INNOVATION IN DESIGN AWARDS 2010
 

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NESTLING A CONTEMPORARY BATH in a rugged home rife with rustic floors and timbers took exceptional finesse by designer McKee Patterson and his team at Austin Patterson Disston Architects. The Pound Ridge, NY, barn was renovated to blend modern design elements with its former farm-like look. Painted steel walls were introduced in the foyer and continue into the master bath on the third floor, which is positioned between the bedroom and the dressing room. The bath suite overlooks the main stairwell and thus needed to be enclosed for privacy purposes, but Patterson made sure not to entirely isolate the space. By using frosted glass as the bathroom walls, "it allows much-needed light into these spaces and creates a strong design grid that is carried over into the kitchen," he says.

Patterson opted for perfectly symmetrical elements; his-and-hers Kohler sinks sit on either side of a sleek Duravit Happy D tub, and two frosted glass doors open to reveal a chrome Dornbracht shower and Kohler toilet. Pine flooring–a nod to the home's pastoral origins–coupled with Teragren bamboo cabinets and Caesar quartz countertops soften the sharp details and create a warm ambience. And the window above the tub, overlooking Blue Heron Lake, is an added bonus.

BATHING BEAUTY (click image for larger view)