Big Ideas for the Bath

Like many a big-city apartment dweller, I have bathroom envy. I have a bathroom, of course, but it's strictly by the numbers. Functional.
Practical. Small. There is nothing in that little windowless steam chamber that makes me want to linger. It is a black hole of non-glamour. Well, actually it's a grey hole: ceramic tile and laminate. Yikes. The '80s have a lot to answer for if you ask me.
 
So when I see a bathroom like this one (designed by Boston-based Frank Roop for clients Nicole Polaski and Judy Mencher, a couple of women who happen to be legally married under Massachusetts law), my little envy meter just flies to the highest possible number, and I want it. I want it bad.
 
It is not extraordinarily large. You can¹t roller-skate or hula-hoop in it. It is, however, exceptionally faboo, thanks to outside-the-box thinking and one great idea after another.
 
Take the tile: It's molded aluminum from Ann Sacks, which gives it a great luster and instant modernist appeal. The stacked “subway tile” installation is standard, except that Roop ran the tile vertically instead of horizontally, which not only gives the room a totally custom vibe but makes the room look taller than it actually is (AnnSacks.com).

Roop installed an impressive expanse of mirror over a huge single vessel sink from Wet Style (WetStyle.ca): A long trough of poured resin, it has two spigots, two drains, and a sliding shelf for toiletries. The countertop is a natural stone called Luce Fleuri. There’s plenty of storage space below the counters and high shelves that hold fluffy white towels. Me like ‘em.
 

 
Masterfully, Roop created a marble bench that runs from the dry part of the bathroom directly into the shower, a barely-there partition of glass) and built some nifty niches for soap and shampoo. The vanity hangs from the wall to take up less space.
 
One of the best ideas in the bathroom doesn’t even show: There’s radiant heating below the Urban Archaeology concrete flooring tiles to warm the tender tootsies on those cold winter mornings Boston knows so well (UrbanArchaeology.com).
 
Yes, if I were an envying sort of person, I'd be green right now. I would.

Michael Lassell,
Features Director, Metropolitan Home