DeLara Bathroom

When Ute De Lara, the Director of Eagle Rock Montessori, wanted to give her dated, and worn bathrooms a fresh look she asked her daughter Dee, the Creative Director & VP of Smashbox Studios who recommended McShane Murnane, Architectural Director of Project M+.

Both the client and architect were interested in using sustainable materials. Murnane’s approach to sustainable design is not just in choosing “green” products, but also it’s about resisting trends; finding materials that are artful and timeless that will live with the house for decades. They chose Heath ceramic tile to answer the clients brief: modern with a local artisan quality. The hand made tiles bring in a warm textural quality to the space. Murnane juxtaposed the organic tiles with sleek German made wall mounted cabinets. The client initially resisted the combination of tiles and cabinets, but were won over by McShane who thought it was important to combine the looks for the bathrooms to blend with the rest of the house.

The bathroom was meticulously detailed with a flush floor to eliminate the curb in the shower and a hand towel storage trough tucked into the bathtub wall. The tile was painstakingly laid out to minimize tile cutting and all adjacent tile surfaces have a bull-nose specific to the direction of the tile to seamlessly transition around corners. Skylights were added to both bathrooms and reduce the clients so the client rarely needs to use artificial lighting. All these details make for a tranquil, clean feel. Architect