Bathroom of the Week: Warm Industrial-Farmhouse Style in Colorado
A designer updates a couple’s main bathroom with an open layout, more light and a palette of wood, white and black
Preston and Brittany Munsch have three kids and manage several businesses, so they cherish the moments when they can relax and unwind at home in Fort Collins, Colorado. But their cramped main bathroom and its laminate countertops and salmon-brown walls didn’t fit their idea of a welcoming space.
As part of a renovation of their early-2000s Craftsman ranch house, the couple worked with designer Megan Tennant of Forte Design Studios to take down divider walls, remove an oversize corner tub and create a more open layout with a spacious new shower. A reclaimed wood ceiling and large hickory wood double vanity add warmth and modern farmhouse style, while a shower enclosure of black steel and glass and other black accents deliver a bit of industrial style.
As part of a renovation of their early-2000s Craftsman ranch house, the couple worked with designer Megan Tennant of Forte Design Studios to take down divider walls, remove an oversize corner tub and create a more open layout with a spacious new shower. A reclaimed wood ceiling and large hickory wood double vanity add warmth and modern farmhouse style, while a shower enclosure of black steel and glass and other black accents deliver a bit of industrial style.
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After: Tennant scooped out everything, including the water closet, and created a simpler, more open layout in a straightforward rectangular form.
Ditching the tub allowed her to create a 4-by-7-foot steam shower behind an enclosure of black steel and glass. The shower also features a built-in bench, two shower heads and two new operable windows that offer light, ventilation and views of the backyard. “When we’re done with the shower, we open up the windows and out goes the steam,” Preston says.
The double vanity features hickory cabinets and drawers in a custom stain. The countertop is polished gray quartz, which also tops the shower bench and was used as the countertop material in the kitchen.
Reclaimed hardwood boards cover the ceiling for added visual warmth. The floor is 10-inch matte black hexagonal porcelain tiles that vary slightly in tone. “It adds a little bit of depth to the floor, instead of a plain black surface,” Tennant says.
White hexagonal tile covers the shower ceiling and floor.
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Ditching the tub allowed her to create a 4-by-7-foot steam shower behind an enclosure of black steel and glass. The shower also features a built-in bench, two shower heads and two new operable windows that offer light, ventilation and views of the backyard. “When we’re done with the shower, we open up the windows and out goes the steam,” Preston says.
The double vanity features hickory cabinets and drawers in a custom stain. The countertop is polished gray quartz, which also tops the shower bench and was used as the countertop material in the kitchen.
Reclaimed hardwood boards cover the ceiling for added visual warmth. The floor is 10-inch matte black hexagonal porcelain tiles that vary slightly in tone. “It adds a little bit of depth to the floor, instead of a plain black surface,” Tennant says.
White hexagonal tile covers the shower ceiling and floor.
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White 4-by-12-inch picket ceramic tiles cover the vanity wall and shower walls. “We covered a lot of square feet, so we wanted to save some money with those tiles,” Tennant says.
Black faucets, black cage-shade lighting and a black outlet join the black-framed shower enclosure to deliver a bit of industrial style.
Sinks: Verticyl, Kohler; faucets: Ara in matte black, Delta; vanity lights: Fillmore in heritage brass, Hinkley; four-light pendant: Minka-Lavery, Keeley Calle collection, The Light Center
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Black faucets, black cage-shade lighting and a black outlet join the black-framed shower enclosure to deliver a bit of industrial style.
Sinks: Verticyl, Kohler; faucets: Ara in matte black, Delta; vanity lights: Fillmore in heritage brass, Hinkley; four-light pendant: Minka-Lavery, Keeley Calle collection, The Light Center
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Bronze cabinet pulls coordinate with the brass-framed mirrors and brass in the light fixtures. “I wanted to pull some of the warm brass we used in this space,” Tennant says. “The shape of the pull itself pulls from the thickness of the countertop, the light fixtures and the grid of the shower enclosure.”
Cabinet hardware: Channing pull in honey bronze, Top Knobs
Cabinet hardware: Channing pull in honey bronze, Top Knobs
Antique French wood doors that Preston and Brittany found on a trip to Phoenix connect the bathroom to a walk-in closet, which features the same matte black hexagonal floor tiles.
Square antique brass towel hooks on the white shiplap bathroom wall keep towels close to the steam shower. “We wanted shiplap there to pull in the plank in the ceiling,” Tennant says. “It has a bit of texture but allows the doors to shine.”
Additional hooks to the left of the vanity hold hand towels.
Square antique brass towel hooks on the white shiplap bathroom wall keep towels close to the steam shower. “We wanted shiplap there to pull in the plank in the ceiling,” Tennant says. “It has a bit of texture but allows the doors to shine.”
Additional hooks to the left of the vanity hold hand towels.
A custom barn-style door separates the bathroom from the couple’s bedroom. The door is made of a black iron frame with the same reclaimed wood boards used for the bathroom ceiling. “It was a nice way to make that transition between the two rooms,” Preston says. “I’m really big on texture, but we didn’t want to throw another texture there, so we went with the same wood as the ceiling.”
The couple didn’t want a straight separation of flooring materials between the two spaces, so Tennant had the refinished oak hardwood floor in the bedroom form half a hexagon shape in a few places at the threshold to create an interlocking effect. “It’s those little details that make a difference,” Preston says.
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The couple didn’t want a straight separation of flooring materials between the two spaces, so Tennant had the refinished oak hardwood floor in the bedroom form half a hexagon shape in a few places at the threshold to create an interlocking effect. “It’s those little details that make a difference,” Preston says.
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Read more bathroom stories
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Shop for your bathroom
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: Preston and Brittany Munsch and their three kids
Location: Fort Collins, Colorado
Size: 98 square feet (9 square meters)
Designer: Megan Tennant of Forte Design Studios
Before: The couple disliked almost everything about their previous bathroom. Salmon-brown walls and dark laminate countertops cast a dingy color throughout the space, and a dividing wall blocked what little light made it through the small window.
They rarely used the bathtub; they have another in a guest bathroom. And the one-person shower felt crammed in like an afterthought. A water closet through the doorway partially seen in the right side of this photo further created a chopped up layout that the couple wished to fix. “It was a space you got in and out of as quickly as you can,” Preston says.