Another reveal of the rooms that are done in my brother’s house – this one being a really quiet, neutral bathroom that makes me want creamy beige everywhere and dare I say a pony wall (shout out to Max). This bathroom has a small footprint, off the mudroom near the family room, and will be used for guests and dirty kids from the river (probably not that frequently). It turned out really pretty, quiet, clean, and simple with high-quality materials and a timeless contemporary style (with a touch of PNW whimsy). As a reminder, here we are:
The shaded pink area is where we are located in the house (right next to the also finished mudroom:)), and the layout of the bathroom is relatively classic and simple – small vanity, toilet, and shower. The layout was done by Anne Usher (then I came in, with Max Humphrey, to choose the finishes).
Bathrooms are so hard to shoot (because they are small) but here you can see the whole space – the mix of tiles, the layout with this rather adorable pony wall, and simplicity in shapes and colors with a really nice contrast. As a lover of tile (and I LOVE these creamy tiles) we wanted to see them more instead of more glass, so we added this pony wall with the glass panel above it to help create a sense of a shower “room” and have more visual interest. I pitched this house to Kohler and Ann Sacks early on (3+ years ago), knowing that inventories run deep, quality is high, and we’d be able to make every bathroom feel custom and yet cohesive. So this bathroom is in partnership with Kohler so almost everything is from their many lines of plumbing, vanities, mirrors, and now lighting! And thank god their plumbing designs are so timeless because things change a lot in 3 internet years, but our choices still look really fresh and perfect for the house.
The Plumbing
Wall Tile | Thermotoer Valve Handle | Volume Valve Handle | Handshower
We went with the Purist Faucet line and the Components handles. I love how clean and simple they are (but they look cool). We put the main handles to be reachable from outside the pony wall, further away from the shower so you don’t have to get drenched before you get in.
Showerhead | Showerhead Arm and Flange
For the tile, we chose the MADE Provencal for the walls in two different shapes, staggered them, and paired them with a really warm black hex on the floor. For a contemporary house (read: new build) we wanted to stay within the simple parameters of the home, but keep it warm, timeless, and use high-quality materials that wouldn’t date. But we didn’t want boring. So finding that balance between interest but not trendy felt really good in here.
Floor Tile | Trim Stone | Wall Grout | Floor Grout
If you are a grout nerd (which I am – my GOODNESS it changes the look of a tile and room) we chose Dove Gray for the floor, lighter than the tile but not too bright, and Oyster Gray for the walls. The wall grout added depth and brought out the pattern, without making it too busy and we triple obsessed about the tones of the grout to make sure they had the right level of warmth without being too “brown”.
The Vanity
Mirror | Sconce | Vanity | Toliet Paper Holder | Faucet | Sink Handles | Soap Dish | Black Ceramic Tumbler | Towels
For the vanity side, we chose the 36″ Winnow Vanity which is a super transitional style (i.e. can be classic or contemporary). It comes with the stone countertop which makes life so easy (one order and done) and for a guest bath I like to break up the bulkiness and have a shelf at the bottom). This color is mostly black but has a slight blue hue as you can see in the photos.
The mirror is a simple pill-shaped called “The Essential Mirror”, which they sell in so many different styles and finishes and works so well with all the shapes in here – it contrasts the squareness of the vanity and calls back to the shape and finish of the faucet. The sconces are part of Kohler’s newer line called “Jabot” and have a really creamy, oyster-like color which we really liked with the tile and wallpaper. We flanked the mirror with two double sconces (they have single sconces, too) and a semi-flush light fixture that matches.
The faucet is part of the Components line which I LOVE – there are a lot of different faucet and handle styles to choose from, again making it easy to customize in a way that you know will look good together. These knobs are easy to twist on and off, hot and cold (obviously), and look so unfussy and simple.
The Natural Light And A Window
Robe Hooks | Bath Towel | Black Planter (vintage) | Hand Towel | Wood Bench (similar) | Toilet | Window
Around 3 pm the light in here gets so dreamy that we had to capture it. There is a window in the shower that floods the room with reflection and brings out all the gloss and texture in the tile. It’s soooo beautiful.
Terra Cotta Pumice Stone | Shampoo | Conditioner | Pumice Stone/Brush
The Tile Pattern
Max Humphrey and I played around with the tile pattern, wanting it to feel staggered and yet random and the tile installer totally got it. I was nervous about some of the lines being too close or not looking random enough but they did a great job.
The Wallpaper
Once again I chose a wallpaper that in person is so perfect, warm and fun to look at but it’s so hard to see in photos. It is QUIET. It’s a Nordic treescape in all of our neutral colors. It brought so much to the room, without adding any busyness or style contrast. We did end up adding wallpaper to now 5 of the spaces in this home and almost all of them have this nature element that brings together the contemporary vibe of the house with the sense of a young fun family.
There she is:) It’s a bathroom that people see the most right now and it’s undeniably lovely to be in. The light, airy quality mixed with the high contrast faucets and tile creates a neutral yet interesting bathroom that is totally timeless. The resources are below. A huge thanks to Anne Usher, Sierra Custom Construction, and Max Humphrey for all the work on this project. xx
Bathroom Resources
Tile: Ann Sacks
Trim Stone: Caesarstone
Trim and Ceiling Color: Alabaster by Sherwin-Williams
Hardware: Kohler
Lighting: Kohler
Vanity: Kohler
Mirror: Kohler
Plumbing: Kohler
Wallpaper: Scandinavian Wallpaper
Windows: Marvin
*Architect: Anne Usher
**General Contractor: JP Macy of Sierra Custom Construction
***Interior Designers: Emily Henderson (me!) and Max Humphrey
****Styling: Emily Henderson (me!)
*****Photos by Kaitlin Green
