Project Details
- Project Name
- Long Hall - Bath
- Location
-
Seattle ,WA ,United States
- Project Types
- Custom
- Project Scope
- Renovation/Remodel
- Shared by
- Editor
- Project Status
- Built
- Room or Space
- Bath
Project Description
K + B Studio / Bath
Long Hall
Upstairs in his long, narrow Seattle home, architect and homeowner Sean Bell avoided the “bowling alley dilemma” by alternating opaque and translucent sections along the long wall. A frosted-glass partition framed by simple wood shelves signals the master bath. Because the structure of the house is fully exposed, there was nowhere to hide pipes. Bell resolved the issue by stepping up the bathroom floor 6 inches. The extra space accommodates plumbing as well as a room-sized shower pan. “Water drains through the ironwood floor into the pan,” explains Bell. Those ironwood planks hold up well to moisture as do marine-grade plywood walls. Wall-to-wall windows touch the floor and fill the room with daylight and fresh air while a large sliding door opens the space to the master bedroom. “When I do bathrooms,” Bell says, “I try to get a lot of air movement to avoid moisture issues.”
Upstairs, Bell was stuck with a long hallway to access bedrooms and baths, but he worked hard to avoid the dreaded bowling alley effect. He varied surface textures and alternated opaque and translucent segments to add visual interest to the corridor. And he placed the master bath behind a frosted-glass partition that filters light into the hallway. Wooden shelves frame the partition and break the hallway's flat planes. Inside the bath, shelves and their contents create compelling shadows.
Because the structure of the house is expressed, there was nowhere to hide unsightly plumbing, so Bell boosted the bathroom floors by six inches. The extra lift accommodates pipes and allows for a shower pan beneath the entire room. “Water drains through the Ironwood floor into the pan,” he explains. Ironwood holds up well to moisture, as do the marine-grade plywood walls.
Glass panels provide another layer of protection for the wood walls inside the shower. For the double vanity, Bell cut holes in some salvaged teak tables and configured them for sinks. “When I do bathrooms, I try to get a lot of air movement to avoid moisture issues,” Bell says. In this case, he speced wall-to-wall windows that flood the room with light and fresh air.
