In preparing the design of the master bath for my husband and me, I considered that we were already building an age-in-place home that was designed with a residential elevator to accommodate my elderly parents who were to move into an apartment in the lower-level walk-out. The house already featured hallways designed at a minimum of 46-48″ wide, and doorways designed to be at least 36″ wide. Handle sets were all chosen to be levers for arthritic hands, and this was also a consideration when choosing plumbing fixtures.
Although we left some details to be addressed at a later time should a more ADA-friendly home be needed (ramps, for instance), we also wanted to enjoy some luxury in our later years. The master bath shown here was the end result of a long journey in design.
When my husband, Steven James, who was the master craftsman for this installation, first saw my design, he called it the “Drive-through” shower. It was meant to address the possibility that if one of us were to become wheelchair bound, we would be able to easily roll into the space. The size of the shower is 4′ wide by 6′ long, and the doors offer a 36″ opening to take a wheelchair through. Should it become necessary for a wider opening, the glass doors could be removed and a shower curtain installed (hopefully not, but it’s good to have a backup plan).
There were two main challenges to this design: one was the design of a low/no threshold shower, and the other was to ensure that the water pressure could handle the load if/when we would actually turn everything on at the same time. [FYI – So far we HAVE enjoyed everything running but are cognizant of the amount of water, so we tend to cut our luxuriating a bit short.]
The fixtures consist of two rainheads, four body sprays and one handheld shower, all requiring two sets of control panels to operate. The fixtures, including the invaluable trench drain on the floor, are in oil-rubbed bronze from Signature Hardware. I worked with their team in conjunction with my licensed plumber to ensure that we could get the water flow we would need. Since we have our own well with lots of water, and a geothermal heat pump that provides ample hot water, we were set fairly well for supply. The size of the supply lines were adjusted to address water flow.
To pass inspection, we had to install a 2″ threshold at each end to demonstrate that the floor would not leak. This was then removed and the concrete repaired so that the floor could receive tile. The trench drain draws water down to a standard 2″ drain pipe and avoids the problem of a foot accidentally blocking the flow of water to the drain.
The rest of the design details are really about the materials. The image here shows the design plan for the layout. The only change was the addition of another row of Angela Harris Dunmore Blu pencil tiles on the outside edges of the end walls. Details on materials are below.
Main Tiles:
From TileBar.com:
- Teal Blue: Castle Denim, 3/4″ x 12″ ceramic pencil tiles, and 3″x12″ ceramic tiles for borders around the niches, and 3″x12″ Chair Rail for use as a crown molding at the top.
- Main Ground: Angela Harris Dunmore Blu, 8″x8″ tiles
- Vertical Corner Bead on End Walls: Angela Harris Dunmore Blu 1″ x 8″ pencil tiles.
- Center Fill for Fixture Background: Nirvana Sapphire 1″x1″ penny tiles
- Horizontal Border Fill: 1/2″ teal penny tiles
- Glass Block: wavy glass
- Border tile above/below teal pennies: Bronze square mosaic border
- Niche fill: Tear-drop marble mosaic
- Niche interior edging: 3″x6″ marble subway
- Floor tile: Hexagon marble mosaic
- Niche Centerpieces: Charley Harper fish (one has been custom colored)
From Flint Glass Service, LLC:
- Custom glass shower doors w/black hardware
Still to come for this bathroom: A renovated antique clawfoot tub sits on a slate floor in an alcove surrounded by windows with half-height louvered shutters, and a stone wall coming to the bottom edge of a shelf under the windows. We decided to go back and address the color of the outside of the tub so that it coordinates more with the organic nature of the tile in the shower. Also to come is a live-edged counter for two copper vessel sinks. Drawers will be built under the counter in the center area. All of these items are still in various stages of completion. I’ll update this page at a later time.
Mara Jevera Fulmer 