Bathing Beauty

Designing and decorating your bath is more than just positioning the shower and choosing a faucet and linens. It's also about creating a room that can cater to a variety of activities (the bath is the original multipurpose room) that's also a restful and soothing spot to unwind. This bath does just that. It's a fantastic blend of style, layout and materials that works together confidently to create a retreat that's nothing less than fabulous.

• The creative design for this bath takes a space that could've just as easily been set aside for storage and turns it into a truly lovely retreat. A bump-out in the steep roof bisected by a wall partition creates two essential spots: one for the sunken tub and a smaller space behind that houses the commode.
• Brick-red walls, along with white wood panels for the ceiling, chair rail and tub surround, form an unlikely combination. But the deep russet hue does well to make the cozy recessed nooks even more snug while the wood panels brighten the space.
• One of the most noticeable elements here is the use of exposed timbers. Even though the wood framing isn't necessary for structural support, its presence is essential in continuing the home's timber frame aesthetic. These gorgeous timbers also define the bump-out space for the tub.
• For all of the straight lines and 90-degree angles in this room, there's a soft floral motif to take the edge off. The stencil on the wall behind the tub and hand-painted dresser are more permanent fixtures while the area rugs on the floor and bath towels are elements that can be updated as trends and styles shift.