Hand towels: where do you put them?

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This week I am selecting some of the small but important elements that go into finishing a house – the bath hardware, including the towel bars.  Given that we are nearing the end of a project that has involved hundreds (probably more like thousands!) of decisions, I am grateful for Restoration Hardware – their lines of stylish bath hardware in both chrome and polished nickel finishes have made the selections quite easy. 

My favorite design at Restoration Hardware is Chatham.  It is simple and timeless, with a nice elegant scale that works well in the new house.

Bath hardware is fairly straightforward, but I have found that the approach to the placement of hand towels is quite personal and is often dictated by the architecture and design of the space.  In general, I have observed that my designer likes to place hand towels on the counter, both in half bathrooms and the main bathrooms.  If there is a strong client preference to hang them on a wall (and the layout and design allows for this), as a general rule she prefers 18” towel bars over towel rings.  I have never really given much thought to this topic, but it has emerged that my husband has a preference for hanging hand towels whenever possible. 

 

I looked through my inspiration files, and saw many examples of hand towels placed on counters, similar to the way it is shown in this picture.  This is a good solution for this space - a towel bar or ring could not be mounted on the wall to the left of the sink because of the plugs and light switches. 

This powder room has hand towels on a tray.  There is room for a towel ring or bar on the wall, but the walls remain clear and uncluttered by placing the hand towels on the counter.

I am not crazy about where the hand towels are hanging in this bathroom – draping them over the bar in the front of the vanity breaks up its pretty lines.

Many of my pictures are from magazine features, where some of the necessities of daily life are whisked away or airbrushed out.  This bathroom doesn’t seem to have a hand towel in sight, although to be fair one side of the wall can’t be seen. 

I love this picture of a sink under a window, via Belgian Pearls.  There is something so appealing about being able to look out of a window when at a sink.  Note the hand towels neatly folded on the counter.  My only issue with this is that in every day use, I suspect that the hand towels might start to look a bit messy draped on the counter.

Personally, I am a fan of a simple small towel bar if the space and style of the vanity allow for it. 

Powder rooms often have different requirements than bathrooms attached to bedrooms.  In this bathroom, a towel bar on the wall near each sink makes sense to me. Small towel bars, usually 18”, provide room for a hand towel and a washcloth.  Although harder to find, 12” towel bars are also sold in some lines.  We are cutting down 18” towel bars for a couple of the bathrooms where there is not much wall space – an advantage of having a variety of tools at the construction site.

In my inspiration file pictures, there are quite a few master bathroom spaces that don’t seem to have a designated place for the hand towel.  Designer and blogger Brooke Giannetti designed this space – I must ask her whether the intent is for the hand towel to rest on the counter or be hidden away. 

Another example of the ‘hand towel bar free look’ is seen in this bathroom. I assume it was staged for a real estate photo or a magazine shoot, but there are no hand towels to be seen.

This bathroom is another one of  my favorites, and looking at it with new eyes, I spot an towel bar mounted on the side of the cabinet.  If a hand towel bar is used, there are many who prefer to use an 18” bar rather than a ring.  Architecture by Brooks &  Falotico,  interior design by Boxwood Interiors.

This is a beautiful bathroom (architecture by Brooks &  Falotico), but what strikes me the most is the abundance of towels in the space. There are towels underneath the sink, on the counter, and on a towel ring.  Interestingly, this is one of the few pictures in my files that shows a bathroom with a towel ring for the hand towel.  This bathroom has paneling, so the more compact design of a towel ring makes sense.  

So, where do you prefer to place a hand towel? Do you prefer placing it on the counter, hiding it away, or on the wall?  If you like the hand towel on the wall, what is your preference - towel bar or ring?

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Subway tile

Last year, I wrote a post about items that might be considered ‘trendy’  design elements that scream the 2000s (click here to see post).  There were a few elements that my readers considered to be ‘trendy’, yet also classic given that they are elements that seem to come back into vogue every 25 years or so.   Subway tile is perhaps the best example of this phenomenon.  Given that this ‘trend’ has been around for quite a few years, I often read posts on home improvement boards that one should think very carefully about whether to install subway tile in a house, given that homeowners and designers have been using it (and maybe overusing it) for years now.  I think there might be a feeling of fatigue with this style.

And yet, it is such a clean and tailored look, and speaks to a simple, classic, and low maintenance style that appeals to me.  It can be quite economical if a simple machine made subway tile is selected, although it can be quite expensive if a hand made tile is selected (easily double the price of a nice natural stone).

