Two Baths from a Revival Craftsman
The designer takes a classic approach to create a balance of beauty and function in these two new, period-style baths.
Shazalynn Cavin–winfrey of SCW Interiors in Alexandria, Virginia, takes a classic approach to create a balance of beauty and function, whether the house is old or new.
This project sought to bring character to a generic new build. The bathrooms, quite different from each other, exemplify her use of period motifs. “The more public powder room is 100% Arts & Crafts Revival,” says Cavin–Winfrey. “Its materials and colors blend with surrounding room, which are furnished with re-issued Stickley pieces.” The powder room, located near the wet bar between the kitchen and the dining room, measures just 6' x 6'.
“I took my cue from the sink cabinet, an unusual piece made from reclaimed barnwood,” Cavin–Winfrey continues. “It has hefty, Arts & Crafts-period hardware and a deep patina.” The hand-hammered copper sink bowl is integral with the copper countertop. Dark, ¾" liner tiles create a border over field tiles in slate; they beautifully complement the patina of the furniture, and segue nicely to the walls’ textural grasscloth in an autumnal red. “Those liner tiles are made of slate and frosted glass.”
The clients had asked for a durable, utilitarian space: the room gets a lot of use. The natural materials specified by the designer—rustic wood, slate, copper, glass tile—lend an organic sensibility, perfect for the period look. And “these authentic, real materials have held up well,” she reports.
The master bathroom is quite different, more like the actual bathrooms of the bungalow period—albeit larger than most. It is en suite with the bedroom that’s furnished with a Stickley bed and side tables and a contemporary sofa. The bedroom is softened by a wool needlepoint rug and a fern-motif fabric in green.
The master bath, also in pale green, is unapologetically luxurious, while looking to precedent. The basketweave tile floor has a large scale and its accent tiles are green, two twists on the classic black-and-white floor. A claw-footed soaking tub and Arts & Crafts-era medicine cabinets built into the wall above twin console sinks all date to the early 20th century. The plaster arch is another period touch.
Selected Sources
Interior designer: Shazalynn Cavin-Winfrey SCW Interiors
Powder room tile (slate and glass): Architectural Ceramics
Powder room sconces: Circa Lighting
Wallcoverings: Schumacher
Teak ‘Driftwood’ mirror: VivaTerra
Vanity cabinet ‘Americana’ using reclaimed wood: Native Trails
Copper top sink: Native Trails
Master bath custom tile: Architectural Ceramics
Console sinks: Kohler
Medicine cabinets: Rejuvenation
Master bath sconces: Circa Lighting
Master bath paint, ‘Vale’ 1494: Benjamin Moore
Patricia Poore is Editor-in-chief of Old House Journal and Arts & Crafts Homes, as well as editorial director at Active Interest Media’s Home Group, overseeing New Old House, Traditional Building, and special-interest publications.
Poore joined Old House Journal when it was a Brooklyn-brownstoner newsletter in the late 1970s. She became owner and publisher and, except for the years 2002–2013, has been its editor. Poore founded the magazines Old-House Interiors (1995–2013) and Early Homes (2004–2017); their content is now available online and folded into Old-House Journal’s wider coverage. Poore also created GARBAGE magazine (1989–1994), the first unaffiliated environmental consumer magazine.
Poore has participated, hands-on, in several restorations, including her own homes: a 1911 brownstone in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and a 1904 Tudor–Shingle Style house in Gloucester, Massachusetts, where she brought up her boys and their wonderful dogs.
