The clients, a professional couple, wanted a spa bathroom with the feel of a modern luxury hotel in their coastal home where they could spend dedicated time for self-care and wellness. Gabriel Sepulveda, CKD, Allied ASID of San Diego, Ca.-based Jackson Design and Remodeling designed a rejuvenating space that would fulfill their requests not only in the present, but well into the future.
Space Planning
Concentrating the spa features into the existing space would ignore one of the clients’ top priorities; they wanted the reworked bath to be spacious enough that they could both occupy the room at the same time without bumping into one another. To secure that extra square footage, Sepulveda borrowed from a guest bathroom, small powder room and a laundry room. Two entrances into the bathroom had to be moved to accommodate the new design, as well.
To integrate both a steam shower and a sauna into the bathroom presented a few technical challenges, including the placement of mechanicals and access panels. The designer added a pantry cabinet in the adjacent laundry room to conceal the steam shower control unit and keep the bathroom design itself uncluttered and appealing.
Anticipating the Future
As the homeowners plan to live in their home for years to come, preparing the bath for long-term occupancy and safe use was important. The curbless shower has a wide glass door; inside the enclosure, built-in bench seating with an adjustable handheld shower is supremely functional. Other aging-in-place elements include single-lever faucets and an open area for the commode with a privacy partition that can be easily demounted if needed.
The Jackson Design and Remodeling team’s drawings called to add blocking behind the wall near the toilet and shower areas to support the installation of grab bars in the future.
Tile Style
At the vanity, a dramatic wall of mosaic tile was created in an animated pattern encompassing several hues and textures. “To knit the steam shower and sauna into the decorative scheme, we extended the tile treatment into those spaces, both on the walls and the floors,” said Sepulveda. A broad band of the mosaics lines the back of the shower niche, continuing the motif that started at the vanity. On the floor, 12 in.-by-12 in. tiles were placed to draw the eye throughout the room and create a sense of harmony.
Waiting Game
Sepulveda did encounter a couple of supply chain issues in the course of the project, despite anticipating lengthy lead times while designing the bathroom. “The tile had to be shipped from Italy because it was not available in the U.S. when we placed the order, which increased the lead time and the cost,” he said. The custom one-piece countertop with the integrated sink also encountered delays. While it was ordered in time to accommodate a 12-week lead time, upon arrival from Spain the slab spent six weeks at the port in Long Beach, caught in the cargo backload.
