BLUE
Bathroom Renovation, Brighton Colorado. Completed in 2020.
John was one of my very first clients I 2013. At that time, we worked to add a powder room, install new hardwood flooring, paint colors, lighting, and window shades on the first floor of his modern townhome in Brighton, Colorado. He was a joy to work with, so you can imagine my delight when I heard from him again in 2019 as he reached out with the need to transform his second-floor bathroom into a space with more light and a greater function. We met in the late spring and got to work on the plans.
One of the struggles John had with the space was that if felt small and dark. He came to me with the idea that he wanted to add a window in the shower, and I loved it! I explained that we had done this on a few other projects, and the impact of this seemingly small change would be greater than expected. John also had a desire for a cool toned, modern aesthetic and a need for additional storage.
Many smaller bathrooms have the challenge of fixture placement that we encountered when initially space planning the room. We wanted to try and push the envelope with the layout, but found that it made the most sense as it was currently planned.
Choosing the right fixtures was the key part of this project since we had limited space and big dreams. John wanted a nice soaking tub, a window, and more storage. I was going to make sure that we ended the project with a beautiful bathroom that checked off the entire wish list.
The custom order bathtub we selected was key to this project and is one of my favorites. In fact, I even had this installed in my own home. It is an extra deep soaking tub that is standard length and width. This was a great way to sneak in a little luxury without compromising the most precious element in this room: space. The reason I chose this tub over any others is because of the option to apply tile to the skirt, or face of the tub. Though we did not want to, we had to keep the bump out that housed the plumbing for the shower, and I wanted to achieve a visual result of a larger space. I used a little visual trick to get the job done. We continued the tile around the bump out and extended it across the vertical plane on the skirt of the tub. This was a lovely way to make the entire alcove appear as if it is farther away than it is. With the new tub and some tweaks here and there, I was also able to gain about 8 inches to the left side of the shower, and I would consider that a great win in a small space.
I did not want to stop there. If we were adding a window to this space, I refused to allow for a shower curtain to block the light, the visual, or create a focal point that made the entire alcove jump back to the front of our view. Glass was the only way. John worked with a local glass vendor to install a double glass door with hardware that does not obstruct the view. Transparency was key in keeping this design element cohesive with our original intention.
Along with some other finishing touches, such as the banjo countertop, the cabinet above the commode, and the custom medicine cabinet, we were also able to increase the storage in this space.
Our contractor even wired an outlet to the inside of the medicine cabinet to accommodate an electric toothbrush.
