Designer Julia Sandetskaya's dreamy, spalike master bath was inspired by The Arabian Nights
Written by Lisa Kennedy Photographs by William Wright
Design Details Interior Designers MusaDesign, Polina Zaika and Julia Sandetskaya 2617 Fifth Ave, Seattle 206-448-3301 Construction Gennadiy Kulinich, MicosConstruction, 206-349-2492
An antique Moroccan lantern from Glenn Richards, suspended over the extra-long Bainultra jetted white tub, creates fanciful patterns on the walls. Antique Chinese shutters are inset into the tiled wall.
Near right:the shower walls are tiled in deep ocean-blue mosaic and bronzed glass offers increased privacy: curved chrome D C short towel warmers inject a contemporary, sculptural note.
Far right:A custom coconut wood vanity topped by white Barclay vessel sinks and chrome starck faucets by Hansgrohe, from Chown hardware, hovers above the floor.
When Julia Sandetskaya embarked on the transformation of her Clyde Hill master bath, she did it the way she does most things: with her sister Polina Zaika. Let it be said that Alex Mogilevsky, Sandetskaya's husband and a software engineer at Microsoft, didn't have a large hand in the bathroom redesign, although he did conceive of several critical details.
Sandetskaya and Zaika, principals of the interior design firm MusaDesign, have steadily become a force on the local design scene since moving here from Russian in 1990. They espouse sustainability and combine a highly contemporary aesthetic with elements of traditional French, Russian and Japanese design. "WE are also very interested in how materials wear over time," Zaika says. "A lot of new materials don't behave very well, so we make sure that we pick materials that age well and don't need to be replaced every few years." The design duo also favors the use of natural materials, either reclaimed or renewable.
Design inspiration for the bathroom, now dubbed "the coconut retreat" came from the book The Tropical Spa (Periplus Editions: $22.95) "We wanted to create a spa like feel," Sandetskaya says. "When you think �spa' you think �dream'. As children, we loved The Thousand and One nights of Scheherazade, so we also wanted to bring in the feeling of that fairy tale." The exoticism of the Orient was infused with the carefully selected, mostly antique, Asian elements.
The huge, airy space, which is a few steps down from the master bedroom, opens via sliding glass doors to a large balcony overlooking a greenbelt, Lake Washington and the city of Kirkland. The reclaimed Brazilian cherry floor, coated with a natural oil finish, richly grounds the space and flows seamlessly in the Brazilian teak deck. Custom coconut plywood shutters filter light from the high windows, casting romantic shadows throughout the day. The walls are skim-coated with plaster from the Environmental Home Center. Integrally pigmented a soft gray blue; it was applied with a trowel- by Sandetskaya's and Zaika's father.
A custom coconut wood vanity hovers above the floor, lit from below by under-cabinet lights activated by sensors when a person enters the space- one of Mogilevsky' small but essential contributions. The wall section under the cabinet is tiled with mosaic glass that sparkles under the lights. Simple white porcelain vessel sinks sit on the clean counter top, where the only accents are Joe Malone perfume bottles and an antique
Chinese jewelry case that was a gift to Sandetskaya from her husband. A framed coconut wood mirror is flanked by organically shaped scones from Lightology.
The extra-long white jetted tub-which Mogilevsky requested to accommodate his long frame � is surrounded by a random pattern of turquoise green and aqua recycled glass mosaic tiles. Antique Chinese window shutters open to reveal a double-sided gas fireplace that also opens to the master bedroom. A Moroccan lantern hangs over the tub, and a second framed mirror reflects the exterior view.
Hidden behind a short wall pierced by an antique Chinese window screen, the Toto toilet is a technological marvel, with a lid that opens automatically when someone approaches, a heated seat and a bidet function. Shower walls are tiled in Deep Ocean �blue mosaic tiles, and bronzed glass, chosen for increased privacy, frames a serene enclosure. The shower has its own window, which has become a signature feature of MusaDesign. "It's a small details that completely changes the feeling," Sandetskaya says. "You get energized from the air and the brightness in the daytime, and at night you are soothed by the city light. " The shower lighting is deliberately minimal so as not to interfere with the ambient light at any hour.
Hardware throughout the bathroom is chrome. "Since our elements are usually muted, we like to use chrome to add sparkle and contrast," Zaika says. Other accents are antique textiles, pillows and a carpet from Indonesia. Two Italian-designed green and blue ceramic cubes sit tub side, one serving as a stool and one as a table. "This is Alex's spot," Sandetskaya says." He sits there while I soak in the tub, and we chat."
"This is an incredibly relaxing place," the designer says." It feels pure and simple and healthy." Her husband may not have had a lot to say during the design process, but he is thrilled with the outcome." Both of our kids also really enjoy the bathroom and always ask if they can take a bath in there, "Sandetskaya says." They say it is like a bathroom from a fairy tale."