Photography courtesy of Karr Bick
“When you’re working on a historic remodel, you don’t want it to look out of place in the home,” says Janelle Helms, a designer with Karr Bick Kitchen and Bath.
In 2018, Helms and Karr Bick’s owner, Jenny Rausch, redesigned four bathrooms, including this master bath, and added a fifth to a historic Clayton home. The room’s long, narrow footprint guided the designers’ decision-making, inspiring them to get creative as they introduced modern amenities while delivering a timeless, spa-like aesthetic.
At the homeowners’ request, Karr Bick added a wet area at the far end of the room, with a full-size soaking tub and dual showerheads. Large gray porcelain tiles line the walls, and white quartz was selected for the tub’s waterfall edge. To keep the look consistent, the team chose gray porcelain tile for the floor and had it set in a herringbone pattern. Helms says this arrangement, with more grout lines, is safer, reducing the risk of falls.
The half walls leading into the wet room hold niches for soap and shampoo bottles, preventing clutter. More organizational features include the custom double vanity from Mouser Cabinetry, Robern medicine cabinets above, and narrow cabinets for storage on the opposite side. Wood flooring was chosen for the vanity area because that part of the room remains relatively dry; Rausch notes that it’s also more comfortable to stand on than tile.
The bathroom features DXV plumbing fixtures in polished chrome for a classic look, complemented by black-finished cabinet hardware and lighting.
“We mix metals all the time,” says Rausch. “We usually use the rule that all the faucets are one finish and lighting and hardware another.”
A circular mirror, which the homeowners sourced at Crate & Barrel, introduces a touch of gold. “We thought this was the most magical element,” Rausch says. “The roundness softens the hard edges that are typically seen in a bathroom.”
