Less Is More

MERIT—Best master bath—remodeled home IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE A young urban hipster living in a large apartment, you may not need several bathrooms—in which case, you might want to consolidate. The owner of this Chicago condo asked Environ HarleyEllis to merge his two full baths to create one large open space. “He wanted a customized bathroom and calming place to relax,” says architect John H. Nelson.

The main idea was simplification, Nelson explains, so he gutted the two bathrooms and used slabs of limestone to unify the space. He raised the ceiling to 9 feet and used elongated limestone wall tiles to give the illusion of volume. Clean-lined faucets and fittings create a simple tranquil atmosphere, while a Turkish pendant over the tub and a Moroccan wall sconce introduce an Old World feel. Nothing is compartmentalized, and everything is open to the eye. “The space is about less is more, rather than more is more,” Nelson jokes.

Entrant/Architect/Interior designer: Environ HarleyEllis, Chicago