Townhouse Master Bath

PROJECT: Townhouse master bath, Golden Valley
DESIGNER: Roger Zierman
FIRM: Partners 4, Design, 952-927-4444

Small spaces often inspire the most stylish solutions. Kitchen and bath designer Roger Zierman knew from the start that this master bath’s taupe walls, marble-look sheet vinyl flooring, and maple vanity could give way to something more exciting. But because he couldn’t expand the bath into an adjacent space such as a closet—something he’d typically consider when upgrading a tight, tired space—he needed to approach the 8½x7½-foot bathroom from a new angle.

The most dramatic change, Zierman decided, would address homeowner Paul Bock’s top request—to get rid of the 30x30-inch shower! “That small fiberglass shower stall was definitely the bee in his bonnet,” Zierman says. Expanding the shower into the old sink/vanity part of the room enabled the designer to create a spa-style feature with blue glass tile walls and black river-rock flooring. “Those are real rocks mounted on mesh,” Zierman says of the floor, which was finished with gray grout.

Completing the spa experience are a broad, 10-inch-square rain shower and four body sprays, all by Italian manufacturer Zucchetti and purchased from Fantasia Showrooms at International Market Square in Minneapolis.

The shower door slides open using a high-tech roller that moves smoothly over a stainless-steel rod. “It looks like a huge, heavy piece of glass, but you can open it with one finger,” Bock says. The transparent wall, which runs diagonally across the room to create a triangular shower, also makes the room feel larger, Zierman says. The angle takes its cue from the room’s doorway wall, which he describes as a “clipped corner” in the otherwise square space. Reinforcing the angle is the 12x24-inch black tile from Ceramic Tileworks at International Market Square. The sink moved across the room; it’s a wall-hung porcelain model by Duravit, purchased at Montaggio in Minneapolis’s North Loop neighborhood. To make up for storage space lost by removing the vanity, Zierman specified a mirrored closet from Crystal Cabinet Works, a line carried by Partners 4, Design. “LED lights around the mirror make it seem like it’s floating,” Zierman says.

The redesign transformed the bath from Bock’s least favorite room to one he loves. “It’s such a small bathroom, but it’s efficient,” he says. “Being set up on different angles makes it striking. Everyone who sees it loves it.”

Zierman agrees. “Going into this townhouse development, you’d never expect to see this bathroom. It’s a fun surprise.”