April 18, 2022

The owners of the large, 1999 colonial home wanted – and needed – a very glamourous and luxurious but functional primary bath with ample storage, a place for everything.

“They really wanted the room to be a highlight of the entire house,” said designer Aparna Vijayan of Ridgewood, N.J.-based Ulrich Inc.

Unfortunately, the reality couldn’t have been farther from their dream. The original bath had two undersized closets, a tiny shower, a huge tub platform and a single small vanity that the couple had to share. “There was a lot of wasted space and not enough storage,” said Vijayan, in an understated assessment as she set out to create a comfortable space with better flow, more storage and an updated ambience.

Fixing the Faulty Floor Plan

Before the bath could be transformed, however, several parts of the original layout had to be corrected. When the house was built, the plumbers read the plans incorrectly and flipped the shower and toilet areas, resulting in a very small shower and a large, open area with the toilet in the middle of it.

To make better use of the shower, toilet and bathing areas, the designer created two symmetrical rooms of roughly same size and shape to house the shower and toilet. These enclosures flank the freestanding tub, which is placed in the center of the exterior wall. Reallocating these features instilled a sense of order to the 250-sq.-ft. space while allowing plenty of room for two people to use the space at one time.

Storage Centralized

Vijayan combined the pair of cramped closets into a dressing room, located right off the area occupied by separate his-and-hers vanities that stand on opposite walls. This room also features plenty of storage for supplies, cosmetics and towels, including a tall custom-built cabinet faced with mirrored, leaded-glass doors.