Bath Tubs Are Out - Sort Of

The New York Times reports that Houzz did a survey about the hottest bathroom trends. The title in the Times is "The Rubber Ducky Has Hit the Road".

Wet rooms are being requested more and more - the tub is actually inside a shower or wet room within the bathroom

Houzz reports:
• More than four in ten leaving a tub out of the master
• Homeowners split on privacy for the throne
• Rain showers skew young, hand showers skew older
• Frameless glass is the clear choice
• Loving light from skylights to LED shower heads
• It’s all about the upgrades

Just the shower please - no tubs allowed

I said I never wanted to do bathrooms or kitchen for my clients. I said I just love to do the pretties ha ha. But I just finished a major bathroom project involving combining two bathrooms, and turning the old master bedroom into a dressing room, and creating a new master bedroom and connecting hallway.

White marble rules the day

The bathroom has all the bells and whistles noted by Houzz. It was definitely a tough love learning experience for me, and my clients were patient and took the journey with me. My contractor did a 99% great job. He came in on budget. but the project took way longer to execute. And a few minor finishing touches are still being remedied. All in all I am proud of the job, and the clients are very, very happy.

Bath design by Valorie Hart - This is a phone pic of the first shower and bathroom I ever did for a client - The glass doors were not installed when I took the photo

So now I am doing three bathrooms at once. A powder room and master bath for one client, and the master bathroom for another. Both are "soft" renovations, as opposed to the total gut job I did as a bathroom design virgin, though there is plenty of demolition work going on in the current projects.

Another shower instead of a tub

Jeff Lewis has both tub and shower

Jeff Lewis shower

The first client with just the master bath renovation (they have a second bath that will get done later on) had me remove the dated jetted tub and put in a large shower.  I am keeping the vanity, having it painted, and adding a new marble top, with two new sinks and faucets. A new wood floor is being done in the adjoining master bedroom and walk in closet (replacing worn dated dirty wall-to-wall carpet), that will continue into the master bath. Besides the bathroom, I am doing a soft renovation in the kitchen (new back splash, new counter tops, paint, new sink and sink base cabinet, replacing dated dishwasher and refrigerator with some nice second hand finds, and I removed an island that was ugly and did not work in the space).

A shower and a freestanding tub are luxe - I love this old claw foot tub and the wood floor

The second client with the two bathrooms, is enlarging and updating the shower. We ripped out a fiberglass shower and a 1990's jetted tub in the master bathroom. They have opted to also do a beautiful freestanding tub. This bathroom will have a short privacy wall separating the throne, and again the vanity is being saved and painted, and updated with a marble top, new sinks, and faucets. A hideous soffit light above the sink has been removed, along with the glued on mirror. Sidelights and antique mirrors will be added instead. The floor is wood and original to the house, and will remain. This bathroom has a skylight.

Another old claw foot tub - Love the over-the-top chandelier

Classic subway tile with gray grout, black tub, wood floor, and  note brass fixtures are hot again

The second client has also a powder room that is getting new sink and toilet, a new mirror and side lights, and a paint job. Both homes have just been purchased, and I am doing this work before the home owners move in. I will be doing up the whole house for both clients, including repainting the entire house and selecting furnishings, etc.

I love this Henna Lyons bathroom, mainly for the old herringbone wood floor, and  the beautiful photograph by Melanie Acevedo

The second client is doing an entire first floor renovation that includes moving a kitchen, putting in new floors throughout an entire first floor, and yes doing over another bathroom! I am trying to get their second floor move-in ready, as they are not opposed to living upstairs in the house while the first floor renovation takes place. We are painting the entire 3500 square foot house, and furnishing it too.

So what do you think? Are you replacing your tub with a snazzy shower? Or do you have room for both?

The NY Times in the Market Ready column also had a realtor and architect weigh in on the subject in case you are thinking of upgrading to sell your house:

Q. Would our master bathroom be more appealing to buyers if it had a tub that was separate from the shower?

A. A bathroom with a separate tub and shower usually communicates one thing: “luxury,” said Patty La Rocco, an associate real estate broker at Town Residential in New York. That’s because “it indicates someone spent more time and money on the details,” she explained, resulting in a higher-end look. And that’s a good thing when you’re selling your home, she said, because “people will pay more for luxury.” The only exception “would be if you really don’t have the space for it.”

