Stimmel, owner of Stimmel Consulting Group, in Ambler, Pa. “I did a stunning kitchen for them when they lived in Philadelphia, but the arrival of a baby boy prompted them to flee the city to raise their son in the suburbs. Now they both work out of their suburban home.”

The couple's home, an 8,000-square-foot single-story structure built during the 1970s, is sited in beautiful woodland in Wyncote, Pa. But, as lovely as the tree-filled setting may be, the home's existing 450-square-foot master bathroom seemed small and outdated, especially compared with the rest of the home's open, modern-style interiors. It was time for a change.

“Since he is European and the couple frequently travels to England, they have had more exposure to open, airy baths, and that's what they wanted here,” Stimmel says. “I decided to bring the outside in and lose the '70s ‘love-in'–style bathtub and pink Formica countertops to give the room a more sophisticated feel, open to the bedroom, yet still warm … not drafty.”

Stimmel brought in general contractor Walter Gaunt of George Gaunt & Son, Ivyland, Pa., to work on the project. “David and I have been working together for some time. We have similar ideas,” Gaunt says. “David shows the client several designs. After he discusses the designs with them and narrows it down, he and I will meet to see if the resulting ideas are feasible as far as how they are to be constructed. I might have a different spin on it; I tend to troubleshoot, especially with the cabinet specs.”

Photo: Charles Meacham UR061001046H1.jpgView image gallery.

To fulfill the goal of creating an expansive, light-filled bathroom, Stimmel's design called for removing several partitions and opening up space from the small hallway and closet that had been part of the existing bath, and bringing views of the outdoors inside. The designer took advantage of the relaxing view offered by the wooded lot, with its many tall mature trees, by including a window with sloping glass skylight in the spacious shower area.

“Many clients now are requesting large showers with an array of options, instead of a bathtub,” Stimmel says. “Removing the old soaking tub was a key element in this remodel.

“The window-skylight is raised so the focal point is the treetops, not the house next door. The skylight creates a blanket of treetops above the shower. The window height provides privacy, yet floods the space with natural light,” the designer says.

Three walls of the shower area are clad in 16-by-16-inch Raja slate tile, as well as the bathroom floor; the shower floor has 4-by-4-inch Raja slate tile. The radius wall separating the shower from the adjacent vanity area is covered with a custom blend of iridescent and non-iridescent 1-by-1-inch glass tiles laid in a brick pattern on the inner (shower) side. The shower bench in the corner, with its curved edge for comfortable seating, is clad in honed Black Absolute granite.

One of the shower walls includes a frosted glass panel, allowing daylight to filter into the adjacent toilet compartment that is accessed via a space-saving pocket door. This toilet area includes built-in shelving for storing magazines and toiletries.

“The curved shower partition is a major, yet subtle, design element,” Stimmel says. “It leans in toward the shower to help retain heat and to avoid water splashing out, and it provides a place to hang towels. The top of the partition is also angled down to slope toward the floor to allow light from the skylight to reach the bedroom.”

The curve of the shower wall is repeated in the curved corners of the his-and-hers vanities. Both areas include the simple styling of frameless cabinetry with a birch veneer and a Wheaton stain, and countertops of 1-inch-thick honed Black Absolute granite. The shape of the undermount rectangular ceramic white sinks complements the linearity of the square doors of the cabinetry, and the black metal decorative hardware mounts behind the doors so the screws are concealed.

The his-and-hers vanities are distinguishable by their respective wall treatments, which not only reflect the couple's individual tastes but help define each of the zones. “The wife loves the color purple, but the husband did not want purple all over the bathroom,” Stimmel says. “Her vanity area has purple glass tile up to the ceiling, but since the wall space is limited on that side of the room, it isn't overpowering.”

His side has a wall that is mirrored from countertop to ceiling. “The mirror reflects the outside light coming from the skylight and helps create the view of an umbrella of trees when he steps down into the shower,” Stimmel says. “In fact, since the bathroom is directly off the master bedroom, you can lie in bed and see the trees reflected in the mirror.”

The slate flooring is set on a wetbed that incorporates underfloor radiant heating. “The radiant heat helps warm the bathroom and prevents any cold, drafty feeling, which was something the client wanted to avoid,” Stimmel says.

“In this project, I like the use of natural materials and how they play off the beauty of the trees on the exterior,” says the designer, who has created a beauty of a bath for his young, modern-minded clients.

Project | Remodel and reconfigure small bathroom in a 1970s single-family home into a 450-square-foot bath

Location | Wyncote, a suburb of Philadelphia

Cost | $50,000

Designer | David Stimmel, Stimmel Consulting Group, Ambler, Pa., www.stimmeldesign.com

General contractor | Walter Gaunt, George Gaunt & Son, Ivyland, Pa.

Cabinetry | Crystal Cabinet Works

Granite Countertops | Marble Concepts

Sinks | Kohler

Shower System, and Tub and Vanity Faucets | Grohe

Toilet | Duravit

Glass Tile | Oceanside Glasstile

Stone Tile | Lower State Marble and Tile

Lighting, and Shower Shelving and Hooks | Ginger

Cabinet Hardware | Engineered Products Co., supplied through CH Briggs

Plumbing Hardware | supplied through Ferguson's

Photo: Charles Meacham One interior shower wall is covered with a combination of iridescent and matte glass tile. His vanity area, opposite the shower, includes a mirrored wall that adds to the feeling of spaciousness in the bath and reflects the tree line outside the window-skylight.

Photo: Charles Meacham The window-skylight keeps the shower area private while permitting a lovely view of the treetops. The curved, lowered partition lets daylight into the bath and adds to the room's open feel.

Photo: Charles Meacham Her vanity area includes a wall of glass tile. His area is adjacent to the purple wall. The couple opted for a large shower rather than a soaking tub.

Photo: Charles Meacham The frosted glass panel in the shower provides privacy while allowing daylight into the toilet room on the other side.