In The Know: Master vs. Primary

To keep you up-to-date on all things interior design, there has been an interesting shift recently in the world of interiors and real estate when it comes to what to call the largest bedroom of a home.

In the past, this room, or the suite it might occupy along with a large bathroom, was referred to as a Master Suite, or Master Bedroom and Master Bathroom. The term's first usage can be traced back to 1926 when Sears sold a kit home in their catalog with a bedroom that was larger than in eras past. After WWI, American homes were getting larger, and with the middle class becoming more prosperous, people were looking for more interior space for lounging and living. The word Master was simply used to denote that it was the largest and nicest bedroom in the home, one that took precedence over other smaller children's or guest bedrooms.

Clearly, the term does not come from slavery or plantations. But there has been a recent move away from Master to the now-preferred term Primary. The change is cited as a way to avoid language that could be misconstrued as racist or even sexist (because, while we do not have gendered language like many Romance languages do, the term Master is male). So we now see the term Primary or even Owner's Suite, Owner's Bedroom, or Owner's Bathroom.

However, some say that changing what to call the largest bedroom in a house is just literal lip-service and does nothing to address actual, on-going, systemic problems of racism in the United States and around the world, and that such a move is still something that only effects wealthy people, mostly not of color, who can afford to buy a home in today's challenging housing market.

Whatever a change in nomenclature may or may not achieve, it looks like almost everyone--MLS listings, shelter magazines, your interior designer blog master--now uses the term Primary Bedroom.

I will leave you with some lovely views of Primary Bedrooms that beckon one to relax, unwind, and rest.

Bedroom by Scott Corridan

Bedroom by William McLure

Bedroom by Suzanne Tucker

Bedroom at Casa Cody in Palm Springs by Electric Bowery

Happy designing!

Fiorito Interior Design Sneak Peek: The Half Moon Bay Luxury Suite

I am very excited for this year to unfold as I have a lot of wonderful, fascinating projects brewing. And one of the most interesting ones is a complete home remodel for a house in a seaside town here on the Northern California coast. My clients intend on turning their sizable home into an Airbnb by utilizing two bedroom suites. The private areas of the house will still include a living-dining-kitchen space, a guest room/office and their own master suite.

The inspiration for the Airbnb suites came from neighboring seaside destinations and towns, so it seemed only fitting to keep that motif when it came time to design the master suite. I wanted the owner's suite to be luxurious and steps above the rental rooms, and the most luxurious nearby destination is certainly the exquisite Ritz Carlton Hotel in the lovely coastal town of Half Moon Bay.

Blending the colors of nature from the surroundings with the well-appointed luxury of a renowned five-star hotel, I came up with a palette of cream, champagne silver, sand, bleached driftwood, and foggy blue/grey. The organic elements within a refined setting makes for an intriguing and engaging contrast (see Design mantra #1 to the right, "Contrast brings interest!")

My clients have approved the style direction and work begins on the entire house soon. Stay tuned!

Happy designing!

The Master Suite by Fiorito Interior Design, Part Three

I am proud to present finished photos of a Master Suite project I started in the fall of 2012. While it was under construction, I wrote about it here and here, showing structural photos and installation progress: take a look to catch up and see the fascinating evolution of the space.

This project was not a simple cosmetic facelift or even a down-to-the-studs gut job. This was a full-on extension/addition that required me to work closely with the contractor and architect. The back portion of half of my clients' home was blown out to make way for a much larger master bedroom and bathroom. And all the disruption, construction, and wait was well worth it.

But before we ogle the reveal images, let's take a look at what the space looked like when I initially encountered it. You will see why my clients were eager to be rid of what they (and I) considered to be a very un-masterful master bathroom.

Like many California ranch homes built in the 1950s, this master bathroom was not really a "master bath." The concept of a "master bath" as we know it today didn't really exist then. My clients, who only three years ago purchased the home from the family of the original owner, were saddled with a small, dysfunctional space. Chief among the dysfunctions: a vanity only 30" high (my clients had to stoop quite low to lean on the counter), and an inconveniently placed window that forced the too-low vanity mirror to reflect only the waist and partial torso--not the face--of anyone standing in front of it.

A separate water closet with a pocket door was also the spot for a very narrow shower. That, my friends, was a master bathroom in 1956. And so my work began.

