We Can Dream: Minimalist Luxury for a Manhattan Bath
A deluxe bathroom renovation includes smart lighting, contemporary style and a beautiful mix of stone and wood
Lighting. A thoughtful lighting scheme was key to the design. Here you can see how the light glows above a floating ceiling over the bathtub, from behind the medicine cabinets and from a slit in the soffit over the vanity. All of this was accomplished with LED light tape. “The color can be changed, but I think white looks the best in here,” Mikhael says.
Storage. The mirrors above the vanity also serve as medicine cabinets. Their edges extend beyond the recesses, which allowed Mikhael to backlight them.
Bathtub. The standalone tub has a sculptural shape that throws some curves at the room’s straight architectural lines. Mikhael found room for it by borrowing a few square feet from a walk-in closet behind the tub.
Bathtub: WetStyle; see more freestanding tubs
15 Great Design-Minded Uses for LED Lighting
Storage. The mirrors above the vanity also serve as medicine cabinets. Their edges extend beyond the recesses, which allowed Mikhael to backlight them.
Bathtub. The standalone tub has a sculptural shape that throws some curves at the room’s straight architectural lines. Mikhael found room for it by borrowing a few square feet from a walk-in closet behind the tub.
Bathtub: WetStyle; see more freestanding tubs
15 Great Design-Minded Uses for LED Lighting
Tile. Three walls of the room are wrapped in 12-by-24-inch marble tile. Its gold flecks and warm veining pick up on the teak accessories and ipe shower floor.
Toilet-shower room. A pocket door separates this room from the rest of the bathroom. A mix of dark stone tile and tropical wood gives the space nice contrast. “I wanted a completely different mood in this room,” Mikhael says. “It’s more earthy dark in the shower room. It was inspired by Japanese baths.”
Toilet. A wall-hung Starck 3 toilet from Duravit continues the minimalist aesthetic, allowing the floor to continue uninterrupted beneath it. The tank is hidden behind the wall.
Tile: Wallace Creek marble, Artistic Tile; see more marble tile
Toilet-shower room. A pocket door separates this room from the rest of the bathroom. A mix of dark stone tile and tropical wood gives the space nice contrast. “I wanted a completely different mood in this room,” Mikhael says. “It’s more earthy dark in the shower room. It was inspired by Japanese baths.”
Toilet. A wall-hung Starck 3 toilet from Duravit continues the minimalist aesthetic, allowing the floor to continue uninterrupted beneath it. The tank is hidden behind the wall.
Tile: Wallace Creek marble, Artistic Tile; see more marble tile
Shower. The large-format natural stone tile continues around the room. The shower niche and bench coordinate with the ipe floor. The large rain shower head offers a range of spray modes. A handheld wand offers another way to rinse off and makes it easy to give the shower a quick clean.
Ceiling shower head: Axor ShowerHeaven, Hansgrohe
Ceiling shower head: Axor ShowerHeaven, Hansgrohe
Before. Here’s a look at the 5-by-8-foot bath before the remodel.
Before. Here’s the upper-level apartment before the remodel. This was the homeowner’s residence before he bought the apartment downstairs and combined the two. The existing bathroom is top center.
After. Here you can see how the bathroom took over the space from the former dining room and kitchen. A new stairway leads to the living areas downstairs.
Here’s a shot of the newly reconfigured first floor and the trapeze staircase that connects the two levels, transforming them into one two-story home.
See more of this project
Takeaways for a contemporary, streamlined bathroom style
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See How These 8 Bathrooms Fit It All Into About 100 Square Feet
Get ideas from more bathroom makeovers
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See more of this project
Takeaways for a contemporary, streamlined bathroom style
- Consider integrated sinks.
- Use wall-mounted faucets and a wall-mounted toilet (which can also save space).
- Think beyond the usual recessed ceiling lights and sconces.
- Create a long mirror from a neat row of recessed medicine cabinets.
- Tile the walls from floor to ceiling.
Bathroom Workbook: 8 Elements of Contemporary Style
How to Remodel Your Bathroom
See How These 8 Bathrooms Fit It All Into About 100 Square Feet
Get ideas from more bathroom makeovers
Find bathroom designers in your area
Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: A single man
Location: New York City
Bathroom size: 120 square feet (11 square meters)
Architect: Andrew Mikhael
It’s a New Yorker’s dream: doubling the size of your home by buying the apartment downstairs. When this Manhattan homeowner was able to do just that, architect Andrew Mikhael moved the kitchen, dining room and living room to the new lower level. That created room upstairs to expand the old 5-by-8-foot bathroom to a luxurious 120 square feet.
Mikhael came up with a clever layout that took advantage of the plumbing in the existing bathroom and kitchen. He also used a minimalist but luxe materials palette and planned a lighting scheme that brightened the room in a sophisticated way.
Scope of work. This was a down-to-the-studs renovation. The new bathroom’s footprint incorporated the entire existing bathroom, part of the old dining room and part of the old kitchen. (See before-and-after plans below.) These public spaces moved downstairs so that the upstairs could be primarily sleeping quarters.
Layout. This photo shows the view from the master bedroom down the length of the entire bathroom. Mikhael used the existing bathroom’s plumbing for the vanity and tub. And because there was plumbing where the kitchen used to be, he placed the toilet-shower room in that area.
Vanity. The wood vanity’s espresso stain provides strong contrast to the rest of the light-colored surfaces. Using angled integrated sinks rather than bowl shapes brought in architectural detail that echoes the strong, straight lines in the room. Long wall-mounted faucets save counter space and lend a sleek look. Teak accessories hint at what’s to come in the separate toilet-shower room.
Medicine cabinets and custom vanity: Lacava; faucets: Axor Citterio, Hansgrohe; countertop and sink: Corian