I always enjoy seeing traditional bathroom fireplaces — in older homes or in new homes.
I also wonder when baths like the renovated gray and white beauty [top] were redone and how that room was used in the past. But practically speaking, it doesn’t matter. The idea is to consider the baths as we find them and understand the ideas that make them notable.
Telltale signs of a European location in the white and gray bath are clear. First, there’s the style of the toilet with the tank on top. The seat also is one seen in France — a photo in Allison’s Tiling with Pennies post noted that the commode had been imported. That said, the lovely old fireplace with marble mantel sits opposite a vintage tub. If the fireplace and chimney work, it could supplement heating. Older buildings can have quirky heating and the shower is open. Essentially, this is a wet room with a drain in the corner, an antique chandelier and a fireplace. Talk about a mix.
Another repurposed room in an older building, this one has lovely ceiling moldings, wide-plank oak flooring and paneling around the window. There a working grate, pre-stocked with logs and the new slipper tub is close enough to be heated by the fireplace. A towel bar has been improvised near the cast-iron radiator. Another elaborate ceiling fixture — in this case an antique tiered Fortuny — shows how bathrooms can be integrated into the overall look of a traditional house rather than having the usual “sanitary room” style.
More transitional, but equally elaborate, is a bath spacious enough for a pair of upholstered chairs and a cafe table in front of the fireplace. It must be nice to take a cup of tea or coffee with you and have a place to sit for a moment. I instantly recognized the tumbled botticcino marble square tiles on the walls as I used them in my master bath. The elaborate marble mosaic on the floor has a sumptuous feel. I don’t know what the designer was thinking by running it up the wall so oddly, however. The answer may be new construction or an overzealous tile setter but it’s an attractive, light looking bath that reflects Hollywood Regency love while eschewing the usual built ins.
A mix of country and industrial shows up well in this bath with barnwood planks covering the fireplace wall. This vignette was created to market the hand-hammered bathtub and other major bath appointments Pottery Barn sells. But it also shows how fixture styles can be blended in a bathroom to provide a trendy look at an accessible price.
This bath hails from a new house designed by William Peace whose practice is based in Montana and Atlanta. Peace’s thorough command of the Western vernacular produces homes with rustic stone walls and reclaimed wood ceilings. While the gas fireplace here has more in common with many Contemporary Bathroom Fireplaces, the architecture is strictly traditional. And the way the modern freestanding tub is slightly recessed into a thick, sculptural slab of natural wood is an exceptional detail. But this is a real spa and I could easily imaging taking many long hot soaks made even more atmospheric by gentle gas flames in the fireplace.
(Source: house to home elledecor, housebeautiful, potterybarn, peacedesign)
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