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Posts tagged ‘bathroom ideas’

Mar 31

How to have a Lovelier Morning

 

Some mornings you need a little something extra to shake loose the cobwebs from your brain and get your day off to the right start.

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You could knock back an extra latte, or you could treat yourself to a deeply satisfying jolt of beauty, symmetry, rhythm and color.

Here are 5 high impact bathroom design details that will treat your eyeballs to fresh delights each morning.

 

1. Add a Little Wow with Your Wall Treatments.

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A powder room is a great place to go bold on the walls, and most contemporary wallpaper is designed to prevent water issues so you can add wow without the worries.

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You could also turn your bathroom into a work of art by commissioning a custom paint treatment. Or….

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Blend a cool graphic tile with a warm burst of orange for an eye-popping wake up experience.

Speaking of tile…

2.  Inset a Little Individuality.

One choice that allows for a great combination of classic and personal is hex tile flooring with customized designs.

Here are a few examples of how custom inset tile designs allowed our clients to express themselves while still keeping it classic.

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3. A Little Vanity is a Good Thing.

Custom vanities can help you maximize your footprint, and they are a great way to add drama to your bathroom.

Why not re-purpose a cool vintage sideboard into a statement-making vanity cabinet?

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4.  Look a Bit Lovelier.

The right bathroom lighting can be the difference between leaving the house brimming with confidence and leaving the house worried about scaring small children as you pass by.

Here are a few lighting fixtures that will make a little mirror magic:

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These adjustable twin sconces can be aimed to bounce light into the mirror… a flattering way to get a clear view without any distorting shadows.

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Who wouldn’t look lovely in the reflected light of 100 crystals?

If old Hollywood glamour is your thing, a crystal chandelier will make you feel ready for your close up… Mr. DeMille.

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Elegant sconces on either side of the mirror provide important task lighting, while the unusual handmade pendant lamp draws the eye flatteringly upward.

Note: Lighting experts recommend that you ban the can in the bathroom. Nothing says “Good Morning, Zombie!”  like a downlight.

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Of course the best light is natural light from a beautiful and inspiring clerestory or transom window.

5. Accessorize.

Hardware is the jewelry of the bathroom. You should have fun with yours.

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The blend of salvaged wood and vintage hardware on these vanity cabinet drawers add a sense of depth and history to this bathroom, inspiring curiosity.

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The pretty little glass knobs on these floor to ceiling medicine cabinets add just the right spark of color to complete the ensemble.

Ready for more inspiration for your own bathroom update?

We’re hosting a Timeless Bathroom Home Design Workshop on April 9th at the Kennedy School and two lucky attendees will win  $50 Rejuvenation gift certificates.

Get the details and RSVP here.

Explore the Arciform Photo Galleries | About Arciform | Schedule a Design Consultation

 

Mar 21

5 Clever Conveniences for a Small Bathroom

In an older home, you are usually looking at a bathroom update that needs to serve many goals in a very small footprint.

Here are 5 design details that can make clever and convenient use of every square inch of your limited bathroom space.

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1. Pivot Your Faucet. Want a generous sink in a small space? This recent Arciform client needed a deep sink and a tall faucet to accommodate her love of flower arranging. By side mounting the faucet, designer Anne De Wolf was able to fit in the larger sink without expanding the vanity’s footprint.

Bown Powder Sink

2. Capitalize on a Corner. A corner sink makes a very efficient use of space in this bathroom designed by Arciform’s Chelly Wentworth. Twin built-in medicine cabinets add generous storage without intruding into the room.

Speaking of clever corner fixtures, check out this corner toilet:

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This tidy fixture tucked in the corner of this turn-of-the-century house allowed enough extra floor space for a very cool deer sculpture/toilet paper holder.

Its all about priorities, right?

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3. Take a Seat. How to integrate a bench into a curved wall shower?
In this master bath remodel, Anne De Wolf extended the adjacent tub ledge to create an integrated seat- an efficient use of material and a great way to create continuity between the two spaces. By curving the shower wall she was able to increase the shower’s footprint without inhibiting circulation in the adjacent office.

MillsHuff_Best_CatBox_6Another satisfied kitty customer…

4. Consider Your Furry Family Members. It’s not just the people in your family who have business to conduct in the bathroom.

A built in bench can double as an out-of-sight location for kitty litter and other cleaning supplies.

 

Edelman Bath

Or tuck a few drawers beneath the bench like Chelly Wentworth did in this bathroom update.
Then add matching built-in linen storage above.

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5. Make Every Inch Work Overtime. Sometimes you have plenty of room but your bathroom needs to work twice as hard.

Arciform Designer Kristyn Bester’s recently worked with clients whose Pearl District loft bathroom needed to function as bath, laundry room and storage space.

