The Tale of “The Lady Of The Lake Goes Condo”

Chapter Three: The Grand Dragon Bath, A Clever Master Ensuite Design, for A Small Space

Our Lady’s story continues from the grace of the water to the power of the dragon’s breath... Summoned again, the magic of the Design Fairy Godmother!

In honor of the Lady’s grandfather, the Grand Dragon, the Lady of the Lake wished to satiate her dragon nature in a space that would calm the mighty beast in earth, air and smoke.

Her zen dragon inspired master lair, already completed by you know who’s Design Magic, must now be complemented by a master ensuite to sooth the flying dragon’s fiery breath and also house a bevy of mighty hot toiletries and sexy French perfumes, all in one very small room. Ooh la la!

The Lady’s condo ensuite, or privvy chamber, wish-list for a low maintenance space included: lots of storage space; a larger vanity that actually functioned; a deep soaker tub; a new chamber pot; new medicine cabinet; a place to put towels; soothing colors; no muss-no fuss tile; new plumbing and electrical and overhead light; new lighting fixtures; new floor; a bit of a masculine edge; and an atmosphere of serenity to move the fire of the day into gentle smoke and – "oh, yes, can you make it look bigger?"

"Hmm, another miracle”, said the Design Fairy Godmother, not ever wanting to scorch the Lady’s dreams, nor the dreams of others, pray tell.

A crowded sink, tiny vanity with no storage space, a minimalist’s medicine cabinet, multiple light switches and plugs placed willy-nilly wasting space, a huge mirror above the sink extends to toilet wasting more precious space, and tons of things crowd the wrap around counter! Help!

This vanity couldn’t be more basic – actually, substandard. There are no shelves or drawers inside, just a cramped open space. Not for an organized individual!

A wrap around synthetic counter inviting tons of clutter, and a very short wide toilet (that leaked, too) fit for a plump little gnome instead of a grand dragon! The first thing you see when the ensuite door opens is a towel rod. No tiles with the exception of the tub area and a dated contractor gray tile floor.

Ah, here are the contractor gray tiles! The shower area is crowded with hanging racks of beauty supplies and toiletries. There is a false bulkhead which does absolutely nothing but trap the moisture inside and create scum and mould! Additionally the ceiling inside the shower is not tiled and there is some water damage! This bulkhead has got to go!

A small shallow tub with rusted jets sits surrounded by equally tired faucets, downspout and shower-head. Next, the tile stops here – and abruptly! Notice the tiled wall above the tub, a space with no storage function but soon there will be a fabulous storage niche.

With little wing space here (for dragons or Design Fairy Godmothers),out came the faithful magic wand – very carefully and with extremely directed movements not needing too much elbowroom!

First, the wand brought forth the Design Fairy Godmother’s team of merry men of mirth and renovation magic. Arriving in a puff of smoke, in pure Draco style, they crowded into this small space – the contractor, plumber and electrician – and soon began to demolish the old and rebuild the new, following the magical design plan, and trying hard not to bump into one another (not unlike the Three Stooges).

Demolition! Remove those dastardly tiles, badly done electrical and plumbing and unsightly walls! Send back the old tub, toilet and sink to the gob trolls (who adore a good used toilet!).

Demolition of the tub/shower and the perfect wall for our tub niche and shelves. The niche is framed, dry-walled and ready for tile by our merry men.

And what a difference a tile makes! Our smoky waterfall glass tile is installed in the tub/shower area, while the taupe ceramic tile completes the shower wall. The dragon scales glass edge decorative tile and taupe ceramic tile are placed around the rest of the space giving it the appearance of a much wider room.

To create a niche storage space by the sink, we first removed the small medicine cabinet (more gob troll fodder), enlarged the cavity, reframed it and then finished with drywall. The sloppy electrical display was reconfigured for a clean and tidy usage of space.

Ahh, and now the finishing touches! Toilet paper roll, towel rack, hand towel holder and away we go.

The elevation drawing for the grand dragon ensuite.

The Design Fairy Godmother’s rough sketch for vanity and cabinet.

Then, the Design Fairy Godmother conjured a most enchanting design for a beautiful new custom vanity (with tons of storage!), matching mirror by ECLECTIC GALLERY and matching combination medicine cabinet/towel closet/storage unit that would hang above the new chamber pot (that's old-speak for toilet). These pieces were stained a deep espresso brown as in the master bedroom furniture and they featured beautiful art glass cutouts with a warm gray smoky texture right from the dragon’s mouth, as well as sharp masculine lines. A beautiful taupe colored countertop in CEASARSTONE from ARISTON MARBLE adorned our vanity, as did a square shaped under mount Mirabelle sink, and the AQUABRASS faucet in chrome, both from TAPS. The Square handles from LOWES and the square knobs from LEE VALLEY TOOLS in chrome gave it a sparkle!

The grand dragon ensuite transformation!

The tub/shower magical makeover reveals a niche storage area with crystal glass shelves, a hotel-style curved curtain rod, a deep spa soaker tub, and sparkling chrome faucet, spout and shower-head in a contemporary square design!

The allure of a harmonious and interesting tile combination! Our dragon scales decorative edge tile combines curved glass with natural taupe and brown marble stone and accents the taupe ceramic tile beautifully. The floor tile, a color combination of the smoky greenish gray with brown speckles compliments all of the different tiles used. The wall tiles gracefully transition into the shower’s feature wall, an underground dragon waterfall glass vertical tile.

For the Lady’s fiery French perfumes and sensual body butters, we created yet another storage space right by the sink, a Niche in the wall with crystal glass shelves from CANADA GLASS & MIRROR CO. Not an inch of space in this grand dragon bath was wasted on the pixies!