Subway tile gained its name from its use in the New York City subway system, which opened in 1904.  The rectangular, white ceramic tile was selected for its durable and stain resistant nature, and the light color and high gloss were a good choice for the subterranean spaces of the subway.  White subway tile represents a vintage, early 20th century style that has seen a huge resurgence in popularity in the first decade of the 21st century.  A good write up on the history of subway tile can be found here.

I tend to be very low key about bathroom decor, and when we selected the tile for the kids’ bathrooms, my request was simple, classic, low maintenance.  Whatever goes in the bathroom now will be there for many years. Both my architect and designer like a simple bathrooms for kids, so we are going to go with subway tile on the walls of the bath/shower, and a pretty basketweave mosaic on the floor. 

Waterworks Paxton border

Waterworks Winsdor rail

Waterworks Cottage subway field tile

We were planning on adding a decorative border to add an interesting element to the simple subway tile design – the charming Waterworks Paxton border and the matching cottage field tile.  All was fine, until we realized that we needed an additional rail piece above and below to frame the border – and the combination of all of the elements puts me way over budget for the kids bathrooms.  I am mulling over switching to a simple machine made 3”x6” glossy white subway tile with no decorative border – but I have not made a definitive decision yet. 

When searching for images of subway tile, I came across this one – the simplicity of the tile, combined with the vintage character of the floor, really reminds me of the NYC subway!   Source unknown.

It is not uncommon to install subway tile with no decorative element, which makes for a very simple and clean look – but maybe a bit too tailored?  Although I like the look of this shower, somehow it seems a bit bare.  House Beautiful, image via Houzz.

An interesting floor, and in particular an interesting vintage style floor, helps to give some interest to this bathroom, where the walls appear to be simple subway tile with no decoative border. Image via Houzz – Valerie Pedersen Interior Design.

Another simple subway tile design on the walls, with a fabulous floor.  Image from Artistic Tile and Stone, via Houzz. Click here for more images of this bathroom.

A bathroom posted by a Gardenweb reader, simple with no accent border.  The grout is darker, and the subway tile is by Daltile – Rittenhouse Square arctic white 3x6 subways. Gray or dark grout is another way to make the pattern of the subway tile more pronounced (and also hides dirt quite well!).

Another look that is frequently employed when installing subway tile is a decorative border of some sort, in order to add interest to the simplicity of the design.  Image via http://www.rossingtonarchitecture.com/

This bathroom uses a small shimmery mosaic tile as a decorative element to break up the expanse of the subway tile.

The guest bathroom in designer Lori Tippins’ home is really exquisite.  The hexagon marble mosaic on the floor, the clean subway tile with white grout, the beautiful green/blue on the walls – it speaks of a spa-like serenity.    I love how Lori added a special touch to the shower space by bordering the window with a decorative tile.

Erika  @ Urban Grace Interiors uses a simple, clean subway tile, but also uses a decorative border at the top.  Via decorpad.  I am definitely a fan of contrasting the crisp whiteness of the subway tile with a pretty paint color on the wall.

I like this look – little mosaic tiles, an accent stripe, a border, and subway tiles above.  The mosaics repeated in the niche are a beautiful and effective accent.

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I think a lively wallpaper works beautifully with the simplicity of the subway tile.  It appears as if a dark gray grout was used with this tile, which works quite well with the tone of the floor. Image via Remodelista – William Sofield design in the Soho Grand Hotel.

 

Another look that I love is subway tile in a beautiful color.  This one, via Milk and Honey, caught my eye.

Brooke Giannetti selected a beautiful green tile with herringbone accent for this bathoom.

 

The subtle taupe of the handmade tile, available at Renaissance Tile in Atlanta, is the perfect accent to the mosaic on the shower floor, also available at Renaissance.  I love the square drain!

A soft, spa-like look is achieved with the light blue of this subway tile.  http://www.lda-architects.com/ via Houzz.  As much as I like the look of the colored subway tile, it seems like such a color commitment.  I am more in the camp of using a neutral/white subway tile, and bringing in the color with paint.

So, readers, what are your thoughts on subway tile?  Are you tired of this trend, or do you see it as a classic element that might date to the early 2000s, but never really be out of style?

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Design selections: the pool bathroom sink

Over the past 6 months, I have discussed some of the aspects of the design process for the new house. Now that we have broken ground, we are finalizing some design decisions, which is very gratifying given that we are now 10 months into the project!

