Creating the Master Bathroom

The master bathroom grew out of the idea of a Roman Bath with a sunken tub, then took on a Victorian Twist all of it’s own accord as we attempted to blend it into the existing architecture. Having raised the floor of the bathroom space, which had formerly been accessed by three steps down, and included a long hallway with two servants quarters (later converted to storage rooms), we were able to make the bathroom level with the bedroom that it was to service. This left us with a substantial space between the floor of the new bedroom and the ceiling of the kitchen below.

A sunken tub was the perfect fit, and a two-person cast-iron jetted tub was on my wish list, while a six-foot wide shower with a bench was on his wish list. This bathroom clearly had room for both of us, and sacrificing a little of the built-in closet also gave me the bidet I desired. The other cool effect from raising the floor that we now had windows that started at the floor. Three large bright windows.

The terra-cotta above the bathtub came from a building in Baltimore that had been torn down. We had actually purchased this piece from an architectural artifact dealer in Havre de Grace Maryland almost a decade before, knowing that someday we would find the perfect place to install it. It depicts a putti (cherubs have wings, putti do not) astride a “dolphin” which is a mythical sea creature popular in Victorian imagery.

Tom designed the case work and the double-sink to match the architectural details of the kitchen, below, but we executed this room in quartersawn oak, as would have been the case in the 1880s. The wainscotting is reclaimed quartersawn tongue-and-groove from the choir side of a church balcony from Pittsburgh, and we matched all of the staining to that age and patina.

The marble floors and walls are Tom’s design, of course, and we executed the entire floor over a number of very cold Winter weekends that threatened our endurance in an unheated space of the house. The steam unit in the shower was a surprise, as I had pleaded my case for the necessity of such a luxury to my husband, but his skepticism overruled my desires, until I spied the unit in place one afternoon. He never ceases to surprise me.

The skylight is an antique copper skylight from an old warehouse building in Worcester MA which was removed so that a new aluminum one could be installed. Though there was nothing wrong with the copper one, the warehouse owners wanted it gone, and Ebay found it a new home in Danville, where it provides an amazing light source for little money.

The towel warming radiator is actually a piece that would originally have been in a dining room. You are supposed to store your plates in the unit so that you serve food on hot plates in the winter, then you place the food inside so that when you serve second helpings the food is still warm. Now it is intended to keep my towels and pajamas warm for use after my winter shower. Ahhhh, now if only I actually had heat…. but that is another story.

This continues to be the most luxurious room in the house, and I have only once experienced “bathroom envy” and that was at Vizcaya in Miami Florida, so I think we’ve got it pretty good here.

Now, if only we could decide what to do with the ceiling…

Carla Minosh

While I am new to Blogging, I have always enjoyed sharing the stories of my crazy life, so this is simply another medium to share, and hopefully entertain and enrich others. Perhaps you can feel thankful that your life is so steady and predictable after reading these, perhaps you can appreciate the insanity and wish you had more of it in your life. Either way, the crazy tales are all true (to the best of my spotty recollection) and simply tell the tale of a life full of exploration, enthusiasm, curiosity and hard work. I hope you all enjoy being a part of the journey.