NKBA Large Bath Star Award Winner

IF THIS BATHROOM WINNER REMINDS YOU of a day at the beach or a day at a luxury spa, you’d be right on both counts. Designer Karl Utzman of Design Studio West says that creating a spa-like space that mimicked the ocean and surrounding coastal landscape was at the top of his Coronado client’s agenda. 

You don’t have to use much imagination to pretend that the Kimono silk porcelain flooring actually is a shoreline’s sugary white sand or to conjure up a wild sea from the countertop’s Verde Vecchio granite.

“The main challenge of this space, though,” says Utzman, “was the fact that the master bathroom acts as a pass-through room to travel from the central part of the home to the master bedroom. Keeping with the contemporary design of the home, the space needed to coordinate with the adjacent bedroom and entry hall, and feel clean and uncluttered.”

To keep clutter at bay, the textured wire-brushed oak cabinetry provides plenty of needed storage space for linens, hair dryers, curling irons, makeup and other toiletries as well as concealing items like hampers.

And to maintain that elegant, spa-like feeling, Utzman cleverly placed the toilet and shower around a corner, hidden from view. 

Winners All

Five other San Diego NKBA designers also won Star Awards. Tatiana Machado-Rosas of Jackson Design and Remodeling won the Large Kitchen category. The house was featured as a makeover in this year’s San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles August remodel issue. You can view this kitchen in that issue. 

The other four winners are:

Small Kitchen: Deborah Gordon, Deborah Gordon Designs

Small Bath: Karl Utzman, Design Studio West

Powder Room: Karl Utzman and Adriana Cordero, Design Studio West  

Other Room: Rebecca Flynn, Borrelli Design + Cabinetry

Don’t miss the features on these winning spaces in San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles November issue.

Kitchens/Baths: By Eva Ditler Images by Brady Architectural Photography