In today’s Five Questions With… I talk with Cheryl Kees Clendenon, owner of the Pensacola, Fla. design firm In Detail Kitchen and Bath. Cheryl and her firm won three 2009 NKBA design awards in the small bathroom category, including first place for the bathroom pictured above (check out all of her designs and the rest of the winners here). Cheryl and I discuss the challenges of designing a small bathroom, as well how to find unique items to decorate your bathroom. For more information on Cheryl and her design firm, check out In Detail Kitchen and Bath’s Web site, and also read her blog.
1. You and your design firm won three NKBA design awards this year in the small bathroom category, which is basically a category for bathrooms that are slightly bigger than a powder room and include either a shower or a small tub/shower combination. What do you enjoy most about designing this style of bathroom? A small or powder bath is really one of my favorite spaces to design. I love the details! You can really have so much fun with the materials. The homeowner gets an opportunity to step out of their comfort zone and try some new ideas/materials/style without having to redo their entire home. Of course, we do not stray so far from the overall style that we create a vastly different look but can certainly try some new ideas and incorporate unusual or fun materials that might be either cost prohibitive or too "out there" for the rest of the home. And cost is certainly a factor. Small baths are well, small! So the costs for materials are minimized. With a small bath it is typically hard to change much about the footprint, so is really about treatments and how you execute the design. Thus, they are very intriguing for a designer. Also, you usually have the challenge of finding storage. In one small bath we designed, which was the only bath in the home, the clients were quite pressed for space. The room had 9 foot ceilings so we utilized the "air space" above the tub/shower enclosure and created really cute cabinetry with glass fronts to store long term items such as extra bedding, holiday supplies etc. The depth was great and it looks really cute as well in the vintage space. We can get quite creative with storage space!
The In Detail Kitchen and Bath Staff at KBIS '09.
2. There’s a bathroom on your site called “Condo Bath Challenge”. I’m curious, what was the challenge(s) of designing this bathroom, and do you find condo bathrooms to be challenging in general because so many condo bathrooms are rigid in shape? Oh yes! This one was quite a challenge! Not only is it a condo bath with all the attending issues with multi-family housing, but the ceilings were only slightly over 7 feet tall! This was a real issue when the client insisted on a rain 
showerhead in his bath/shower. We were able to carve out a ceiling "niche" that we tiled with same accent tile and added the rain head. He also wanted a good looking tub...but also needed to function as shower. Did I mention it was a 5-foot-wide space? We used Neptune's Wind tub because it is great looking style, roomy yet still fits into a 5-foot alcove scenario. We used Kohler’s laminar spout for the tub filler with a Thermo valve. To close the tub when showering, we added an old fashioned clothesline pull on one wall that was simple and low profile. When he wants to have a guest shower, they hook the line to other side and add the curtain. Works great! We chose to tile all the walls to give some drama and provide a clean look against the vintage terrazzo tiles on the floor. Again, it is all about the materials and the execution! We also designed the vanity to house a kitty litter box in the side of cabinet by the toilet. The cat goes in on the side (box is hidden...you just see the opening) and you can open the door to take out the box. One of our more odd requests but we made it work! Honestly, condo baths are not that much more limiting than any other residential small bath because as I said earlier, most footprints cannot be altered with either. The real difference is that the electrical is in conduit, you usually have concrete ceilings, walls and the studs are metal. And, you must work around sprinklers and go up and down a freight elevator!
3. Of your entire 2009 award winning bathroom designs, the nautical bathroom is my favorite because of its distinct, personal style and the porthole that was converted into a mirror. Do you think using non-bathroom objects—like a porthole—is an easy or difficult thing to do for people looking for a quick and cool way to spruce up their bathroom? And where you do you recommend looking for such objects? I love using non traditional items in a bath! And this is what I mean about stepping out of the "box" for a client. They might not easily accept some "out there" ideas for rest of house but feel comfortable stretching the imagination a bit in a small bath. I feel that adding these types of items like the porthole (which her son found on eBay!) give a more unique touch to the space and adds personality and style. I am redoing my own bath soon and to save money for some really cool materials, I am going to use a CB2 wall glass/chrome shelving unit for open storage. Its size works great and is far less expensive than building shelves or cabinetry. Other ideas are using antique shelving, small pieces of furniture, funky art, interesting mirrors that are "found" (or multiples of small mirrors!), small accent stools, pieces of furniture used as the vanity, even just a cool old plate used as a soap dish or some antique or "kitschy" linens can give a lift to a small bath and if you love it, use it! This can be cheap chic at its finest! I am always on the hunt for quirky items to use somewhere. I find things at flea markets, eBay, out of the way small retailers, antique stores, and quite honestly....one of the best places I find unusual or fun items for someone's bath is their own home. I forage for items in other rooms and will often use them as accent pieces in the bath. I have even taken lighting out of one room and given it a new lease on life for the new bath. I think it is really about looking at the space with an entirely different perspective and using materials that might be atypical for a bath in the first place. I like using materials that might originate in commercial design too. Let's face it, you might not spend a lot of time in there but you go in and out a lot and I don't want you to become bored with the design!
4. What was a design trend you saw at this year’s KBIS that you hadn’t seen before? Truthfully, I did not see any serious trends...good or bad. There were some great new products but none that constituted a "trend". 
The new products that I was impressed by the most were the eco/recycled countertop options by CaesarStone, Silestone and Vetrazzo glass. As a designer, I can tell you ...I am just a wee bit tired of granite, granite, granite. I use quartz products and glass countertops at least 50% of the time now in small baths and powder rooms. I think that more impressive lighting for the bath is, or should, in my opinion, be a future trend. For years, there was just a default to the typical over the mirror bar light configuration. Maybe you would get lucky and get a recessed can or two in the ceiling. In our designs, the lighting is equally as important to our design process as the selection of plumbing, tile, countertops and cabinetry. We plan for good task lighting as well as general and ambient lighting and consider this critical to the success of the final product. The selection of the actual fixtures is part of our overall design plan and not left to chance. The lighting fixtures available now are incredible but I am not sure that the general public always knows where to look to find them.
5. Outside of white and more white, what are some of the popular color schemes you’ve been seeing and using in your bathroom remodels? Well, I am not sure one scheme is more popular than another. It depends on the individual circumstances of the project. I have an affinity for modern, clean design so I jump at the opportunity to work on these types of projects. I like dark wood in the right space with the correct accompanying materials; walnut is my favorite. I also like paint. I think people forget that you can paint any color you desire and can really achieve a custom look for your bath with the right choice. This is also the least expensive way to update a bath where new cabinetry is not an option. Overall, I think what is not hot is a golden hue on cabinetry. Golden oak comes to mind! The sallow yellowish hue is just very hard to work with and says "dated". We also love tile and stone. This is typically next step after determining layout and space planning. We have used a lot of rectified porcelain lately even in traditional settings. These colors have been neutral but with a hue such as soft greens, grays and browns. I also like color on the walls if not tiling the walls and please help me dispel the myth that you can't paint a small bath a saturated color! It's really ok! I do not care so much about what is "popular" but what is right for my client's individual style and space....as long as it is not golden oak!
