The Orchard Street Bath

A dark 1970s bathroom rebuilt as the quietest room in the house: cream zellige, a walnut vanity, and a shower you do not have to duck into.

The brief

Miriam had lived on Orchard Street for nineteen years and had repainted the primary bath three times without ever liking it. The room was dark, the shower head hit her husband Tom at the collarbone, and the vanity was a builder-grade box with one working drawer. They did not want more square footage. They wanted the same 140 square feet to finally behave.

The design

We kept the plumbing walls where they were and spent the budget where hands and eyes actually land. The tub went away; a 60-inch curbless shower took its wall, tiled floor to ceiling in handmade cream zellige that catches the morning light instead of absorbing it. The walnut vanity floats, which makes a small floor read larger, and the aged brass fixtures will darken over the years instead of pitting.

The build

Six weeks, one crew, and one bathroom of the house's two out of commission. Waterproofing was inspected before a single tile went up, and Miriam approved the tile layout drawn on the actual wall before mortar was mixed. The final invoice matched the fixed proposal to the dollar.