by Jan Rutgers
In my last couple of VESTA Blogs I have highlighted the 3 kitchens that were selected as finalists in the National Kitchen & Bath Association’s Western Canada Design Excellence Awards.
I was thrilled that 3 of my Kitchens were selected from the over 120 entries received.
The two categories where I was short listed include Traditional Large Kitchen and Contemporary Large Kitchen. These were two great projects to work on.
I was ecstatic to have have won for best Living in Place Kitchen. This was a project that in the eyes of most would have been a risk but it paid off for both the developer and Vestabul Design.
In this post, I want to take you through my entry that placed in the Contemporary Large Bathroom Category.
Contemporary Large Bathroom
This principal bathroom was located on the top floor of a heritage designated remodel that began it’s life as a church.
The church was transformed into 4 town homes with Unit #1 featuring the ensuite in the front peak.
Since the original structure was not a home, the challenge was carving out a spacious bathroom that would be the retreat of the future homeowners of this townhome.
The design brief from the developer was to design a contemporary space that would appeal to a wide range of discerning buyers.
Prior to starting the design, I also wanted to maximize the storage since I knew that would be a selling point with buyers.
The bathroom needed to have double sinks, a soaker tub and a separate shower.
The location of this bathroom was a challenge because the front windows could not be removed or altered.
I also had to contend with a slopped ceiling.
After sketching several ideas, I landed on this design to give the developer everything he wanted and the added storage I wanted to include.
The success of the layout came from bumping into the principle bedroom and into the guest bathroom to enlarge the shower, give more room for the tub and sneak in a storage niche.
The no-threshold shower was then strategically located so that the end of the shower terminated between two of the clearstory windows with all three of the windows landing inside the bathroom.
The windows flood the room with light, perfect for grooming.
The shower controls were located on the short side wall allowing the user to turn on the water without having to stand in the shower stream.
The oval shaped soaker tub was located under the sloped ceiling, positioning it so that the bather could easily access it and not feel claustrophobic.
The grey exterior of the tub provides a focal point that an all-white tub would have missed.
Tiling the entire tub and shower alcove provides an easy clean surface in that area, as well as a memorable detail for prospective buyers.
The cabinet design consists of drawers for all the base cabinetry and floating shelves, each individually lit.
Additional lighting in the form of a motion detector light under the suspended vanity and three wall scones on the mirror provide layered lighting in the space.
Polished chrome fittings and cabinet hardware were chosen as a classic finish providing a calm accent in the room. (The “public” spaces in this home feature matte black accents for a livelier feel in those spaces.)
The white, natural wood and soft grey provided the perfect color scheme for this retreat.
This unit was the first to sell and I’m convinced this principal bathroom was one of the reasons!
To see additional bathroom designs from this mini-multi click here!
Also, I have a FREE Workshop in the works called Integrating Mouldings and Millwork in to Your Kitchen Design Business.
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Jan Rutgers has been designing kitchens and products for over 25 years and is a recipient of Kitchen & Bath Design News’ Top Innovators in 2020 for the Kitchen & Bath Industry. She has designed more than 1000 kitchens learning valuable skills with each one! Her experience in Kitchen Design, Millwork Manufacturing and Product Development has led her to create VESTABUL SCHOOL OF DESIGN where she educates and mentors people passionate about the Kitchen Design Industry.
