As promised, here is a closer look at the bathrooms of 15 Union Square West. There are four different bathroom configurations and designs. Some apartments depending on the size have all four while some just have the master bathroom and powder room. The secondary bathrooms are for guest bedrooms and have either a tub and shower or just a shower. I really believe they all have Vicente’s trademark style but are all so uniquely different and beautiful. I hope you enjoy!
POWDER ROOM
Powder rooms are a showpiece and one of the few rooms where decor and aesthetics can outweigh the function. The walls of this powder room are clad in dark sophisticated mahogany panelling which gives it a sense of masculinity. We went through many test samples before getting the perfect stain. The toilet (not shown) and sink are both in stainless steel to bring a modern approach to an otherwise traditional idea. It was a challenge to find a sophisticated toilet in a stainless steel finish but a company called Neo Metro has some beautiful ones. The last thing we wanted was for someone to feel like they were sitting on a toilet in a prison cell. I think the outcome of this bathroom is a truly special one.
SECONDARY BATHROOM WITH SHOWER
This bathroom is my favorite. The color palette is so calming and serene. The shower is enclosed by a single sheet of floating glass so it feels like the whole bathroom is one big shower. There is no door or curb which is a feat onto itself. Everyone involved including the architects and engineers had to make sure the pitch of the floor was steep enough so the water flow would go towards the drain. However, we (the designers) wanted it to look seem-less as though there was no pitch at all. Both parties were happy in the end as both function and design are present. Every little detail is thought about from the square shower drain, to the thickness of the stainless steel transition strips between the floor slabs. The vanity is finished in a custom colored lacquer with stainless steel strips inlayed into the wood doors. The wall tiles are a ceramic xilo with discreet linear stripes that are installed in an alternating pattern.
SECONDARY BATHROOM WITH TUB AND SHOWER
The secondary bathroom with shower and under mount tub has limestone slabs on the walls and floor. Above the limestone, the walls are clad in a backpainted glass. Back painted glass is literally clear glass that is painted from the back side and viewed from the front. The color options are endless. One can choose any Benjamin Moore paint color and they fabricators will paint the glass to match. However, back painted glass can get very expensive and is considered a luxurious material. Especially when the glass is in large sheets like in this bathroom. The larger it is, the harder it is for transportation and installation. My favorite part of this bathroom is the cerused oak vanity with the louvered doors and Corian top. The proportion of the louvers is perfect and expertly crafted by a millworker. All the vanities and kitchen cabinets in the project were produced by a millworker who worked off of our drawings. There is no finding any of these vanities in any retail stores. However, Restoration Hardware now is producing a replica of the louvered vanity. (and Vicente’s famous easel tv stand). Hmm, they say imitation is the best form of flattery.
MASTER BATHROOM
Saving the best for last – the master bathroom. I am in love with this custom vanity. When doing the drawings and finalizing the design I became obsessed with the proportions and how everything is flush within the stainless steel open cube. It’s a simple idea and I really think Vicente took it to the next level with the materials chosen. The drawers are encased in shagreen which is a stingray skin that had to be specially imported. Once the shagreen was delivered to the US it had to be sent to the millworker who then added it to the framework of the vanity. It took a lot of coordination to have 36 of these manufactured to the specifications required. In person, there is a slight variation of the beautiful celadon color throughout the skin. Above the drawers is a stone countertop with two glass under-mounted basins. The large custom mirror above the vanity is floating and mounted with four round pins at each corner. There are two medicine cabinets installed in the adjecent fin walls and clad in mirror. They are flush to the wall and have no hardware which adds to the the seamless details throughout this building. The entire bathroom is finished in a soft blueish green marble that is to die for. To the left of the vanity is a wet room with shower and freestanding tub with claw feet. On the wall above the tub is a huge piece of onyx that is floating away from the wall and backlit from a lighting cove up above. Finally, the freestanding shower unit (detail shot is below) is custom designed and manufactured just for this project. There were many meetings about technicalities and this I will tell you was a very difficult fixture to produce. I think it is so unique and acts as almost a sculpture. Every detail from how the towels were folded (who do you think folded those towels so perfectly for this shot?), to the jeweled pulls on the vanity make this a very special bathroom indeed.
HARDWARE
All the fixtures in the bathrooms (and in the entire apartment – including doorknobs and angle stops!) are all specially custom designed by Vicente through Sherle Wagner. Sherle Wagner is a very (very!) high end bath and hardware company. It was an amazing opportunity to work with them and they are all really nice people. My husband and I were even invited on the owner’s yacht over one summer to have cocktails and hor d’ouvres on the Hudson River. It was amazing! We were basically in awe the whole time and felt a lot cooler than we really are. Everything from the shower body in the master bathroom to the tub fillers, bath spouts, shower heads, volume and thermostatic shower controls, faucets, towel bars, towel hooks, vanity knobs and pulls were all custom designed just for the lucky ones that live in this building. Below are a few closer looks of the bathroom fixtures.
Powder room faucet
Master bathroom free standing shower
Master bathroom faucet
Next on the 15 USW series is a closer look at the kitchens and the model apartments with regards to staging and making everything look picture perfect. Stay tuned!!
