The Bathroom Designed as a Private Retreat
By Bill Primavera
The Home Guru
As published in The Examiner in Westchester and Putnam
Rich Mucci and Barbara Piazza know about my bathroom secret, and they understand. As the owner and designer respectively of Euphoria, the kitchen and bath design and installation place in Bedford Hills in Westchester, Rich and Barbara were recently witness to my admission that one of my greatest physical pleasures is taking a long, hot steamy shower in the morning.
Especially when stressed out, the experience has gone beyond ritual. Standing there naked for at least 15 minutes, leaning against the shower wall, letting the hot spray caress and stimulate my body up and down, back and front, it feels almost as good as … well, you know.
Now that I want to know more about how to transform my bathroom into a private retreat, Rich and Barbara are there as welcome enablers. The name of the business was the draw for me. “My dad selected Euphoria from the Billy Joel song,” says Rich, the second generation owner of the operation established in 1965.
As a realtor who shows homes in both Westchester and Putnam Counties, I’ve noticed that local sellers seem to be paying more attention than ever before to upgrading their bathrooms, and I asked Rich and Barbara whether that luxury might be a sign of our more anxious times or perhaps the desire for a more affordable luxury spa experience. “Yes,” Barbara responded, “When you think about the psychology of the bathroom, it’s the one place where we can have complete privacy, alone and away, no matter what function the room is serving.”
Asked about the process of achieving the bathroom-as-retreat, Barbara said that it’s all in the planning and design. The first determination is whether a homeowner is looking for a tub, a tub and shower combination, or a shower alone. “We always recommend that there be at least one tub in the household,” she advised. If it’s a tub experience they want, designer and homeowner then move on to whether a whirlpool or air massage is added (the latter being a more bubbly experience, compared with a massage treatment of a whirlpool). Some people are getting rid of a second tub, however, so that they can expand the size of a shower with a sit-down bench and multiple shower heads. They might also choose a steam bath for the shower. That’s my choice.
Sometimes to accommodate more fixtures and cabinetry than a room size allows, Rich has stolen space from a closet or appropriated a couple of feet from a bedroom.
After the fixtures are selected, tranquility in the bathroom is achieved through the right selection of finishes, textures and colors, combined in a way that is calming to the eye. “For colors, I suggest a more monochromatic palette,” she said, “determining first whether the client associates tranquility with a mountain location or the ocean. If it’s beach and ocean, for example, you think of sand colored cabinetry and tiles, set against pale blue or blue grey for the walls.”
Keeping things streamlined and uncluttered is also important for tranquility, no matter the size of the bathroom. “Just purge anything that is outdated, unused and not serving a function,” Barbara said. “It will free up a lot of space that you didn’t even know you had. Then bring in select items where your eye can rest for greater calm.”
For textures, Barbara suggests natural materials -- stone, granite and marble. “But for durability and ‘cleanability,’ you can achieve the natural look with porcelain tiles that are made to mimic stones,” she added. “Also, glass tiles are great because of their translucency. You can lose yourself in them.”
A heated floor is becoming more popular in achieving a comfort zone in the bathroom. “If you feel warm, either through ambient air or from the floor, it’s more calming,” the designer said, “and the finishing touch is lighting that you can control.” Either through recessed lighting or surface mounting, controlled lighting can be pumped up to a bright level for shaving or make-up, but dimmed for a more restful environment.
“For a retreat situation, you’re talking more about a master bath situation,” Barbara noted. “You’re not going to do this sort of thing in the kids’ hall bath.”
Pricing depends on the quality of the fixtures and surfaces selected, ranging all over the place, according to Rich, from $10,000 to $15,000 at the low end, and from $60,000 to $80,000 for his highest-end work. “It’s mostly the investment in the stone, rather than the cabinetry, because how much cabinetry can you fit into the bathroom?” he asked rhetorically. An interesting point made by Rich is that the cheaper alternatives can sometimes be more practical, citing the use of curtains instead of sliding glass doors on a tub in order to more easily bathe a child.
Planning doesn’t have to be left to us amateurs. Euphoria offers free consultation if you visit the store. If Rich or Barbara is asked to visit the home for consultation, there is a $450 fee that is reimbursable when the job proceeds.
Euphoria, 164 Harris Road, Bedford Hills, 914-241-3046, www.euphoriakitchens.com.
Bill Primavera is a Westchester, NY-based realtor ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) and marketing practitioner ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) who can be reached for questions or comment directly at 914-522-2076.
To read more in The Examiner, go to: www.TheExaminerNews.com