Tucking a washer and dryer under the counters and integrating cool retro storage lockers into the space allowed Kristyn to maintain the loft’s industrial vibe while making every square inch as convenient and useful as possible.

Ready for more inspiration for your own bathroom update?

We’re hosting a Timeless Bathroom Home Design Workshop on April 9th at the Kennedy School and one lucky attendee will win a Rejuvenation gift certificate.

Get the details and RSVP here.

Explore the Arciform Photo Galleries | About Arciform | Schedule a Design Consultation

Mar 11

Client’s Eye View: 2 Baths with Room to Breathe

HirschShimizu_1926_Bathrm1_A_1_P_Pro (26)Designed by Anne De Wolf. Photo by Photo Art Portraits.

We recently completed a matching pair of upstairs bathroom renovations for a NW Portland client who needed a little elbow room in a fairly small footprint. Here’s her “client’s eye view” of how it all came out.

1.       What were your goals with this bathroom renovation?

We needed to update both baths. The shower bath especially needed a larger showering area and both baths needed updated electrical and plumbing, not to mention a new look. We also had a large Turkish-style tile arrangement that we wanted to incorporate into a wall of the new shower.

(Here’s a look at the shower before the renovation. With a glass door that swung into the shower alcove you can see it was quite a tight fit!)

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2.       What were some of the challenges the project faced and how did you address them?

The biggest challenge was enlarging the shower area without knocking out all the nearby upstairs walls and re-doing the much of the upstairs. This was achieved by much careful measuring and communicating within the design and project implementation team. In addition to Anne, [Project Manager] Adam made sure the plumber, electrician and inspector made it work. Because of the tight space, lovely and suitable sinks and light fixtures were found. Also new cabinetry was specially designed to work effectively with existing built-ins.

HirschShimizu_1926_Bathrm1_A_1_P_Pro (22)Designed by Anne De Wolf. Photo by Photo Art Portraits.

Here’s a look at the fixtures in Bathroom #1.

HirschShimizu_1926_Bathrm2_A_12_P_ProDesigned by Anne De Wolf. Photos by Photo Art Portraits.

And bathroom #2…

3.       What is your favorite part of the completed bathrooms?

It’s a pleasure to get clean again in simple but elegant surroundings. Showering in the open and lighter shower area feels great. The more sublime soaking experience in the tub speaks for itself. Both bathrooms offer privacy and yet feel more spacious than before.

HirschShimizu_1926_Bathrm2_A_1_P_ProDesigned by Anne De Wolf. Photos by Photo Art Portraits.

4.       Tell us about your experience of working with Arciform.

Mostly gush, gush, gush!

Explore the Arciform Photo Galleries | About Arciform | Schedule a Design Consultation

Mar 5

Behind the Scenes at our Mid-Century Marvel Shoot

Getting a home ready to be photographed after the renovation is complete is an art form all its own. We recently had the pleasure of working with stylist Shannon Quimby and photographer Shannon Butler (of Photo Art Portraits), who helped one of our favorite mid-century modern projects put its best foot forward in preparation for the upcoming Tour of Remodeled Homes March 9th and 10th.

Here’s a photo diary of the shoot. You can check out the completed images on Houzz here.

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Shannon Quimby, our stager/sylist, loads in all the little treasures she has found that will add pops of color and vintage flair for today’s shoot. Shannon has been in hot demand to create interior environments at several of Portland’s newest restaurants, including the recent expansion of Lardo in downtown Portland.

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Arciform owner and senior designer Anne De Wolf plays with one of the pieces Shannon sourced. This giant wire poppy sculpture was brought in to accent the WC.

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Tools of the trade come in unusual shapes when you are a photo stylist. In this case, Shannon brought in her toolbag… and a pair of cow skulls she sourced from an Oregon farm. The skulls looked great in the living room… but they were already promised to another client so our clients didn’t get to keep them after the shoot.

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A beautiful reproduction ceramic lamp and a collection of orange and green resin and glass vases and bowls added color to the shoot. Our clients loved what Shannon provided so much that they purchased most of it! It was like a shopping trip where the store comes to you, arranges your home, and all you have to do is write the check. (Shannon says this happens to her all the time.)

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This authentic mid-century clock from one of Shannon’s vintage sources was the big hit of the day.

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Shannon Butler of Photo Art Portraits has worked with us for years. It was fun to watch the two Shannons collaborate!

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Here, the two Shannons are looking for a way to keep the vanity door pinned tightly shut for the bathroom shoot.

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Sometimes a stager’s job includes ducking just out-of-frame to adjust the smallest details of the photo elements between takes…

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Here are some of the results of their excellent work (above and below).
You can check out the full gallery of images on Houzz here.

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Join us for the Tour of Remodeled Homes, March 9th and 10th to check out the views of this beautiful home for yourself. Tickets are available here. We look forward to seeing  you then!

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