Surrender to the Senses

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Designers share their secrets for creating soothing master baths

Passage to India

Designer: Lori Gentile
Mixing Moorish with modern and serene with sexy may sound like design oxymora. But when you apply the techniques to a master bath, the result is pure indulgence.

Imagine, for instance, coming home to this exotic bath in Fairbanks Ranch, created by interior designer Lori Gentile. Striking wall panels, made with decorative tiles bordered by strips of marble and onyx, make this master bath unique.

“In India, the maharajahs built their palaces with carved marble window screens so their harem of ladies could see out without being seen,” Gentile says. “In this master bath, with the tub centered in the room, I needed to balance out the weight and enhance corner walls with detail. Whereas most people apply wainscoting in bathrooms, I knew it wouldn’t have been the right look—I needed height and something more unusual."

She found 4-by-4-inch Flor de Pablo decorative wall tiles and had them installed to form long, textured panels that hang 12 inches below the ceiling, 12 inches above the base. Gentile also replaced the original platform bathtub with a Zuma freestanding tub and added modern fixtures from Dornbracht. She designed matching vanities with bases that simulate Asian chests and topped them with onice verde persiano, a unique acid-green onyx with rusty brown veins.

“Bathing is one of life’s richest experiences,” says Gentile. “It provides a solitary moment and a chance to gather your thoughts, cleanse your mind and reconnect with your body.”

Deep Blue Sea

Designer: Nune Richards, ASID
To update this Carmel Mountain bathroom, Nune Richards looked to the waters of the Carib bean. Calm, clear, with shades of blue and green, the sea provided the palette to complement her client’s penchant for island vacations.

“I imagined standing in the sand and seeing my toes under water,” Richards says. “Aquamarine-colored beach glass came to mind.”

To bring that vision to life, she used Bisazza glass tile in light turquoise with watermarks and veins of gold. And she didn’t stop at the shower stall. “They use real gold in firing these pieces,” she says. So why not line the walls with them?

While she was tasked with bringing the tropics indoors, Richards knew she also needed to create a European-style bath where getting the walls and floors wet wouldn’t be an issue.

She wrapped the tile all the way around the room and replaced dated countertops with translucent antique glass from Avonite Surfaces. Clean-line cabinetry and a contemporary light fixture not only complement the minimalism of the design but also reflect her client’s modern lifestyle.

“For a bathroom to be serene, yet uplifting, it should be cool, breathable and clean at all times,” Richards says. “And it really needs to be a wet area.”

Photography by Jim Brady

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