In order to refine a design concept for the soon-to-be larger space, and thereby narrow down material choices, my clients and I had a brainstorming session: we spoke of an elegant Old World/ European bedroom and bathroom, a luxurious bath that would reference a Roman spa, and finally the idea of a Hammam was brought into the mix. We blended these ideas together in oil-rubbed bronze fixtures, and a tiny mosaic vine pattern in beautiful Bursa Beige marble from Turkey and white Thassos marble from Greece. The extension of the house allowed us to create a true master suite which includes a greatly enlarged bedroom area, and a generous sized bathroom with a jetted soaking tub, a very large walk-in shower, a double-sided fireplace (facing the tub on the bath side), and a luxurious 8' long vanity with double sinks and a storage tower.

The vanity wall is covered with the imported mosaic vine pattern. The custom Larson Juhl framed mirrors are flanked by gorgeous hand-wrought scones from Hubbardton Forge which echo the vine and leaf pattern in the mosaic. And the vanity itself features an  LED strip in the toe-kick which allows my clients to see in the middle of the night without having to turn on a shockingly bright overhead fixture.

Photo by Bernardo Grijalva

At the other end of the master bath, a luxurious jetted tub nestles by a fireplace in the bay window area. Views of the garden can be seen while soaking in bubbles...

Photo by Bernardo Grijalva

Photo by Bernardo Grijalva

The over-sized walk-in shower features a paneled wainscoting effect which I designed to be executed in Crema Marfil marble. The vine mosaic continues in the shower, topped by green onyx squares. A rainshower head and a hand-held spray on a bar provides showering options. The shower floor slopes gently in one direction toward a hidden linear drain; this allows the floor to be read as a continuation of the main space, without being interrupted by a center drain.

Photo by Bernardo Grijalva

I have a few more finished projects coming up which I will be sharing with you soon. New posts are always scheduled every Monday!

In the meantime, happy designing!

The Luxury Bathroom by Fiorito Interior Design

A while back, I had the good fortune to work on a complete home renovation. My clients bought a property that was in the right neighborhood with the right school and right distance from work and culture, and while the house was nice, it was not the dream home my clients had hoped for. Since turnover in this particular, highly desirable neighborhood is rare, they decided to turn this house into their dream home. And thus a nearly two-year rebuild project was born. Both the front and back of the house got extended and rebuilt, making way not only for a much more spacious formal living room, but also for a glorious master suite: the bedroom square footage grew and so did the area for the master bath.

The old master bathroom was quite unfortunate, looking like something from a motel with a single, lonely sink and vanity open to the bedroom, outside of a much smaller room that held an unremarkable single-person shower and toilet. Needless to say, this uninspiring arrangement did not look anything at all like a master bath, as you can see below.

My plan was to create an entire master suite that would give my clients the feeling of staying in a luxury hotel. And the most effective way to achieve that goal was to fit the larger, new bath space with clean-lined yet stately elegant fixtures and materials that seemed to come from a sumptuous, Old World London hotel such as The Savoy. Below you can see the new floor plan and my rendering for the new bath.

A color palette of soft greys, whites, chrome, and rich woods grew naturally from the design concept. The floor and tub are clad in grey and white Turkish Letoon marble. A matching basketweave marble border was placed as an accent in the shower and in a “rug” on the floor. A concentric circular patterned wallpaper brings an Art Deco touch as it plays behind chrome picture-framed cabinets. Classic sconces with fabric shades by Hudson Valley bring softness while the petite chandelier over the whirlpool tub adds sparkle and glamour. And the rich wood of the custom vanity grounds the sophisticated grey and white palette.

You needn't rebuild a bathroom in order to introduce some Old World luxury into your life. If you are considering a bathroom remodel, it is possible to introduce into your plans many of the elements you see here. Give me a call and let's work on creating a little slice of The Savoy for you.

Happy designing!

The Master Suite by Fiorito Interior Design, Part Two

In my previous post about this project here, I shared photos of the exterior demolition and construction of the addition to the house. And now, as promised, here are some shots of the interior.

But first, let's take a look at what the space looked like when I initially encountered it. You will see why my clients were eager to be rid of what they (and I) considered to be a very unmasterful master bathroom.

Like many California ranch homes built in the 1950s, this master bathroom was not really a "master bath." The concept of a "master bath" as we know it today didn't really exist then. My clients, who only two years ago purchased the home from the family of the original owner, were saddled with a small, dysfunctional space. Chief among the dysfunctions: a vanity only 30" high (my clients had to stoop quite low to lean on the counter), and an inconveniently placed window that forced the too-low vanity mirror to reflect only the waist and partial torso--not the face--of anyone standing in front of it. (When I see things like this, I can only shake my head wonder what on earth the builder was thinking.)