In the early stages of a custom home project, my designer (Suzanne) likes to do a very high level furniture plan as soon as the house floor plan is established, simply as a way to set a stake in the ground and get a sense for the furniture that can be used from the current house, and get a feel for the amount of furniture/lighting/accessories that will need to be found and purchased for the new space. With this is mind, she can start keeping her eye out for special items that will make a space unique. We went through the high level furniture plan in December, but it wasn’t until this month that we started to talk about the specifics (Suzanne likes to wait until the client has actually broken ground to get into specifics – a smart thing in this day and age when getting a construction loan is brutal!).

One of the first elements selected for the house was the vanity for the casual half bathroom, which will also be used as the pool bathroom. Very early on Suzanne felt as if the Bradley Hughes McCoy sink would be the perfect choice for is space, simply because it is somewhat unexpected and provides a nice contrast to the tailored and elegant aesthetic in the architecture. Even though this might seem like an edgy choice for me, as I tend to gravitate to more traditional forms, I immediately loved it and felt like it would be perfect in the space. I asked Suzanne to push me a bit from my usual traditional aesthetic, and I love that this sink has a great ‘rough luxe’ feel that will be very functional for a space that will get a lot of traffic, and is both hardy with its concrete sink and sculptural with its iron base.

The McCoy Vanity is fashioned from solid iron, and the base is hand hammered by a skilled iron forger. The sink can come with or without a hammered shelf; we are going to have a shelf. Everything that Bradley Hughes makes is hand crafted in Atlanta, and hand finished. One of Suzanne’s favorite finishes is rubbed bronze, which is a 4-5 step process of layered paint; there are 8 additional finishes available, including white, black, platinum, gold, chocolate, grinded steel, rubbed bronze, antique gold, and aged pewter. There is a new finish coming out soon, called tru bronze - it is real bronze applied to the base, and it gives the base a Giacometti look.

The sink is made from poured concrete that is custom colored. Suzanne frequently uses the sinks and the coffee tables in her designs; Michelle Bradley noted that Suzanne knows how to design with the concrete, and appreciates its versatility. The sink that we are using can look more on the traditional side – like an old found object – but is can also look edgy and contemporary based on the finish that is selected.

The McCoy sink also comes in a small vanity with no shelf. As everything is custom made, all Bradley Hughes products can be order to your exact specifications.

We are pairing this sink with a Newport Brass 1000 series faucet in an antiqued pewter finish (not the finish in this picture), which was chosen for its quirky lines.

An early concept was to use two freestanding shelves/etageres that could be used for towels and such (this is, after all, going to be used in part as a pool bathroom), but now it looks like we will flank the sink with built in cabinets that have drawers down low and open shelves above counter height (for towels and baskets). Suzanne has also been talking about using a beautiful hand painted Walker Zanger ceramic tile on the wall behind the sink; the tiles might be out of my budget, so we will wait and see on that.

Michelle was recently featured in Atlanta Magazine – click here for a great article on her story and the Bradley Hughes line (the McCoy sink in her showroom can be seen in this picture – in one of her edgier finish combinations).

Bradley Hughes is an Atlanta based, to the trade custom furniture firm with representation nationwide. What started out as a small custom enterprise by designer Michelle Bradley is growing by leaps and bounds and is finding its way into homes nationwide. Michelle started her company in 2003 as she was often not able to find the kind of furniture she was looking for, at the right price point. She started in upholstery, but has expanded into other lines, and is particularly well known for her edgy concrete and metal pieces (her iron coffee table with a concrete top is stunning). I love her unique mirrors, with their acid washed surfaces, and she also has a successful lighting line that has been a hit with both interior designers and set designers (pieces from her lighting line were used in the Sex and the City movie). Bradley Hughes is a favorite source for top designers who like clean lines, unique designs, and great materials, and the line is a particular favorite of Suzanne’s.

Look at this fabulous room featuring Bradley Hughes upholstery and casegoods. I am intrigued by those chairs – Bradley Hughes has really unique upholstery that can’t be found anywhere else.

This console, with its sculptural iron base and concrete top, is a favorite of mine.

I saw this concrete top coffee table in the showroom at the design center, and was very drawn to it.

A great, soft version of a classic wing chair.

Here is the cool chair from the room picture.

Bradley Hughes is also known for their beautiful and unique mirrors, with acid washes that make them look one of a kind and unique.

Michelle has recently expanded into a lighting collection that promises to be as unique as the rest of the Bradley Hughes line. I particularly like this hanging light.

For more information on Bradley Hughes furniture, please visit the website - bradley-hughes.com. There are so many beautiful designs, I can’t even begin to do them justice in this post.

So, what do you think? Are you surprised? I can't wait to see how it looks...

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