Your Cart Is Empty
What type of hardware are you looking for?
A Whimsical Master Bathroom Transformation
Designer Whitney Talsma of Oliver James Interiors, a Boston-based residential design studio, created a colorful, luxurious master bathroom that has everything we love: apothecary-style vanity, tons of natural lighting, and of course, lots of hardware!
Q: Tell us a bit about this project.
A: The #TallOaksSherborn project encompasses a lot of different rooms in this home, including her master bathroom/closet, his master bathroom, a grandkids suite, a basement beauty salon complete with commercial grade salon furniture and equipment, a massage room, and a powder room.
One of my boldest clients, she wasn't afraid of color and pattern, which I love—life is too short to hold back and not take design risks that reflect your interests and personality. She wanted this space to be a luxurious, cheerful retreat, and with an innate design eye herself, we were able to collaborate more than typical.
Photography Jessica Delaney
Photography Jessica Delaney
Q: What was your design process? Any challenges?
A: The first step was determining the client's needs and wants and figuring out a floor plan that accomplished those. Their newly purchased home only had one bathroom, which wouldn't work for their lifestyle, so we decided to use the adjacent guest bedrooms to gain the extra space she needed for her bathroom and closet suite.
We worked with the builder Copper Leaf Development and DNA Architecture to develop a plan that included adding a new vaulted beamed ceiling in one of the bathrooms, which allowed us to showcase a big Venetian window that was hiding in the attic! Besides adding more natural light into the space, they now have a beautiful view of the lake in their backyard. These architectural changes took this bathroom space from feeling basic to grand and luxurious.
The actual design process started with a pink coral tile we fell in love, which can be found in the shower. It happened to coordinate perfectly with a statement piece of art the client already had, and from there, we built off the art for some other design choices.
Photography by Jessica Delaney
“By highlighting beautiful architectural details in the design, we transformed a basic space into a grand and luxurious bathroom.“
Q: When designing this space, what was the most important factor for you?
A: This bathroom was by far the largest we have worked on, and we wanted it to be very special and hold its own. That meant not skimping on the details, from the architectural elements, to the wallpaper and down to the hardware. My client loves lots of character, special details in the smallest form, and overall making her rooms feel like experiences, so ensuring the bathroom design reflected that was important.
Photography by Jessica Delaney
Q: Why did you choose to feature hardware so prominently in the vanity?
A: Well, when it comes to details, hardware plays a vital role because it can be the cherry on top of any design. My client loves jewelry, so naturally, she loves Modern Matter hardware since it is just like pieces of jewelry but for your furniture! It was a no-brainer to incorporate Modern Matter into the bathroom design. However, before hardware was chosen, we worked with Vartanian Custom Cabinets, Inc. to create a custom vanity that reflected our love for apothecary furniture pieces and would be a unique vanity design. Although this piece looks like individual drawers and doors, they open up as much bigger pieces for functional storage, such as a tilt-out hamper, sky-high storage towers, and more. And because nothing is basic in this space, what better way to make it even more special than to have unique, stunning hardware on this apothecary-style vanity for a truly one-of-a-kind look? With all of the faux doors and drawers, it allowed us to showcase even more of the beautiful hardware than if we were to do a simpler design.
Photography by Jessica Delaney
“My client loves jewelry, so naturally, she loves Modern Matter hardware since it is just like pieces of jewelry but for your furniture!“
Q: What are your favorite details or products used on this project?
A: No doubt the hardware is one of the best parts of the bathroom, especially when they are multiplied on the special apothecary-style vanity. They make the space feel so glam! And although it can't be seen in pictures, the statement multi-tiered milk globe chandelier hanging from the center of the vaulted ceiling is a WOW moment!
Photography by Jessica Delaney
Q: Any tips or tricks you can share with us?
A: Follow your style and create what makes you happy instead of playing it safe because you're concerned about resale value or feeling like others aren't going to like it. You're the one living in the rooms here and now so go for it! Push yourself a little outside of your comfort zone!
Q:Where can we keep up with your work?
A: My website is www.oliverjamesinteriors.com, where you can also sign up for our quarterly newsletter! I am also on Instagram @oliverjames_interiors and Facebook Oliver James Interiors LLC.
Welcome back