A separate water closet with a pocket door was also the spot for a very narrow shower. That, my friends, was a master bathroom in 1956. And so my work began. As I mentioned here in the last post about this project, an extension of the space allowed us to create a true master suite which will include a greatly enlarged bedroom area, and a generous sized bathroom with a jetted soaking tub, a very large walk-in shower, a double-sided fireplace (facing the tub on the bath side), and a luxurious 8' long vanity with double sinks and a storage tower.

The bay window you saw in the last post will be the home of a generously proportioned jetted tub. Above: the framing of the walls, addition of windows, construction of the tub deck, and installation of the marble tub deck and face.

The adjacent spacious shower is going to rival the focal point of the tub. In the first few photos above, you can see the shower after being "hot-mopped" (a way to waterproof the shower pan) and the walls made of a version of waterproof sheetrock. The entrance to the shower is flanked by a pair of columns, topped with a gentle arch. For the shower walls, I designed a wainscoting effect with beveled panels, all crafted from lavish Crema Marfil marble from Spain.

And tiling began this week. The first element to be installed in the shower above the Crema Marfil wainscoting was the gorgeous mosaic vine border made of Bursa Beige marble from Turkey and white Thassos marble from Greece. This border will also serve as a back splash for the double vanity under a mosaic wall of the same material.

Like I said in the last post for this project, I am so anxious to see the final result.

Thanks for reading and happy designing!

The Master Suite by Fiorito Interior Design, Part One

The proliferation of television design shows over the last decade or so has given many people a false sense of what interior design is and a very skewed view of how it functions. One of the ways such shows have misinformed the public is in the life span of a project. With so many shows being about transforming a space over the course of a weekend, or even over a 24-hour period (which is literally impossible to do while maintaining any semblance of quality in material or workmanship), the public are not aware of just how intensive a process interior design can be. From first meeting to a completed space takes many months. And it should. Another one of my design mantras I have developed over the years is: "Design is a process." And that process does not need to be, and indeed should not be rushed. When making structural or even cosmetic changes to a home, you want someone who will take their time, someone who will work with you to develop a space unique to you, a space that will function exactly how you want while still being beautiful.

To prove the design shows wrong, I am here to tell you that I have been working on a Master Suite extension since last autumn. After initial meetings with my clients to discuss the possibilities inherent in renovating their master bathroom, they decided they wanted to include the bedroom portion in the renovation as well. We were already in communication with a General Contractor, and through more conversations and meetings, the homeowners decided they wanted to add an extension to their home to buy more space for a new, much more luxurious master suite. At this point, the project splintered off. I met with the GC to go over space planning and possible layouts for the new space. Since the scope of service would now include the need to build out the foundation of the house, and to change the roof line, my GC brought in a structural engineer and an architect to finalize the design that was created by me, the homeowners, and the GC. While the building shell was being handled, I had several meetings with my clients regarding the interior of the bathroom and bedroom. In order to refine a design concept for the space, and thereby narrow down material choices, my clients and I had a brainstorming session: we spoke of an elegant Old World/ European bedroom and bathroom, a luxurious bath that would reference a Roman spa, and finally the idea of a Hammam was brought into the mix. After sourcing some initial materials and finishes that would embody our inspiration, I met my clients at a tile and stone gallery to begin the process of choosing stone and tile. We also spoke about style direction for things like lighting, and sink and shower hardware which would support our inspiration.

While that was happening, the plans had been submitted to the city for permits. Finally this past spring, we were ready for construction to start. As you can see, this is a process that requires care, thought, skill, and planning as well as the talents of many individuals.

Workers dug and poured a new foundation to tie into the existing foundation of the home.

The back of the house was ripped off and framing for the addition began.
The bay window is the home of a future jetted soaking tub.

The water closet was all that was left of the original bathroom, and that got demo-ed before I left the job site that day.

And now we see walls and windows installed, and a lath in place for stucco. Also note the new steps leading from the arched French doors of the Master Suite as well as the new roof line with all new cement shingles.

This all may seem rather unglamorous and humdrum, but it is absolutely necessary. It is literally the foundation for all the glamour and fun to come. For the next installment, I am excited to share with you some photos of the progress of the interior and how this suite has been transformed so far. This is always the hard part for me as a designer: the goal is now tantalizingly near and I am chomping at the bit to see it finished and styled. When that happens, I will definitely share those photos with you as well.

Thanks for reading and happy designing!