Residential Bath
Botond has completed several projects for my wife and me. In every instance, he and his crew made wonderful improvements to our home. But this last project—our master bath—tops them all. My wife calls our new bathroom our oasis. She’s right! He has the ability to take the best parts of the owner’s ideas, make them better, and bring them to life. And this bathroom project reflects that gift. His slogan says it best: You dream it; he’ll do it! He has done it for us, time and again.
Daniel and Melanie, C.
This project is the winner of the 2012 NARI Contractor of the Year Awards - Residential Bath $30,000-$60,000. This project also received the GREEN recognition.
During our initial meeting, the client presented us with a picture of a tranquil beach scene. This beach scene was the inspiration of this bathroom transformation. In addition to transforming the feel of the bathroom, the client requested an update that made the bathroom more functional, had better flow, and allowed for more natural light while maintaining the existing footprint.
Some key elements we focused on first in order to accomplish the desired end result were:
- Removing the original recessed tub that was a focal point of the bathroom but rarely used.
- The previous shower was walled in with a small door. It had low ceiling, poor ventilation, cramped space and cave like.
- In general, the lighting in the bathroom was not adequate and certainly did not permit ample natural light that is both desired in a bathroom and necessary to reflect the warm beach picture that was the inspiration for the bathroom.
The major bathroom flaws were addressed by:
- Switching the location of the tub and shower opened the space and provided more ample room for the more commonly used areas of the bathroom. A European stand alone tub was installed producing a sleek functional bathing area that did not overwhelm the bathroom like the previous tub.
- The shower was transformed into a walk in shower with frameless glass. This made the shower a focal point and still allowed for an open airy feel.
- Opening a brick wall to the exterior allowed for a door to be installed to the pool in the backyard. The easy access between the pool and the bathroom allows this bathroom to double as a pool bath. A large window on the door helps bring natural light into the bathroom and a glimpse of the outdoors inside.
We faced two major challenges during the design and construction.
1. Opening the ceiling in the old shower area revealed A/C lines. These had to be raised and rerouted in order for the ceiling to raise to the same height as the rest of the bathroom.
2. The greater challenge was concealing the plumbing for a free standing tub. The foundation is a slab foundation that meant we could not access the tub from below. A tub was chosen that was flush with the floor on the edges but was raised in the middle. We were able to puzzle the plumbing together in the small space under the tub where the raised section was. This meant we were able to keep the streamlined look of the tub without disruption of out of place plumbing.
