Arts and Crafts Bathroom

Sometimes our clients take us on an unexpected journey.

This vintage-European bathroom, with materials sourced from Italy, France and England, perfectly expresses the power of individuality that we encourage our clients to embrace.

With heavily marketed, mass-manufactured products dominating the marketplace today, what a pleasure it was to go on a journey with our client to discover a different road, a road that lead to an 1870 French-Italian hand-carved vanity, a 1910 English vanity, and state of the art, but still period sensitive, fixtures.

Centoni goes the extra mile mixing old and new to create a very special custom bathroom.

The vanity sink console was created from a circa 1860s dry vanity, originally from Italy. It found its way to the South of France, where it was found by our client, who then had it imported to San Francisco where it was given new life. The marble countertop was cut to fit a new hand-hammered sink basin.  Matching marble was sourced and fabricated to raise the mirror to a modern height, the joints cleverly hidden by adding a shelf, providing additional storage for frequently-used items. Delicately-shaped stainless steel legs replaced the badly damaged wooden legs, and were chosen to match the updated, vintage-look plumbing fixtures, thereby finishing the graceful look of the piece.

More authentic touches elevate the space and combine utility with the elegance and individuality: original art nouveau gas-lit wall sconces from France were painstakingly rewired and refashioned to work with modern electrical; a stunning Vaseline glass vase, originally from a 1922 Ford automobile, was mounted on the wall as a novel way of adding fresh flowers; across the room another vintage vanity, this one from 1910s England, was fitted with interior pullout shelves for convenient storage, and, combined with the original medicine cabinet above, not only adds another working space to the bathroom, but also offers a striking view from the hallway.

Installing a walk-in shower with a low threshold and a marble bench was a thoughtful change, allowing the homeowner a comfortable and accessible place to bathe. The handsomely-tiled shower is spacious, with a reproduction of a vintage waterfall shower head, as well as a hand-held shower wand for added convenience. These updates will allow the homeowner full use of their bathroom as they age in place in their charming, updated home that perfectly preserves and reflects their own distinct taste.