This chapter of the Greenwich Village Arty story begins with a flood and ends with a suite of fresh shiny new bathrooms. In late summer of 2021 our clients had been settled in their freshly renovated and decorated home for just a few months when Hurricane Ida hit New York city. A faulty terrace allowed a flood of rainwater to penetrate the entire back of the home, taking wallpaper, ceiling plaster, light fixtures and the three full baths out with it. We were devastated to hear about our clients bad luck, but their typical positive attitudes they set to remediation of the damage. They decided to take the opportunity for what it was- a good excuse to update the baths which though charming were old and eccentric in both layouts and fixtures.
The primary bath was a long, fairly narrow room. Our clients wish list included a double vanity, lots of storage, and a large shower with glass enclosure, no tub. They wanted a separate toilet enclosure, and both had electric toothbrushes that we were eager to design functional storage for so that they didn't junk up the gorgeous future vanity. We started by placing the shower with a graceful arched entryway right by the large sunny window. A curved double vanity with custom extra-deep medicine cabinets to house those electric toothbrushes is centered in the room, and a floor to ceiling brass and glass enclosure gives a bit of privacy to the toilet. We also managed to fit in a linen closet, towel warmer and bench,
We were inspired by images of baths with dramatic marble feature walls, brass fixtures and curved cabinetry. We chose a stunning marble mosaic tile for the floor, and let it flow up the back wall of the shower as well. For the vanity wall we sourced a bookmatched set of quartzite slabs that just gently picked up the warm blushy tones in the tile.
The curved vanity with reeded door and drawer fronts was truly a masterpiece from our cabinet makers. We chose a quieter Taj Mahal quartzite for the countertop, to let the feature wall stone be the star. Custom medicine cabinets by our cabinetmaker were built 6" deep with integrated outlets to fit our clients Waterpiks. The polished brass faucets, aged brass sconces and bronze metallic medicine cabinet frames all layer and reflect the undulating tones in the quartzite slabs and floor tile. We wanted to keep the hardware on the vanity quieter, to let the millwork details really shine, and so we used a matte black hardware that picks up on the black marble in the floor tile.
A custom linen cabinet with cane front doors gives our clients loads more storage options for towels and toiletries. The original wood trim in this house has a very cool stripped-down, raw finish that we love and our client wanted to keep. We customized a stain color for the cabinetry that is cooler toned and feels modern but also harmonizes with the existing wood finishes in the home.
The final, epic moment in this bathroom is the brass and glass toilet enclosure, designed in detail by our team and fabricated by one of our GC's talented tradesmen. We loved the modern glamour that these materials bring into the mix, and a benefit to using panel walls is they are very slim and take up less floor space than your typical framed drywall enclosure would.
In the adjacent primary bedroom we designed a pair of built-in cabinets to flank the original marble mantle fireplace. Where many of the design choices we made in this project are more edgy and modern, we really wanted to create built ins that looked original to the house, as if they had always been there. We went wild with a luscious botanical wallpaper and modern statement chandelier to achieve that perfect blend between the traditional and edgy that works so well for this project.
We sourced black metal nighstands for beside the bed, and selected these very cool sconces to sit above them, making the most of the table top space.
I just never get tired of admiring our master cabinetmakers' work! Although the styling of these wardrobes is traditional, we did go with a glammy bit of lucite and brass for the drawer pulls If you look closely you can see the amazing inlaid details on the original hardwood floors.
As epic as the primary bath is, we had two *very* fun kids baths to design as well. Our client wanted to take the large existing bathroom and divide it into two full baths for her son and daughter.
In the boys' bath we planned a tub shower combo with showerhead and hand shower, a custom vanity and a very cool tile wainscot that wraps the room.
To achieve this zig zag edge finish, we had to carefully calculate the number of glazed-edge tiles we would need to order. Most ready-made tiles do not have finished glazed edges, and so a treatment like this would result in an unfinished look with the raw tile body showing at the top edge. We worked with a custom tile vendor to create the exact number of edge-finished and standard tiles we needed, and then the rest was in the hands of a very patient and skilled tile setter.
We chose fun, oversized sconces for over the vanity and a black Nero Marquina marble countertop.
The floor tile in this bathroom is a gorgeous art deco marble mosaic, a nod to the storied past of this Manhattan Brownstone home.
Though the tile layout was a tough task on this bathroom, we also sweated over the shower curtain selection almost as much. Our client wanted something fun and cheeky, not too childish, for her son. After looking at approximately 1.2 million shower curtains, we found this one featuring fire breathing dinosaurs that came in the extra-long length we wanted. The motifs, scale and color complemented the fixtures and finishes in this bathroom perfectly. The last gorgeous detail in this room is one we can't take credit for, but the sunlight that dances through the trees outside the large window over the tub adds an ambiance that is totally delightful.
The girls bath, carved out of the same long original room, would have no window and so no natural light. We often like to go vibrant when there is a lack of natural light, and lucky for us our clients daughter had a vibrant personality to match and we got to really play with color and pattern in this bathroom.
In this compact space we fit a walk-in shower, large custom vanity with waterfall quartz top and sides, medicine cabinet and a cute set of decorative shelves over the toilet. The tile detailing in this room really deserves some closet attention as we played with not two but three different tile patterns. On the floor we created a stripe layout with large scale black and white ceramic, and the walls got a stacked vertical subway pattern edged with a black pencil trim for a tailored look. We let loose with the deco glam on the back shower wall, using a stunning marble and brass waterjet mosiac tile.
The wallpaper in this bath is a total showstopper. We loved how it references traditional marbleized bookmaking papers, but in a wild and updated colorway. We pulled a blue from the paper for the ceiling paint color and topped the whole thing off with a shaggy Moroccan runner, and there you have a stunning bathroom for a little girl with a big personality.
Last on the list of baths is a petite powder room. We went bold on walls and floors with a large scale doodle wallpaper and a mix of colorful cement hex tiles. We kept the original built-in vanity, with its cool, stripped-wood patina, and added a new Mystery White marble countertop and matte black fixtures. A lucite towel bar is a low key luxe detail, and a handsome brass framed mirror finishes the room off.
That wraps up the tour of the many wild and wonderful baths of #GreenwichVillageArty. We just love these creative and daring clients, and we are happy to report that after months and months of renovation and restoration they are finally back in the home, enjoying all of the beautiful spaces every day!
