Bathroom Design
High-End and Rustic Finishes Make for a Relaxing Bath
Marble, lime wax and plaster give these Connecticut homeowners the luxurious look and feel they want
Cabinets. The homeowners wanted bleached wood for the cabinets. Toth chose a process for the wood that emphasizes the grain and protects it from moisture.
Toth had white oak bleached to raise the grain, then wire brushed it and coated it with lime wax. “Waxed wood is beautiful, a highly sought-after look, but needs to be rewaxed every so often,” Toth said. To eliminate the maintenance, she then had the wood sealed with a clear, water-based sealer to provide protection from moisture while not yellowing the wood. The cabinetry style is a shallow Shaker.
Lighting above sink: Bryant series, Thomas O’Brien
Toth had white oak bleached to raise the grain, then wire brushed it and coated it with lime wax. “Waxed wood is beautiful, a highly sought-after look, but needs to be rewaxed every so often,” Toth said. To eliminate the maintenance, she then had the wood sealed with a clear, water-based sealer to provide protection from moisture while not yellowing the wood. The cabinetry style is a shallow Shaker.
Lighting above sink: Bryant series, Thomas O’Brien
Vanity. Here’s a closer look at the cabinet wood and vanity. In contrast with the majority of the cabinet fronts, the top drawer of the vanity is a slab front, a contemporary style that adds to the room’s transitional style. Placing the vanity at the end of the cabinetry bay, rather than in the center, makes the room feel “a little less formal,” Toth says.
Bone inlay chair: Anthropologie; see bone inlay chairs
Bone inlay chair: Anthropologie; see bone inlay chairs
Bathtub. The homeowners don’t use the tub, but they wanted one for bathing their kids. Toth chose a tub that introduced some curves to balance out the heavier, more industrial elements in the room.
Tub: Empire, Waterworks
Tub: Empire, Waterworks
Shower. The walls and bench seat in the shower are Mystery White marble. Though the look is beautiful, a marble bench seat can have a practical problem, Toth says. “People hate sitting in those marble seats. They never get warm. Even in a steam shower, the marble will stay cold.” So Toth had hydroponics (tubes of heated water) run behind the seat and where the homeowners’ backs rest.
The floor is a slab of honed marble; its honed finish prevents it from being slippery. The shower also has a built-in waterproof speaker behind the marble that allows the homeowners to listen while they suds up.
Ceiling. The planks used for the wood ceiling have a custom finish with a slight iridescence to them.
Chandelier. The lighting fixture is a custom piece, fashioned after a discontinued Currey & Co. design that echoed the look of Egyptian stamped-tin fixtures. It’s about 40 inches in diameter.
The floor is a slab of honed marble; its honed finish prevents it from being slippery. The shower also has a built-in waterproof speaker behind the marble that allows the homeowners to listen while they suds up.
Ceiling. The planks used for the wood ceiling have a custom finish with a slight iridescence to them.
Chandelier. The lighting fixture is a custom piece, fashioned after a discontinued Currey & Co. design that echoed the look of Egyptian stamped-tin fixtures. It’s about 40 inches in diameter.
Floor. This is a view of the bathroom from inside the shower. Toth got the sandblasted tawny beige floor tile at a closeout sale.
Ladder. The ladder in the bathroom is from a 1920s firetruck; the homeowners got it at the Brimfield Antique Show.
Floor tile: Tawny Beige, Akdo tile
Architect: Bob Chagnon Residential Design
Contractor: Tallman Segerson Builders
More
5 Bathrooms That Mix Modern With a Touch of Farmhouse
Find a kitchen and bath designer near you
Ladder. The ladder in the bathroom is from a 1920s firetruck; the homeowners got it at the Brimfield Antique Show.
Floor tile: Tawny Beige, Akdo tile
Architect: Bob Chagnon Residential Design
Contractor: Tallman Segerson Builders
More
5 Bathrooms That Mix Modern With a Touch of Farmhouse
Find a kitchen and bath designer near you
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: Family of five
Location: Westport, Connecticut
Size: 204 square feet (19 square meters)
Designer: Chrystal Toth of C Interiors
The owners of this new post-and-beam home in Westport, Connecticut, wanted a bathroom that fits the home’s overall vibe: industrial but with a collected, farmhouse feel. And they wanted their shower to offer a luxurious bathing experience. Designer Chrystal Toth helped them reach their design goals, combining high-end and rustic elements that add up to a relaxing bathroom.
Walls. To get the weathered, worn-in look for these new walls, Toth had her crew mix Benjamin Moore Thunder paint pigment directly into a plaster product. Workers then hand troweled the mixture over the walls, giving them a mottled, aged look. Toth found inspiration for this finish in part from Venetian plaster, which is traditionally tinted with pigment. She says the rounded corners where the walls meet each other bring an “underlying tone of California” to the room, since they echo a detail often seen in the state’s Spanish-style homes.
Windows: Marvin; rug: sheepskin; browse sheepskin rugs