All marble bathroom from Veranda Magazine

When all my projects are done, I'll share photos and tips and shopping sources, and contractors too.

In the meantime I want to thank fellow designer Donna Russell for encouraging me to take the proverbial plunge into doing bathrooms.,and I want to thank those first special clients for appreciating and understanding the learning curve.

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Donna Russell

Post Katrina New Orleans has had a building boom with many modern houses being juxtaposed with the traditional. People are constructing new homes with an eye towards the hard lessons learned from Katrina. Structural issues are more important than ever, and they are addressed with style by using the latest building materials.

Tom and Donna Russell with their dog Tyson in their new home that Donna designed in New Orleans - Tom says, “I decided early on not to reenter the house until it was ready to reveal. I wanted to save the ‘shock’ and ‘awe’ until it was finished.” Then he adds with a smile, “The ‘shock’ was writing the checks for the work, the ‘awe’ was walking into the house for the first time and seeing our beautiful new house.” Donna couldn’t be more proud of their home and adds, “It was a true labor of love, and today we have our dream house.”

Donna Russell is a New Orleans interior designer who lived in a nice enough house for many, many years. After Katrina she and her husband Tom decided to finally build their dream home in a neighborhood by Lake Pontchartrain that they always loved. They engaged architect Dodie Smith.
There is a nice article in New Orleans Magazine all about it (Bonnie Warren writer, Cheryl Gerber photos above and below).

The exterior

The new home was built on the ruins of an old one. The design involved removing the porches and a small living room, and creating a large new space with 12-foot high ceilings, a unique fireplace and a series of 10-foot high windows and sliding glass doors, topped by clerestory windows. New front and rear doors were added at each end of the hallway that joined the new construction to the existing house. “The seamless connection between old and new was a key design feature,” the architect Dodie Smith explains. “The final modern design is a fresh approach not typically seen in New Orleans.”

The living room - The floors are flood and hot weather friendly tile!

The dining room

The galley style kitchen has the look of fine furniture and blends into the open floor plan - Donna is a master at mixing tiles

The sensuous master bedroom

More extraordinary tile mix in the master bathroom - You walk through the huge shower to get to each side where the sink and tub is located - It is a most unique and beautiful design

An upstairs hallway that joins the old and new structure

A vignette in the guest room on the ground floor

The patio

I have had the pleasure to be given a tour of the home by Donna and her associate Mitchell Settoon, who did may of the finishes and created some art for the home. I love the floor plan, the finishes, and the furnishings.

The following photos are the ones I took when Donna gave me the house tour, and thought I'd share them with you.

The living room

Coffee table styling and close look at the modern fireplace

Another view of the living room -I love the way Donna layers art and accessories

Console table styled up nicely

Mitchell Settoon did the large piece of art to the right of the fireplace

Another view of the at work by Mitchell Settoon

Mitchell Settoon did the faux painted beams

Another view of the faux painted beams done by Mitchell Settoon

The dining room - The table has steel legs

Another view of the dining room - Love all the storage

A view from the kitchen into the dining room

A butlers pantry next to the kitchen

Detail of terrific tile selection in the butlers pantry

There's a guest bedroom on the ground floor

A nifty little desk in the guest bedroom

The guest bathroom

Let's go to the upper level of the house

This art filled hallway connects the old part of the house to the new

The master bedroom - I love how Donna used this coffee table on wheels at the end of the bed - The bed is custom by Leonels

There's a dressing room for Donna off the master bedroom

You walk through the shower in the master bath - again, another awesome tile choice - The shower divides the sink and toilet area from the bath tub area

One side of the walk through shower has a soaking tub

There's another upstairs bedroom used as a home office

Outside spaces:

Back patio

Fountain with plantings on the back patio

Rear view of the house

Front view of the house - the dining room is on the left and the master above, and the living room on the right

Front patio

I hope you enjoyed my snap shots and the tour of the home of Donna, Tom, and Tyson.

Tyson in the home office

Contact info:

Donna Russell

Phone: (504) 975-4860

Dodie Smith

Mitchell Settoon

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Please add my NEW address to your blog list:

http://thevisualvamp.blogspot.com
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