This primary bathroom was the last project remaining in a whole house makeover. It had been previously renovated in a very modern style, which the owners felt didn’t fit with the home’s architecture. In addition, the room had been arranged with an oversized jetted tub and dual shower heads inside a large glass-tiled “wet room” with floor to ceiling walls, which dominated the space and blocked much of the light and views from the skylight and balcony.

We redesigned the floorplan, orienting the room around the balcony, which offered a rare luxury of abundant light, increased visual space, and miraculous privacy in the middle of the city, eliminating the need for blinds. We built an arched niche to frame a custom double vanity in reeded oak, and floated a show-stopping cast iron pedestal bath, finished in tempered brass, in front of the balcony doors. The glass sliding doors themselves were replaced with hinged French doors, and a vintage mid-century Italian blown glass tulip pendant was suspended over the bath. We sourced a ceiling-height 19th century French oak Trumeau mirror, and leaned it to conceal a furnace room door, reflect light, and add warmth to an unusable corner. We tiled the floor in a colorful mixed marble mosaic, inspired by a favorite New Orleans hotel, and chose soft blush-tinged marble slabs to line the shower and top the vanity. Classically profiled plumbing fixtures from Waterworks in polished nickel nod to the house’s history.

Finally we gave the balcony a facelift befitting its new prominence in the space. We replaced utilitarian brown vinyl planked walls and floors with clean white pavers and aged Chicago-style brick veneer to match the home’s exterior, before adding a new stucco gas fireplace opposite the bathtub. The finished layout is beautiful, and invites the vision that fueled this project: Long soaks in the tub on cool spring evenings, with doors flung open, a fire in the fireplace, and a glass of wine in arms’ reach.