Image by Roger Davies

Grace’s teensy bathroom packs a whole lot of special per square inch. It had to, as we did not have much room to work with. Let me show you what I mean…

This was the bathroom and closet layout as it was when we purchased the home. There are two smallish closets in a little vestibule flanking the entrance to the bathroom. The vanity was nice and spacious- but the tub/shower was not very inviting squeezed behind the door swing, and I didn’t love the idea of her having a bed with a potty view. 

We worked with our architects, Curtis & Windham, on many different configurations- rearranging the closet and bathroom space, switching from a full tub to a standing shower- but ultimately found the best use of the space would be keeping the closets where they were (changing the door style and bumping the one on the left out a few inches) and flipping the tub and potty. 

I love working within the natural constraints of an older home, problem solving, and the creativity required- but there are always tradeoffs. Here, that meant a much smaller vanity. I figured we had at least a dozen years or so before Gigi’s hair & makeup routine required much counter space- and we could cross that bridge when we came to it. In the meantime, she would have a pretty little space that hopefully made up for it’s petite size with major jewel box charm. 

I remembered Miles Redd’s incredible mirrored bathroom (where one can hold a dinner party, natch) and wanted to use the ol’ mirrors make a small space seem bigger trick- but with a twist. I kept thinking of the space as a sweet vintage birdcage, and found a vintage tole chandelier early on that worked in that vein. I loved the idea of a trellis overlaid mirror to minimize the carnival funhouse affect, and bring that truly special detail and craftsmanship for my girl.

The execution is just beyond, and speaks volumes for the value of working with incredible architects and craftsmen who can take an idea and perfect it into art. After G expressed her initial disappointment in having blue walls in the bedroom- we chose a pink for the treillage, which I layered with an 19th Century Venetian mirror over the vanity. We softened the space up with a sweet pink monogram, and a lacy shower curtain.