Three Fabulous Baths: Check Out These Eco-Friendly Bathrooms
(Page 3 of 4)
July/August 2003
By Jennifer Wilson
The 1932 bathroom sink is a big, square, porcelain “monster” salvaged from a neighbor’s junk pile. Blair also hauled in a primitive pine hutch from a nearby garage. “It was probably storage for motor oil or something,” says Marty. “We painted it and when we built the bathroom, we allowed room for that little cupboard.”
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The porcelain sconces and mirror were salvaged when the Del Norte Hotel in the San Luis Valley, thirty miles from the couple’s home, was renovated. A glass shelf and towel bar recall a simple, useful design. “There’s no ornament to the mirror whatsoever, but it’s one of those things that makes you wonder, ‘Who was in that room, and what were they up to?’” muses Marty.
3. Prana bathing
When Tias and Surya Little, owners of Santa Fe’s Yogasource studio, decided to build a home in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, they wanted it to reflect their lifestyle and teachings. “We make a living working with prana, which is breath or life force,” says Tias. “We wanted a home that would breathe.”
Clean lines and earthy materials extend to the bathroom, a space as dramatic and conscientious as the rest of the dwelling. “We wanted to use natural materials as much as possible throughout the entire project so our home would be an environment that supports our yoga practice,” says Tias.
Shoji rice screen doors cordon off the room but are easily opened to make it feel more spacious. Natural slate floors and shower tile line the tub area, which seems to morph into a glass-enclosed shower. “By extending the bathtub platform into the shower, it gave the shower a seat,” says architect Paula Baker-Laporte, who designed the Little home. For this compact room (91/2 square feet), overlapping the bath and shower is an efficient use of limited space. Using sixteen-inch slate tiles rather than the usual twelve-inch size also creates the illusion of space. “They’re harder to get, but it really makes the room appear larger,” says Tias.