Bathroom Design Tip 2: Hide Plumbing Behind Strategic Architecture

There were plenty of tricky slopes and angles to reckon with in this three-storey home nestled in Nanaimo’s Old City Quarter neighbourhood. “It was quite awkward to work within the floor plan,” admits Alana Dick, principal of Ivory Design Company. The primary ensuite had a vaulted ceiling and was cornered against multiple exterior walls, and updated building codes made the placement of essentials (like plumbing and a soaker tub—both equally important for the bath-loving homeowners) a bit of a puzzle. So, the designer placed the tub in the lowest part of the room and built out ledges along the walls. The modest ceiling height still feels expansive for anyone sitting in the bath, and the tiled ledge hides away the pipes, with only the sleek, minimal faucet peeking out. Bonus: the shelf created by building out the wall holds art, candles and other soothing bathtime essentials, and the angle keeps things cozy. It may have been a functional necessity, but it looks like a stylistic choice. “We made it into a feature,” Dick says.

Knock It Down

During the reno, the Ivory Design team removed a wall that separated the bathroom from a walk-in closet. The new walk-through closet, painted in a serene green, has just as much storage, and the space feels brighter.

Mixing Materials

There’s lots of white in this bathroom, but plenty of texture, too: there’s vertical shiplap, hexagonal floor tiles, square shower tiles and subtly veined marble countertops. Dick recommends mixing patterns when a colour palette leans monochrome. “It adds interest,” she says.