The owners of this historic Manhattan home had stopped using their primary bathroom entirely. The drywall had been failing for years, and the room had no shower. They were walking across the hall to the study bath instead. This was the third and last bathroom in the house, and the goal was to actually fix it and bring them back into the room.
The original bathroom was also full of details worth keeping: a console vanity with chrome legs, a makeup vanity with a multi-light fixture, a built-in medicine cabinet, a tub, and original hardware — re:done worked around all of it. To make room for a new tile shower, the original linen cabinet and radiator were removed. However, the mirrored multi-light door design of the linen cabinet doors was preserved by reproducing it on a new cabinet next to the toilet, so both sides of the room read as a set. The console legs and chrome fixtures were rechromed to match. The original toilet paper holder and toothbrush holder were cleaned and reused. The tub stayed.
Tile and wainscot were chosen to update the room without erasing its Art Deco character. Proper ventilation was added — the actual root cause of years of drywall failure. A tileable linear drain went in the shower. The room that hadn’t been used in years became the one they actually wanted.
