When Konstantin Romenskii's clients approached him to remodel two adjacent bathrooms, they were thinking of just updating the finishes. But once his crew had demolished both rooms, Romenskii had an inspiration: If he redesigned the floor plan and added an angled wall between the rooms, he could add some visual interest and still accommodate all the fixtures and fittings.
The owner of Domus Inc., in Rockville, Md., who makes a point of trying to add unique touches to all his projects, says that he was quickly able to visualize the redesign because much of his recent work has involved remodeling bathrooms.
To gain space for the remodeled bathrooms, the owners were willing to give up one of the adjacent bedroom's two closets and a hallway linen closet. Romenskii says that the clients carefully listened to his advice about the floor plan, the products, and the design. “Every idea I had, they accepted gladly,” he adds.
Romenskii believes that “to be a designer, [you] need to know how people live and what they like.” To that end, he began the remodeling process by sending his clients to showrooms to choose products they liked. Using these products as a starting point, Romenskii then suggested changes and installation ideas for the remodel.
Stone Walls Open shower: Romenskii was originally going to install a large enclosed shower, but the window on one wall of the shower was in the way. The open shower has a ceiling-mounted fitting with a large diameter. Romenskii worried about splashing, so he increased the floor slope to keep water flowing toward the drain.
Walls: To bring some interest to the travertine installation, Romenskii laid the stone horizontally in graduating sizes. He started with a 12-inch-high piece near the floor and narrowed each subsequent piece by 1 inch up to the final 1-inch-high piece.
Lighting: Unable to install evenly spaced recessed lights due to the location of the trusses, Romenskii found expandable tracks with miniature fixtures. “The homeowner liked being able to retract the lights horizontally toward or against the wall from 9 to 24 inches,” the remodeler says.
Glass countertop: To create the illusion of a larger bathroom, Romenskii used a glass countertop with a notch cut to fit the sink.
Open Spaces Bathtub: The original bathtub was a standard 30 inches wide. By using the space from the two closets, Romenskii was able to carve out extra room and upgrade the tub. The new tub is 6 inches wider and several inches deeper.
Lighting: The location of the trusses in this bathroom allowed Romenskii to install recessed lighting. He spread the lights out on an angle to match the walls. He also used ceiling-to-counter mirrors to reflect the light and make the bathroom feel larger.
Floor Plans BEFORE AFTER
