A native of Arizona, Brad Harris wanted a Southwestern feel to the third floor of his Mount Pleasant row home. His vision for openness combined elements of Frank Lloyd Wright — his favorite architect — with a contemporary Asian vibe. Harris, who publishes directories, developed a plan to transform three bedrooms into a master suite and a large bathroom with light, stone, and open spaces.
“I wanted a big bathroom,” he said, “with room to move around in.”
Ascending the third floor staircase, there’s no hint of enlightenment–only the creaks of a ninety year old house. The terrain changes drastically as you set foot on the landing. A Zenlike sanctuary, the bathroom is staged in a meditative progression from shower to tub to sink to toilet — across a wide expanse.
“It’s a giant bathroom — the shower is insane,” said Mike Johnson of Art Design Build. “We tore everything out of the third floor.”
With entrances on both sides and no doors, the shower features a lighted rain box in the ceiling with multiple flows and angles. One of many unique nuances, the shaving niche carved into the wall with a mirror and waterproof lights is every man’s dream.
“It makes it easy to shave and it’s easy to clean,” he said. “I like the openness of the bathroom.”
A stone partition — with tan tile squares on one side and ledge stones in a stack-wall pattern on the other — separates the shower from a large Parisian tub on the other side. Above the tub is a skylight against a chocolate brown ceiling.
“My favorite things are the artwork and the tub,” he said. “When I come home stressed from work, I get in the tub and I’m doing all right.”
The artwork approaches the divine. A photograph and Buddhist statue transform the space and provide two lasting focal points of meditation and calm.
Spanning the back wall to the left of the entrance is a photograph of five young Buddhist monks in orange saffron robes on a porch in Laos. Each holds a different captivating gaze. The statue, a copper bust of Buddha, sits on a washstand.
“It came from Persia,” said Harris. “My grandmother set up the library system in Tehran.”
Wright’s influence can be seen in the broad openness of the space but also in the interior details. The trim, the doors, and the sinks reflect a fastidious attention to detail. The design firm sanded, milled and stained the trim cherry on site. The two sink boxes, made of Brazilian mahogany, match the trim and add to a rich color palette of tans, browns, and reddish browns.
The white shag bathroom rugs against the tan floor tiles reinforce the desert feel and bring it all back home.
“He came to us with concepts and we executed them,” said Mike Johnson. “Everything was debated and good choices were made.”
