Art Deco Style Meets Modern Sensibility in a Glamorous Master Bath

After living in a Victorian-era home with tiny bathrooms and cramped shower-tubs, a St. Louis family was craving something more luxurious. For three years the owners dreamed and planned, finally building an addition that included a luxurious new art deco–inspired bathroom.

Art deco was an apt choice. Achieving popularity a few decades after the decline of the Victorian era, deco was glamorous and less fussy than its predecessor, but still richly detailed, lending itself to a cleaner, brighter look that jibes with the bathroom's spaciousness and modern-day functionality. It also makes it seem as though the house and the new addition evolved slowly over the past hundred-plus years, as opposed to an obviously contemporary design that would have contrasted with the rest of the home.

"The style of the bathroom blends the elegant and romantic feeling of the Victorian-era home and their modern needs," says Joni Spear, the interior designer on the project.

Photos by Matthew Harrer Photography

While the original architectural plans had swinging doors, Spear wanted pocket doors to emphasize the focal point in the room. Textured glass in a rain pattern keeps the feeling open while maintaining privacy. As the doors slide away, they direct the eye to a freestanding bathtub that's a chic, updated take on a Victorian claw-foot tub. Spear originally imagined a crystal chandelier here, but because of safety codes went with an elegant flush-mount fixture instead — also placed to emphasize the bathtub as focal point.

The herringbone floor pattern leads the eye to the bathtub as well. "The homeowner had ripped an image of this tile out of a magazine years earlier, but unfortunately, the size [4 inches by 12 inches] was discontinued," Spear says. She painstakingly drew a plan for the floor tiles that required custom cutting each tile on the bias from 12- by 24-inch slabs. All of that meticulous work paid off; the result is an exquisite, one-of-a-kind marble floor.


While the room is fresh, bright and updated, its elements respect the original home's history. Working with contractor Steve McMillan, Spear took the subway tile wainscoting to the same height as the wainscoting in the rest of the house. The original bathrooms had marble floors, so the new marble floor provides continuity.


While it doesn't emulate anything in the rest of the house, the floor-mounted chrome tub faucet from Jado has a graceful curve that suits the new bathroom's art deco style.
Bathtub: Toulouse, Victoria + Albert; tub filler: Floor Mounted Tub Filler Faucet with Personal Hand Shower, Jado; floor tile: Asher Gray Marble, Ann Sacks (custom cut); bullnose molding, cove base tile pieces: Daltile


Because the high wainscoting takes up a good portion of the wall, the owners were able to go brighter with the paint color. "It took us three tries to get the color exactly right and bright enough," Spear says. "It's very important to see the paint color at different times of the day in different light to make sure it's right."

As for the fact that the tiles don't all match, Spear says, "This is not tile Garanimals!" The designer felt free to mix and match several marble types and brands to get the look she wanted.

Shades: Originale, Hunter Douglas Silhouettes: paint: Waterscape, Sherwin-Williams; subway tile: 3- by 6-inch white Thassos marble, Ann Sacks


After being packed into the tight space that results when shower curtains are rigged around a claw-foot tub, the homeowners were ready for a spacious walk-in shower. Clear glass keeps the feeling open and light, even when the door is closed. The amount of space and the layout determined where the shower stall would go. A smaller basket-weave tile pattern adds a new rhythm to the shower floor.

Medicine cabinets: Polished Chrome Metallique, Robern; basket-weave tile: Thassos Celeste, Ann Sacks


"In a more modern-style bathroom, we would have made the entire shower stall divider glass, but because we wanted to keep that feeling inspired by the historic part of the home, we took the tile up partway," Spear explains.


His-and-her custom vanities topped with Super White quartzite break up all of the perfect symmetry created by the tub, windows and herringbone floor. The placement of the two vanities allows each of them to look a little different from the other without throwing things off.

Beveled mirrors conceal recessed medicine cabinets and add major art deco style.


Like the shower floor, the polished nickel hardware on the vanities has a basket-weave pattern. Together with the sconces, they add more art deco detail and shine.

Other carpentry details, like the paneled door and window trim, are in keeping with the home's pedigree. The new bathroom respects the original house's style and history while functioning beautifully.

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