The owners of a retail building wanted to renovate the loft apartment on the top floor, which was located under the roof rafters. Rich Norman, owner of Kitchen & Bath Design Center, in Fort Collins, Colo., had a 130-square-foot area for the bathroom. However, the sloped roof meant that only the center of the room offered sufficient head room. A vanity along the stone wall would not have been wide enough to accommodate the two sinks the client had requested. Norman’s solution: place back-to-back Ronbow vanities in the middle of the room.
A local glass shop cut two mirrors, glued them together, and drilled holes for the hardware. Stainless steel cables and hardware from Arakawa Hanging Systems are anchored to the ceiling and wall between the vanities, providing bracing. Norman worked with HighCraft Builders’ construction crew on the apartment. He says that the mirror was heavy and that it was difficult to accurately drill the holes for the anchors in the ceiling.
The designer points out that back-to-back vanities like this require a large space because “you need to leave the space behind the user open for maneuvering.” Although he has proposed this design to other clients, most bathroom plans are too linear, and since most clients want both a tub and a shower, the remaining space is not large enough for this configuration.
—Nina Patel, senior editor, REMODELING.