The niche storage area by the sink, complete with crystal shelves, is gently reflected in the custom mirror.

A gorgeous three-light chrome vanity fixture placed above the custom mirror, and a square chrome flush mount light fixture overhead, both from UNION, added even more radiance!

A contemporary chrome lighting fixture for the vanity placed above the mirror, and a square design overhead light fixture on the ceiling brings the right light ambiance into the space!

Using a feature edge tile, from OLYMPIA TILE, horizontally around the room, we created an optical illusion of breath and width – more space. This tile, reminiscent of dragon scales, was made of greenish/gray smoky colored glass with small square inserts of brown/beige marble, A medium taupe 6X6 square ceramic tile brought an earthy feel to the walls below our edge tile and around the room, creating high color contrast, with a little dragon-cave quality. The wall paint color from Sir BENJAMIN MOORE, in Hazy Skies #OC-48, a warm gray, gave us the air and dragon smoke above the tile to complete the optical illusion.

An American Standard soaker tub from TAPS was installed, with luscious square designed AQUABRASS chrome faucets, spout and shower head, from DUPONT PLUMBING. A feature wall of 2X6 greenish/gray smoky glass tiles from CENTURA, were placed vertically to create a feeling of a smoky underground waterfall. Another niche was built inside the shower area complete with a crystal glass shelf for all the Lady’s bath and beauty supplies. We also added a rounded hotel-style shower curtain rod and curtain, at the request of our precious Lady.

A square under-mount sink is paired with a taupe Ceasarstone counter top and accented with a shimmering chrome square design faucet!

A custom vanity, stained an espresso brown, designed to hold many items, has a huge amount of space. Inside is a large drawer with a chrome pull, and a shelf for maximum organization. The doors have an art glass geometric insert in a smoky gray, and it is highlighted with chrome square knobs.

Vanity detail, art glass insert and lovely chrome square knobs.

The custom designed medicine cabinet/towel closet and shelf piece is hung over the toilet with the matching mirror hung above the sink, all stained in espresso brown, to match the master bedroom furniture. Lucky dragon!

The cabinet has the same art glass insert detail and chrome knob as in the vanity. Inside the deep cabinet, there are two shelves for storage of towels and room for other items. In fact there’s so much space, you could throw in a gnome or two!

Lastly, to finish this spacious look, square floor tiles in greenish/gray porcelain with brown speckled texture also from OLYMPIA TILE, were laid diagonally.

No flying dragon in their right mind would pass up the chance to soak their scales and sooth their fiery breath with a luxurious bath in this sensuous lair!

The ravishing Lady of the Lake was pleased again and each time she relaxed in her new ensuite, she was reminded of the Grand Dragon, her royal blood grandfather, her mother’s dragon breath with her freshly fired childhood s’mores, and a particularly very cute Parisian of dragon-blood ancestry, who was responsible for many of her delicious and enticing perfumes... But that is another tale, a fairytale, even, although one I shan’t tell. Shh, my dear children!

THE END

AFTER Photos by Claire Louise Foster

INTERIOR DESIGN by Andrea Carini for Your Sacred Space Interiors

ANDREA’S DESIGN PEARLS of WISDOM

• When designing/renovating your condo nathroom, first review your Condo Rules & By-Laws. There may be restrictions on changes to plumbing, electrical wiring, roof and exterior of your condo, and be aware that these rules vary from place to place. This info will impact on your creativity, so get your facts straight from the King of Condo Rules and a great bathroom design will follow!

• New king and queen Bathrooms in your condo magically increase the value of your real estate! So, while you are luxuriating in your new soaker tub, know that your investment is getting richer!

• Make your space feel larger by creating optical Illusions with your bathroom design. Be clever with your paint choices and tile colors. Run a horizontal tile edge around a narrow space to make it look wider as in our mermaid bath. Use a darker tile on the bottom and a light paint color on top to lift your ceilings. Lay tiles diagonally to create breath in the space as in our grand dragon ensuite.

• You do not have to paint a small space white to make it look larger! Color has a dramatic effect on every space. Whatever feeling you wish to achieve, be it bold or serene, make a statement with your color design. Whatever visual effect you wish to create –cozy, cave-like, expansive – can also be achieved with your strategic color plan!

• Your condo bathroom needs every bit of space utilized cleverly for storage. Niches are nice: build niches in your shower area or by your sink, as in our mermaid and dragon bathroom designs. Display your beauty regime!

• Oversized medicine cabinets: purchase or custom Design an oversized medicine cabinet, like one that is fully mirrored as in our mermaid bath, or our custom cabinet with multi-functions designed for our grand dragon bath. Great ideas for tons of storage space!

• Custom vanity: a must! A good vanity is already an expensive investment so why not get one custom-designed to not only fit your space but also include features for the ultimate in organization and storage. While you’re at it—mix in your personality for that extra pizazz – as we did in our condo mermaid and grand dragon bathroom designs! Interesting handles and knobs can also add sparkle & charm.

• Replace a shallow tub with a lovely deep soaker with or without jets. It’s a spa-like feeling and there’s always room for one more. Add a glass half wall for the shower or a hotel-style curved rod with a very chic curtain of your choice.

• A custom frameless glass shower is a great choice for small condo bath spaces. Thick glass panels and hinges give your bathroom a wide open feeling. The glass comes in many different textures as well as clear and you can design your own sandblasted pattern should you wish. No little pixies, please!

• Don’t be predictable in your bathroom design! Here’s an opportunity to reflect your personality and style. Knight? Court jester? Wood nymph? Mythical creature? Elfin queen?