For 15 years, the homeowner contented herself with her old bathroom, which
was convenient to the master bedroom. Its size was sufficient, in part because
the husband's master bath was located down the hall. But the chockablock layout
made the room seem particularly cramped, and the homeowner longed to replace
the compartmentalized vanity, combination bath and shower, and closeted toilet
with a more spacious floor plan.
The beauty of this remodeling project was that the homeowner didn't have to change the room's dimensions by adding on, bumping out, or appropriating space from other rooms. Space was ample, and all that was required was reworking the outmoded layout. Now, a separate freestanding tub niche, an open toilet, an antique vanity, and a separate frameless glass shower expand the style quotient of the bath.
In addition to removing outdated fixtures and protruding interior walls that ate up space, the design team -- architect Wayne Good and designer Mona Hajj -- wanted to refine the architecture and design of the bath. They settled on a classic look, in keeping with the changes Good was making to the residence, a 1922 Renaissance Revival house.
As the first step, Good designed raised-paneled wainscoting around the bathroom based on preexisting paneling from the house's doors, creating an attractive window ledge and a staging area. Hajj positioned a freestanding bathtub, large enough for two, below the new window area.
