Traditional Master Suite OUR CLIENTS: An energetic suburban couple whose children are now "out of the nest". They were ready to start the next part of their life and wanted a new, more luxurious, Master Bath. THE SPACE: An existing compartmentalized bath off the Master Bedroom in an English style 2-story suburban home. We could reconfigure each area but had to maintain the divisions as they were. The spaces have 9' ceilings. THE REQUIREMENTS PRESENTED: Add cabinetry with strong traditional elements and details to reflect the style of architecture and the décor in the rest of the house. Provide the maximum storage possible for the vanities Utilize the space under the window. Enlarge the shower but still keep a tub. Provide space for a TV. Keep the existing wallpaper which matched the fabric treatments in the bedroom. OUR SOLUTIONS: The room had not been updated since the house was built in the 80's. It was typical of it's time with large mirrors glued to the wall, small recessed medicine cabinets and glaring strip lights over the vanities. Our first step was to maximize storage by building a knee wall behind the new vanities. On the knee wall, we set medicine cabinets that incorporated integrated panels to hold sconces. This gave us additional storage and improved lighting. We designed the cabinetry to hug the window trim to visually tie together the entire vanity wall and built a window seat under the window to add storage for towels. The client used some leftovers of her beloved fabric to make a cushion for it. A narrow room needs disciplined elements and that is what we sought to provide. The vanity wall now looks like one cohesive unit rather than the confusing jumble it was previously. In the shower room some reconfiguring was in order. We deleted a useless angled closet and designed a very large shower with a separate drying area. We used a glass panel instead of a wall to keep the room as open as possible and to let in the maximum amount of natural light. The entire shower is Carrara marble including the shower base. Both the shower and the drying area have seats. The client wanted to forgo a shower door but, because we feared drafts, the shower was designed so that a door could be added later if necessary. We also suggested heated floors throughout and a heated towel bar for the drying area. To keep the space open we specified a freestanding tub. We built a hutch-type unit behind the tub to house the TV and some pretty accessories. We used sliding doors on this unit since there wasn't room for hinged doors to open. There is a lot going on in this small room but it doesn't feel at all crowded. The clients are very pleased with the remodeled space and we are about to start work on 4 more bathrooms. Back to other rooms...