This Revamped Provincetown Bathroom Features a Heated Tub

Photo by Greg Premru

Problem:
When new owners bought a multi-unit house in Provincetown with low ceilings and outdated fixtures, they were set on converting it into a modern single-family home. So, they called upon Chris Brown of B Architecture Studio, based out of Winchester and Osterville, to tackle the gut remodel of the circa-1900 structure. For the master bath, Brown says his clients simply “wanted to make things airy and bright and take advantage of the breezes.” Accomplishing that goal, though, would be less straightforward: The space allotted for the new bathroom featured just one small window on the room’s sole exterior wall, which faced another house.

Solution:
“We weren’t able to add any additional [exterior-facing] windows because we were too close to the neighbor’s property,” Brown says. “We couldn’t create a sense of privacy there.” So, the team came up with an innovative solution for bringing light and sea breezes into the bathroom: create an interior window that looks into the adjacent master bedroom, which features a sunny balcony facing the shoreline. To accomplish this, the team painted three of the home’s original window sashes black and installed them on a sliding track on the wall near the new heated Cabuchon bathtub and a sink. Now, when the homeowners open the windows in both rooms, fresh air pours from the balcony and the bedroom windows into the bathroom.

To bring to life the serene, seaside aesthetic the clients desired, Brown sought out a “beachy palette that wasn’t just white.” The architect and the homeowners settled on a lilac Benjamin Moore paint color accented by beadboard paneling in a creamy hue. Brown punctuated the space with red fixtures purchased by his clients at a Cape Cod antique market. “There’s this sense of calm, but also of interest,” Brown says. Finally, to echo the colors of the oceanfront, Brown grounded the space with gray-blue tile and beige-gray natural stone flooring. The overall effect? “[The bathroom] will be able to stand the test of time for many decades to come,” Brown says.

Architect B Architecture Studio
Contractor Cape Associates