natural bathroom
This is a very small full bathroom (36.8 SF: 4'-9" x 7'-9") in a very
small condominium perched atop a hill overlooking Lake Union. Our
client challenged us to leave the walls where they were, leave the
window where it was, and carve out a rich and functional space to enjoy
the sensual nature of bathing.
We
set out to create a simple plan that is built out wall-to-wall,
floor-to-ceiling. The bathroom is a vessel in and of itself. The floor
plane, registered by the 6x6 slate tile, folds up to become the roman
tub wall, a step, a seat, and finally the back wall of the shower. The
side walls, which dive down to the floor of the tub, are finished with
a warm hand-troweled Milestone that has a crushed blue glass aggregate
that glints in the sun.
The wet side of the room is waterproof. There is no shower curtain.
The dry side of the room functions as a built-in cabinet to house the
toilet, the vanity and the countless sundries that the bathroom must
hold. The ceiling is raised here, and the custom teak cabinet flies up
beyond to the higher ceiling. It is lit indirectly from the side wall
of this "reverse" soffit. Natural light is intensified through a blown
& fused art-glass window in the existing window opening.
This very small bath is natural. It seems as if it has been here for some time. It is rich and it works.
The
copper hot water pipe emerges from the Milestone wall first to create a
heated towel rack, then to suspend two chrome showerheads above the tub.