Philly Stone Queen Bathroom Reveal - Part Two

BRAIN WETZEL - Photographer
KRISTI HUNTER - Stylist

Hello friends. Welcome back to the Philly Stone Queen. I hope that you will come along with me as I take you through our modern, earth-y, jewel-box guest bathroom. Proof that even in the smallest spaces, you don’t need to sacrifice personality or functionality.

The third floor most recently served as the studio space for Vestige Home, but we have since moved to our new studio down the road in East Falls. For now, we are using this floor as a home office and creative space, and the bathroom is perfect for guests when we have overnight visitors.

In case you missed it, Part One of our Philly Stone Queen Bathrooms Reveal can be here.

The focus here was on shifting the layout of yet another tiny bathroom to make it more functional while celebrating rich and interesting finishes.

In the original layout, the vanity and toilet were on the same wall. Using the old vanity was difficult with the sloped ceilings of the third floor, especially as a tall person. While we don’t take a lot of baths, we do occasionally like a good soak and we need a place to bathe our pups, so we decided to keep a tub in the bathroom and shift it to the end of the room.

With the layout in place, it was time to focus on the finishes. One of my favorite things to do is peruse a stone yard - I feel like a kid in the candy store and I’m constantly mystified by what incredible gifts come from the earth.

While I was planning for my bathrooms, Fusion Quartzite caught my eye on one of these stone yard trips and it got me thinking about how I could design a stone-wrapped tub as part of the remodel. Since the tub is the focal point upon entering the room, I knew I wanted it to be statement. The end-to-end dimensions of the tub area were also longer than most tubs and doing a stone surround allowed for the clean, minimalist aesthetic that I was looking for in this space. When it came time to make the design a reality, our friends at Angelo’s Marble hit it out of the park!

As I continued to work on this space, I realized that a vintage marble block sink I had been hoarding from a trip to Highpoint, North Carolina, would be the perfect fit for this space. Since this space didn’t need to have a lot of storage capacity (we have ample storage just outside the room) it felt like a great opportunity to use something a bit more decorative.

The rusty elements on the base tied in with the little bits of rusty color in the stone perfectly and give just the right amount of juxtaposition to the more refined elements of the room.

I paired a custom backsplash using a remnant of soapstone and wall mounted faucet to highlight the shape of the sink. A simple, black-framed recessed medicine cabinet offers a bit of storage and houses an outlet to charge toothbrushes, etc. Since we were limited on how much space we had on either side off the sink, an asymmetrically placed wall sconce with swing arm was a great option to provided task lighting over the vanity area.

Another shining star in this tiny space is the stained-glass window. I utilized the existing sash and had a local stained-glass artist make a pattern that is almost identical to the one in our landing between the 1st and 2nd floors, it was a great way to bring a historic component to this tiny bath.

Soft, zellige tile in shades varying of warm cream surround the tub area, giving protection to the walls and highlighting the brass fixtures by California Faucets. We finished the space by wrapping it in Benjamin Moore’s Powell Smokehouse, a moody yet complimentary counterpoint to the other finishes in the space.

With all the carefully - one might say obsessively - chosen finishes in place, the finished bathroom is a bit of a modern, earth-y jewel box. It’s unexpected and special and proves that even in the smallest spaces you don’t need to sacrifice functionality and personality.

Thank you for following along as we share these passion-filled projects. I love welcoming you into my own personal sanctuary spaces and I hope that they inspire you to take risks and think outside the box. If you are looking to tackle an interiors project in 2024, we would love to hear from you. Getting started is simple, just fill out our Inquiry Form here and our team will be in touch to schedule a 15-minute discovery call. We can’t wait to work with you!

Cheers!

Nicole