Three Fabulous Baths: Check Out These Eco-Friendly Bathrooms
(Page 2 of 4)
July/August 2003
By Jennifer Wilson
“The whole system for the recirculator and heat in two showers cost us about $500 extra,” says Michael. “Clean water is a precious resource we absolutely cannot take for granted. Baths consume a lot of resources, and we owe it to the planet to conserve and be a force for positive change in every way possible.” He pauses, then adds: “Besides, not having to wait for hot water in the shower is nice. And the impact of walking into the bathroom and feeling heat on your face coming out of the shower walls is luscious.”
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Aside from its environmental bonus points, this bath is an attractive room. Beth loves open spaces that connect with the natural world, so she and Michael built sliding glass shower doors with a straight-on view to the outdoors. “Modesty isn’t an issue when the house is on a cliff overlooking a river,” she says. The rest of the room is detailed in basic materials the couple bought inexpensively and locally. For Michael, the issue was one of authenticity. “I like things to be what they seem to be, so we avoided fake stone,” he says. “Our walls are wood because we see that as a renewable resource, especially here in North Carolina where tree farms are being planted in places where tobacco and corn were a generation ago.”
The copper countertops were economical. “I love the way they age and how the patina changes from week to week,” adds Michael, who notes that he’s aware of the damage copper strip-mining causes. “So we only use copper as a decorative accent and for wiring—and almost not at all in plumbing pipes.” Michael and Beth wrapped sixteen-ounce copper flashing around a piece of plywood for the countertop to help minimize their copper use.
Beth laid most of the Vermont slate tiles, which the couple found remaindered at the local stoneyard. “I love that there’s little manufacturing involved in slate tile’s production compared with ceramic tile,” says Michael. “With slate you take the stone from the ground, split it, cut it to size, and ship it. Slate never needs to be fired in a kiln.”
2. A bath with a past
“We see potential in the most curious little objects,” chuckles Marty Mitchell. Both she and her husband, Blair Meerfeld, have a good eye for beauty and a story, which is probably why the bathroom they designed for their century-old ranch home in Saguache, Colorado, is such a delicate work of antique art. Not to mention that using recycled fixtures is an inexpensive alternative to costly new ones and a way to save materials that would have languished in a trash heap.
Take the expansive claw-foot tub—or “paw-foot,” as Marty calls it, because “the flavor of the foot itself is more a lion’s paw than a bird’s claw.” Saved from a house she once lived in, the antique tub cuts down on moisture and mold that’s associated with showers and allows more space for a window. “I have nightmares of the moldy grout of an old bathroom from years ago,” she says. “Light and air win out every time with us.”