Bowling Green Home & Lifestyle — November/December 2022

The Haycraft-McKee Bathroom

Function with Color

By Diann Nichols·As published in Bowling Green Home & Lifestyle·4 min read

The remodeled Haycraft-McKee bathroom from the doorway: glass-enclosed walk-in shower with white herringbone subway tile and an aqua-glass mosaic niche on the left, a half-wall with a black heated towel bar, and a Galapagos Turquoise vanity with oval mirror on the right, all against St. John Blue walls above wide plank flooring.

Anne McKee grew up in Indiana but, like many of us, moved to Bowling Green to attend Western Kentucky University. And, like many of us, she stayed for four years after she graduated. But then ”I went to get my master’s degree and thought I would be coming right back,” she said. “Now, 32 years later, I’m back!”

Anne and her husband, Ken Haycraft, decided to return to Bowling Green after she retired. But the housing market was crazy. They finally found a house on Sandwedge Court but it didn’t have the bathroom or kitchen she wanted. “My husband promised if we bought the house, that would be the first thing we changed.” So, 18 months ago they moved from Phoenix and started the process of remodeling the oddly configured bathroom.

By using a 3-D rendering technique, builder Tim Graham, who owns Design Builders, was able to create a space the homeowners love. “It turned out that there was more room there than had originally met the eye,” recalled Tim. “The client just allowed us to reconfigure the space to get a lot more usable space out of almost the same footprint we had before. We were able to even get a sauna in that same space.”

“It turned out that there was more room than had originally met the eye.”
— Tim Graham, quoted in the feature

The original Haycraft bathroom before the remodel: a designer in a camel coat uses a tape measure at a tight shower-tub-closet intersection. An old glass-door shower stall sits at far right, a built-in linen cabinet fills the center wall, and a double-sink vanity with masking-taped mirror is partially visible at left. — Before: the original footprint had a glass-door shower stall, a bulky built-in linen cabinet, and a cramped double-sink vanity — a layout that "didn't have the bathroom she wanted," in Anne's words.

The remodeled bathroom shown as a full panorama: the glass-enclosed walk-in shower at left, the first Galapagos Turquoise vanity with oval mirror and tall linen cabinet, the pocket-door entry to the water closet at center, a second matching vanity, and the Western cedar sauna with smoked-glass door at right — all against St. John Blue walls over wide plank flooring. — After: the same footprint reads as a light, open room. Shower, two vanities, pocket-door water closet, and a cedar sauna all fit comfortably within a reconfigured layout.

A 3-D rendering of the proposed Haycraft bathroom, looking toward the Galapagos Turquoise vanity with a colorful abstract artwork on the side wall and a frosted barn door visible at right. — 3-D rendering, pre-build: vanity view with the proposed barn door and heated towel bar.

A 3-D rendering of the proposed Haycraft bathroom, looking toward the walk-in shower with herringbone tile and aqua niche, a heated towel bar, and the second teal vanity. — 3-D rendering, pre-build: shower view with the proposed aqua niche and herringbone tile.

In addition to a sauna, the bathroom contains such great-to-have items like a heated floor, heated towel bar, LED lighting, a Washlet bidet, and separate vanities with sinks.

To pull these items together into a cohesive design, the homeowners relied on Rachel Harris, design project manager at Creative Interiors Design Center. “Rachel is top notch,” exclaimed Anne, “and wonderful to work with. Ken and I have pretty funky taste. It was fun working with Rachel and talking her into some of the colors I just love.”

As for the homeowners, Rachel said, “They’re very artsy. Very creative. They love all colors. And they just really wanted to be able to enjoy the space with the colors that they love.”

Those colors, including walls painted in St. John Blue by Benjamin Moore and Galapagos Turquoise cabinets also by Benjamin Moore, make you feel like you just stepped onto a beautiful tropical beach. The dimmable LED lighting offers a low profile for a clean look while the heated shower floor’s smooth pebble mosaic gives the feel of wading in a creek on a hot, summer day.

