Bold Black-and-White Style for a Small Master Bath
A black-and-white color palette, graphic floor tile and a custom design make the most of every inch in this D.C. bath
As for the homeowners’ style, Herbert says they were drawn to both traditional and midcentury modern elements and wanted to infuse the room with their own personalities.
A Bold Floor Sets the Tone
“Originally my client was drawn to traditional 1-inch black-and-white hexagonal tiles, but then she said, ‘Let’s do something interesting,’” Herbert says. “I found this hexagonal tile at Home Depot and I told her I loved it, she said she loved it and then she said to her husband, ‘Please tell me that you love it’ and he said, ‘I love it!’” With the unanimous love fest going on, this tile won.
“And the look of the floor helps elongate the room,” Herbert says. “This space is tight, but the skylight, white walls and high ceilings help it feel larger.”
Find hexagonal tile
A Bold Floor Sets the Tone
“Originally my client was drawn to traditional 1-inch black-and-white hexagonal tiles, but then she said, ‘Let’s do something interesting,’” Herbert says. “I found this hexagonal tile at Home Depot and I told her I loved it, she said she loved it and then she said to her husband, ‘Please tell me that you love it’ and he said, ‘I love it!’” With the unanimous love fest going on, this tile won.
“And the look of the floor helps elongate the room,” Herbert says. “This space is tight, but the skylight, white walls and high ceilings help it feel larger.”
Find hexagonal tile
The Geometry Continues Into the Shower
The shape of the floor tiles appears in the shower, where Herbert played with different scales. Large white hexagonal tiles cover the surround, while 1-inch black hexagonal tiles cover the shower floor. The dual niches have 1-inch white hexagonal tiles along the back, marble shelves that match the countertop and black Schluter strip outlines that play off the black in the bathroom floor.
Making Every Inch Count
Choosing the right toilet that wouldn’t impede the area in front of the vanity also was important. Herbert provided her clients with the ideal dimensions, and they found one that took up minimal space.
“It’s often hard to find ideal wall space for towel bars in a small bathroom,” the designer says. “Between all the elements and pocket doors, sometimes there isn’t any choice.” Her clients are both tall, so she hung the bars high above the toilet to prevent head-banging and to give them enough room to hang the long Turkish towels they like to use.
Shower head: Delta; toilet: Small Short Tiny Toilet, Galba
The shape of the floor tiles appears in the shower, where Herbert played with different scales. Large white hexagonal tiles cover the surround, while 1-inch black hexagonal tiles cover the shower floor. The dual niches have 1-inch white hexagonal tiles along the back, marble shelves that match the countertop and black Schluter strip outlines that play off the black in the bathroom floor.
Making Every Inch Count
Choosing the right toilet that wouldn’t impede the area in front of the vanity also was important. Herbert provided her clients with the ideal dimensions, and they found one that took up minimal space.
“It’s often hard to find ideal wall space for towel bars in a small bathroom,” the designer says. “Between all the elements and pocket doors, sometimes there isn’t any choice.” Her clients are both tall, so she hung the bars high above the toilet to prevent head-banging and to give them enough room to hang the long Turkish towels they like to use.
Shower head: Delta; toilet: Small Short Tiny Toilet, Galba
Special Touches Customize a Vanity
Herbert created a vanity that stretches 60 inches from wall to wall. It maximizes storage and gives her clients the function of the double sinks they wanted, with one long sink outfitted with two faucets. She used Ikea cabinet boxes because they allow for full drawers that are not impeded by plumbing placement. Then she used a company called Semihandmade to create custom drawer fronts and panels for the facing. There is additional storage space in the mirrored medicine cabinets, which are deep enough to hold rolls of toilet paper.
Light: Restoration Hardware
Herbert created a vanity that stretches 60 inches from wall to wall. It maximizes storage and gives her clients the function of the double sinks they wanted, with one long sink outfitted with two faucets. She used Ikea cabinet boxes because they allow for full drawers that are not impeded by plumbing placement. Then she used a company called Semihandmade to create custom drawer fronts and panels for the facing. There is additional storage space in the mirrored medicine cabinets, which are deep enough to hold rolls of toilet paper.
Light: Restoration Hardware
Herbert transformed a long vessel sink into an undermount sink by having it dropped into the vanity. She topped off the piece with a marble countertop and backsplash. Also, she placed it so the toilet would not impede the standing room in front of the faucet on the right.
Angling a pair of faucets off to the sides of the sink was the best way to fit them in and give the couple the dual-sink function they wanted. There’s plenty of room for both of them to stand and brush their teeth at the same time. The faucets, like all of the other fixtures and hardware in the room, are in a champagne bronze finish. Their water-trough-like design is at once traditional and playful, adding more of the personality the homeowners desired.
Faucets: Delta; browse faucets with warm finishes
Angling a pair of faucets off to the sides of the sink was the best way to fit them in and give the couple the dual-sink function they wanted. There’s plenty of room for both of them to stand and brush their teeth at the same time. The faucets, like all of the other fixtures and hardware in the room, are in a champagne bronze finish. Their water-trough-like design is at once traditional and playful, adding more of the personality the homeowners desired.
Faucets: Delta; browse faucets with warm finishes
The drawer pulls are another traditional element that adds a custom touch.
Takeaways
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Takeaways
- Yes, you can go bold in a small bathroom, just let one element be the star. Here the graphic floor pattern helps the room feel larger.
- When it comes to tile, repeating a geometric pattern at different scales creates cohesion.
- In a small space, explore toilet options that have a small footprint and wall-mounted models.
- European companies like Ikea often offer vanities with a plumbing setup that allows for full drawers. In a tight space where storage is at a premium, this is important.
- A long trough-like sink with two faucets can provide the same function as double sinks, but with a more streamlined look.
- If you’re tight on space and don’t want a wall-mounted faucet, consider installing it to the side of the sink.
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7 Key Things to Establish When Planning a Master Bathroom
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Bathroom at a Glance
Who uses it: This is the master bath of a couple with two toddlers
Location: Eastern Market neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Size: 42 square feet (4 square meters)
Designer: Amy and Scott Herbert of Aesthetic Answers
As a designer in Washington, D.C., where space in many homes is at a premium, designer Amy Herbert is used to the design challenges of compact bathrooms.
In this home, a whole-house renovation and addition enabled homeowners to add a small but powerful master bathroom on the second floor where previously they had only one hall bathroom. Herbert joined the process in time to help them choose among layouts provided by an architect and helped them choose the furniture, fixtures and finishes.
Her clients had a baby daughter when they started the remodeling process, and in the middle of the project they found out they were expecting a second daughter. So the timing could not have been better for them to gain their own bathroom space.