October 21, 2019

In the case of which Houzz photo will inspire a new room in the CLUE board game’s stately mansion, thousands of voters have solved the mystery. An elegant new bathroom based on California interior designer Ann Lowengart’s work will replace the classic game’s existing hall.

People around the world weighed in after Houzz and toy and game company Hasbro announced in August that they were teaming up to reimagine the whodunit game’s iconic mansion for the first time in 70 years. The mansion — the foundation of the popular game, which has players determine which character is a killer and where and how a crime was committed — hasn’t added a new room since it was first released in 1949. Several CLUE fans noted that in addition to a style upgrade, the house was also in need of a functional makeover. Namely, commenters pointed out after reading about the planned redesign that the mansion was missing a bathroom — a problem that voters have now remedied.

Out of the four possible inspiration photos from Houzz that could drive the new design, the one of Lowengart’s vibrant bathroom stood out to voters. With its saturated blue walls, formal finishes and pops of warmth, the space fits right in with the CLUE mansion’s grand, old-fashioned aesthetic while adding an updated twist.

“I think it’s perfect, because it has gravitas. That wallpaper really speaks to that formality,” said Lowengart, of Ann Lowengart Interiors. “It has a little bit of a continental feel, so it definitely speaks to that era, but it’s a fresh take on it.”

The photo that voters loved comes from a real-life renovation that Lowengart and her team took on, in which the homeowners were looking to carve out a formal powder room in the center of their historic home. “The rest of the house is really light and bright and airy, but they wanted their powder room to be a real jewel box,” Lowengart said.

CLUE’s illustration team will expand Lowengart’s original powder room vision into a full bathroom on the board to allow more space for famous characters like Miss Scarlet and Professor Plum to commit their crimes.

The new room features a stand-alone bathtub, a walk-in shower with gold hardware, an upholstered bench, a potted plant, shaded sconces inspired by Lowengart’s original design and a double vanity. On the new herringbone-pattern floor, an ominous spilled decanter could be the clue that leads players to uncover the killer at the center of the game.

The other three inspirational rooms voters considered for the game board honor got their share of attention from voters as well. Aside from the winning bathroom, a cozy drawing room designed by Chicago’s Michael Abrams, a Gothic-style bedroom designed by Tineke Triggs of Artistic Designs for Living and the dramatic hall seen here, designed by the team at Archer & Buchanan Architecture, were in the running. Archer & Buchanan’s hall in particular was popular among international voters, earning the most votes in Germany, India, Japan, Italy and New Zealand. Available in more than 30 countries, CLUE is one of Hasbro’s most popular international brands.