The original double-sink vanity: cream-painted cabinetry with a knee-well in the center, a large framed mirror spanning the full width, and pink measurement marks written on the walls above and beside it. — Before: the original double-sink vanity, shown mid-design with dimensions sketched on the walls. In Rachel's words, it "did not utilize the space very well."

One of the new vanities: deep Galapagos Turquoise cabinetry with matte black drawer pulls, a white quartz countertop with undermount sink, a matte black faucet, and a tall linen tower at left. A black oval mirror is centered over the sink against the St. John Blue wall, lit by a linear LED sconce overhead. — After: one of the two new matching vanities, in Galapagos Turquoise (Benjamin Moore) against St. John Blue walls.

The second of the two matching vanities: Galapagos Turquoise cabinetry with black hardware, white quartz countertop, matte black faucet, and an oval black-framed mirror above. The Western cedar sauna with smoked-glass door is visible through the doorway to the right. — The two matching vanities were placed on separate walls so the room stays open — a small floor-plan decision that makes the bathroom feel much larger. The Western cedar sauna is just visible through the doorway at right.

The heated floor isn’t the shower’s only unique feature. The diverter that controls the water is conveniently located just inside the shower door, allowing the homeowners to control the water flow and temperature before getting in the shower. A custom niche of glossy porcelain Emser tiles in a beautiful Aqua color is set within the 8”x24” Gris color ceramic tiles fashioned in a herringbone pattern. A heated towel bar on the outside of the shower’s half wall has a timer control so the towels are always warm when exiting the shower.

A three-quarter view into the walk-in shower: white herringbone subway tile on all walls, a rectangular aqua-glass mosaic niche with matte black trim, a rain shower head, a handheld sprayer, matte black grab bars, and a pebble mosaic floor. To the right, the half-wall separating the shower carries a black ladder-style heated towel bar. — Inside the shower: herringbone subway tile, the aqua Emser niche, pebble mosaic floor, rain head, and handheld sprayer. The heated towel bar mounts on the outside of the half wall with a timer so towels are warm on exit.

A tight close-up of the shower niche: a row of glossy aqua-colored porcelain tiles set in a diamond pattern, framed by matte black edging, set into a herringbone white subway-tile wall with visible black grab bars on either side. — Close-up of the aqua Emser tile niche, set in a diamond pattern and framed into the herringbone wall.

Another great feature in the bathroom is the remote controlled Washlet bidet seat by American Standard.

This heated seat plugs into the wall, fits most elongated toilets, and operates with the touch of a button. A pocket door provides privacy in the water closet while taking up little space. Likewise, the closet’s barn door allows for unobstructed floor space and the large, frosted glass panels maintain the open, airy feel of the room. With numerous grab bars, low/no thresholds and wide doorways, this ground-floor bathroom is optimally designed for aging in place gracefully.

A teal-painted barn door with four frosted-glass panels slides on a black iron track; the door sits between the St. John Blue wall at left and the glass-enclosed shower at right, above wide plank flooring. — The teal barn door with frosted glass panels replaces a traditional swing door, freeing floor space while the glass keeps the room feeling open and airy.

But probably the most unique feature of the bathroom is the sauna. With a smoked glass door, the Western cedar sauna by Amerec is fully blue-tooth accessible and can be operated from a smart phone. The smaller footprint allows the sauna to be installed in existing spaces. To accommodate the sauna and other unique features of the bathroom, all wiring and plumbing was reconfigured and redone. But the homeowners ultimately got the bathroom they wanted.

The Western cedar sauna by Amerec, shown with its smoked-glass door open: red-toned cedar walls, bench seats, and ceiling with inset lighting glow warmly against the surrounding St. John Blue walls. A glimpse of the herringbone shower tile is reflected in the glass door. — The Amerec Western cedar sauna, installed in what used to be the water closet. Smoked-glass door, Bluetooth-accessible, operable from a smartphone.

“We really focus on the function of the space,” said Rachel. “Our ultimate goal is to give them the bathroom that they want and how we get there, whatever route we take to get there, that’s okay. We just want them to be happy with the end product.”