A Chilly Massachusetts Bathroom Gets the Hotel-Spa Treatment
Luxurious details including a steam shower and radiant-heat flooring create a relaxing private master bathroom for a couple
She loves to soak and he loves to steam, and neither one of them was getting what they really wanted out of their master bathroom with its drafty window, dated fixtures, cramped shower and tub too big to be practical. This husband and wife wanted a private and personal space that felt like a modern hotel spa, but with traditional touches. The result is a luxe and comfortable room that serves both of them as a dream retreat at the end of a long day.
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with 2 young daughters
Location: Beverly, Massachusetts
Size: About 142 square feet
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with 2 young daughters
Location: Beverly, Massachusetts
Size: About 142 square feet
A large new vanity offers loads of storage and his-and-her sinks. The mirrors open to medicine cabinets and are mirrored on both sides. Crystal knobs add a little bling.
Vanity: Bertch; vanity finish: Shale (the color is much lighter than it appears in this photo); stained glass tiles: Vihara, Sonoma Tilemakers
Vanity: Bertch; vanity finish: Shale (the color is much lighter than it appears in this photo); stained glass tiles: Vihara, Sonoma Tilemakers
Another big item on the wife's wish list was wallpaper, which is not a practical idea in a room that has a steam shower (the paper starts to peel off from the seams when exposed to too much steam). Meyers commissioned fine artist Kasia Mirowska of Miro Art and Design to complete a special stencil treatment that has a metallic background, glazing and a final coat of varnish. The owners can just wipe condensation right off the beautifully stenciled walls.
Meyers added picture-frame molding under the stenciled walls because of the 12-foot ceilings. "The molding brings the space down to a human level and is fitting with the bathroom's modernized traditional style," she says.
One of the wife's top wish list items was a chandelier with some bling. The James Moder Florale Chandelier adds traditional crystal in a whimsical floral style.
One of the wife's top wish list items was a chandelier with some bling. The James Moder Florale Chandelier adds traditional crystal in a whimsical floral style.
"The homeowners love to sail and are drawn to watery hues; I sourced this stained glass tile, and they fell in love with it," Meyers says. She used 1- by 3-inch tiles on the backsplash and floor, then chose the ½- by-1-inch size in the same tile for the shower.
The counter is Italian Okite quartz, which resembles marble.
Faucets: Sigma; mirrors: Robern
The counter is Italian Okite quartz, which resembles marble.
Faucets: Sigma; mirrors: Robern
BEFORE: The husband dreamed of a steam shower with plenty of room instead of this standard shower.
BEFORE: The old bathtub was more than 7 feet long and jetted. The couple never used it in the two years since they moved in. Well, that's not exactly true; they did fill it with balls to make a ball pit for their two daughters — the tub was that big.
AFTER: Meyers borrowed space from the oversize bathtub surround to extend the shower stall, making it a 5- by 5-foot space.
Instead of a full wall between the tub and shower as seen in the before photos, there are now two large panes of glass. The tiled center piece provides room for the plumbing and fixtures. "Creating these two large 'windows' opened up the shower to the light and the views," Meyers says.
The husband got the steam shower he'd wanted so much.
Fixtures: Sigma
The husband got the steam shower he'd wanted so much.
Fixtures: Sigma
Meanwhile, the wife's dream of a large soaking tub, no jets required, came true on the other side. While originally she had envisioned a cast iron claw-foot tub, Meyers steered her toward one from Victoria and Albert's Volcanic Limestone Collection because it holds heat better.
There is also a European heated towel bar between the tub and the shower (not pictured). Window treatments in a quatrefoil pattern up the cozy factor and provide privacy.
Padding barefoot across the heated floors for a luxurious soak or a steam is a dream come true for the couple.
Baseboard heater (under window): Runtal; curtain fabric: Corralillo in Seaspray, Fabricut; side table: Worlds Away
More: Steam Showers Bring a Beloved Spa Feature Home
There is also a European heated towel bar between the tub and the shower (not pictured). Window treatments in a quatrefoil pattern up the cozy factor and provide privacy.
Padding barefoot across the heated floors for a luxurious soak or a steam is a dream come true for the couple.
Baseboard heater (under window): Runtal; curtain fabric: Corralillo in Seaspray, Fabricut; side table: Worlds Away
More: Steam Showers Bring a Beloved Spa Feature Home
The cold tile floors used to make the homeowners dread going into the bathroom barefoot. Now the floors have radiant heat and a new baseboard heating system. Meyers also replaced the drafty window with a new efficient one from Anderson Windows.
The floors look like marble but are porcelain tile. She chose quartz in Arabescato Verde for the shower threshold to avoid tough-to-clean grout lines and because the subtle green in the veining picks up on the greens in the stained glass tiles.