Asian Appeal

Project Details

Project Description

K + B Studio / Bath
Asian Appeal

De Vido and his clients discovered a shared affinity for Japanese design and the elemental lifestyle it encourages. Their common passion informed many details throughout the house and landscape, but the sensibility is most evident in the master bath, where a traditional soaking tub—made in Japan—becomes the focal point for a compact, serene bathing chamber.

Not many people would be open to a wooden bathtub, but these owners took on the challenge. The wooden vessel must be filled with six inches of water at all times to prevent splitting and cracking. The tub sits within and drains through a waterproof shower pan lined with stones for overflow prevention. A large shower is only steps away—another nod to Asian practices. “The Japanese tradition is that you get clean before you go in the tub,” De Vido explains.

The room's cozy proportions and strong outdoor ties also originate in the Far East. Floor-to-ceiling glass adjacent to the soaking tub brings nature in while visually expanding the space. Natural materials and forms inside the room strengthen an indoor-outdoor relationship. De Vido purchased a 14-foot section from a locally felled tree to make custom furniture for the house, and several of those pieces are in the bathroom; the planks became a vanity, storage bench, and wall shelf. Irregular edges were left intact, but fine sanding and a high polish give the pieces a finished look.