Project Spotlight: A Girls’ Bathroom Fit for a Mermaid

A Modern Beach House on The NJ Shore The homeowners of this oceanside home in Allenhurst, NJ worked with the design team of Salt Design Co. to help them achieve the look of a “clean and minimal home with a coastal edge.”  And while they wanted the design to be more masculine, it was also important that it tell the story of the ocean. Salt Design Co. Owner, Sarah Brady and Project Manager, Jessica Chepauskas wanted each space to feel unique, but worked to maintain continuity throughout the home. Instead of a literal beach theme, they wanted to infuse their signature “Salt Style,” a fresh, classic design inspired by the simplicity of living at the beach, while also incorporating the homeowners’ eclectic personality. While each of the seven en-suite bathrooms reflects the bedroom’s occupant, they still wanted to incorporate the overall style of the home, weaving elements of the ocean throughout each bathroom design. The end result is a gorgeous modern home full of clean lines juxtaposed with nautical nods and infusions of bohemian style.   Project Spotlight: A Girls’ Bathroom Fit for a Mermaid The homeowners wanted to do something fun and exciting in this bathroom shared by their two youngest daughters, while remaining elegant at the same time. Finding inspiration from the sea, the Salt Design Co. team used special ordered honed NEMO Marble in various colors of ‘calacatta’ to create a unique pattern that mimicked the scales of a fish or mermaid tail.  Also built into the design is a horizontal inset shelf that runs along the entire shower wall.   The fish scales pattern was created by using 3x3 marble ‘calacatta’ gold honed tiles.  A honed finish was chosen to offset the color variances of the natural stone that looks like the color of sand. A brass Schluter Strip seamlessly finishes the design. The flooring was designed to be simple in order to keep the focus on the gorgeous shower design. Area porcelain tile in color ‘gray’ in a matte finish was used in 12x24. The Area tile has an industrial look, which ties into the other bathrooms in the house, but in this application helps to balance the statement backdrop of the shower. The 12x24 sized tiles were continued onto the shower floor. Rare for large format tile to be used on a shower floor, the installer expertly cut in the tile to get the proper sloping for drainage. To tie in the overall nautical theme, a pair of sconces are reminiscent of an open oyster with a pearl. Privacy is achieved with lower frosted windows that still let’s the sunshine stream in.   While we were shooting this space, one of the girls popped in excited that “her bathroom was going to be famous!”  When asked what she liked most, she shared that “my bathroom is so pretty. The shower reminds me of a mermaid.”   Stay tuned for more highlights from this gorgeous shore home next week!   NEMO Products Used: Shower Wall: Marble in variations of gold honed finish ‘calacatta’ Bathroom & Shower Floor: Area porcelain tile in color ‘gray’ in a matte finish   Vendors: Designer: Salt Design Co. Sarah Brady & Jessica Chepauskas Vanity: F L Associates, Inc Builder: Monmouth Custom Builders Sconces: Salt Design Co. Mirror: Restoration Hardware Finishing Trim: Schluter Systems Grout: Laticrete