Subway Graphics Inspire a Master Bathroom Renovation
A designer helps a New York couple bring happy memories and iconic, bold style from the subway up to their Tribeca loft
Becky Harris
December 27, 2018
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia.
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe... More
Photos by Anton Brookes
Bathroom at a Glance
Who uses it: This is a couple’s master bathroom
Location: Tribeca neighborhood of New York
Size: 80 square feet (7.4 square meters)
Designer: Eli Zikry of Gallery Kitchen & Bath
This Manhattan bathroom design began with New York City’s 6 train. “This couple used to take the 6 train to see each other before they got married, so it had special meaning to them,” bathroom designer Eli Zikry says. They knew going into the full remodel that they wanted the brilliant green from that train’s logo to be the accent color on their vanity. And while their team at Gallery Kitchen & Bath feared it might pop a little too much, the homeowners stuck to their guns. And now everyone is glad they did.
What Goes With 6 Train Style?
Beyond the bright green, Zikry needed to get a better sense of his clients’ style. “After an initial phone conversation, we have our clients put photos into a Houzz ideabook so that we can get a general sense of what they like and what is contributing to that aesthetic,” he says. “It’s easier for most people to put it together visually rather than putting it into words.” From there he knew that the clients liked a clean, modern look with lots of white and graphic punches.
“We decided to see where the No. 6 color took us from there,” he says. They paired it with a New York cityscape wallpaper with coordinating black matte finishes on the lighting, faucets, hardware, towel bar and shower door track.
Check out matte black faucets, lighting and more in the Houzz Shop
Bathroom at a Glance
Who uses it: This is a couple’s master bathroom
Location: Tribeca neighborhood of New York
Size: 80 square feet (7.4 square meters)
Designer: Eli Zikry of Gallery Kitchen & Bath
This Manhattan bathroom design began with New York City’s 6 train. “This couple used to take the 6 train to see each other before they got married, so it had special meaning to them,” bathroom designer Eli Zikry says. They knew going into the full remodel that they wanted the brilliant green from that train’s logo to be the accent color on their vanity. And while their team at Gallery Kitchen & Bath feared it might pop a little too much, the homeowners stuck to their guns. And now everyone is glad they did.
What Goes With 6 Train Style?
Beyond the bright green, Zikry needed to get a better sense of his clients’ style. “After an initial phone conversation, we have our clients put photos into a Houzz ideabook so that we can get a general sense of what they like and what is contributing to that aesthetic,” he says. “It’s easier for most people to put it together visually rather than putting it into words.” From there he knew that the clients liked a clean, modern look with lots of white and graphic punches.
“We decided to see where the No. 6 color took us from there,” he says. They paired it with a New York cityscape wallpaper with coordinating black matte finishes on the lighting, faucets, hardware, towel bar and shower door track.
Check out matte black faucets, lighting and more in the Houzz Shop
The custom vanity Zikry designed had a lead time of months. “There was no way the clients were going to wait that long, so we customized a ready-made vanity from one of our cabinet vendors, Waypoint, with the door style, hardware, faucets and quartz countertop and painted it in our own shop,” Zikry says. The vanity has two sinks and a generous amount of storage. The mirror conceals an expansive medicine cabinet for additional storage.
The tile throughout the bathroom is subway tile, because if you’re going to design a bathroom around an MTA train, it’s just plain wrong to go with anything else. However, the tile is elongated and set in a grid pattern on the walls and a herringbone pattern on the floors. This changes it up from the classic look of a subway station to a more modern style. It’s topped with marble trim for a bit of subtle texture that creates a break between the backsplash and drywall.
The bathroom also serves as the laundry room, and Zikry tucked a space-saving stackable washer-dryer in a nook.
Matte black faucets: Brizo; wall paint: Chantilly Lace, Benjamin Moore
Find the right vanity for your home
The tile throughout the bathroom is subway tile, because if you’re going to design a bathroom around an MTA train, it’s just plain wrong to go with anything else. However, the tile is elongated and set in a grid pattern on the walls and a herringbone pattern on the floors. This changes it up from the classic look of a subway station to a more modern style. It’s topped with marble trim for a bit of subtle texture that creates a break between the backsplash and drywall.
The bathroom also serves as the laundry room, and Zikry tucked a space-saving stackable washer-dryer in a nook.
Matte black faucets: Brizo; wall paint: Chantilly Lace, Benjamin Moore
Find the right vanity for your home
Bathing Options
While lots of people have been opting for large showers rather than a tub-shower combination lately, these homeowners definitely wanted a place to soak. The sliding double doors and matte black trim give it clean, graphic style. A large niche provides plenty of room for their products.
A pair of MTA subway station signs completes the urban theme of the room. I didn’t ask if they pipe in J.Lo’s album On the 6, but I would like to suggest it as the bathroom soundtrack.
Takeaways
More on Houzz
No Need to Compromise on Style With a Shower-Tub Combo
Find a local bathroom designer
Shop for bathroom products
While lots of people have been opting for large showers rather than a tub-shower combination lately, these homeowners definitely wanted a place to soak. The sliding double doors and matte black trim give it clean, graphic style. A large niche provides plenty of room for their products.
A pair of MTA subway station signs completes the urban theme of the room. I didn’t ask if they pipe in J.Lo’s album On the 6, but I would like to suggest it as the bathroom soundtrack.
Takeaways
- Unexpected things can inspire a great design. And a designer can help you make it work.
- Having a shop semicustomize a ready-made vanity for you can cut months off the lead time compared with ordering a fully customized one. Personalize the vanity with hardware, faucet, counter and paint choices.
- Shake up subway tile style by using an elongated tile or changing up the pattern.
- Tub-shower combo style has come a long way.
More on Houzz
No Need to Compromise on Style With a Shower-Tub Combo
Find a local bathroom designer
Shop for bathroom products
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@bgs990, I think it’s a shorter tub. Looking at it, I wonder whether shower splashing is a problem at the back end of the tub, where there is a ledge (the towels are sitting on it). Since the tub is a drop-in model, there is a lip around the edge. It’s hard to tell from the photo, but it looks like the lip is higher than the ledge and there is no place on that ledge for water to drain. But it could be a trick of the eye and the ledge is actually even with the edge of the tub.
One reason to do a shorter tub is if the old, long tub you are replacing does not match the dimensions of a new, non-custom model. I had that happen with a remodel in my first house. We ended up with a ledge at the back end of the tub. As I remember, in order to get a longer tub we had to go wider and spend a lot more money. So we put in a shorter model.
becky, lol!!!
Thank you for the love everyone! :-) P.S. The tub looks short but it is actually 5' in length. It is a Kohler Archer 60" x 30" Soaking Bathtub/shower combo.