A Panelized Home: Blissful Bathrooms

The American Club in Kohler Village has 236 guest rooms with suites which have 1-1/2 baths and a whirlpool. The people at Kohler regularly renovate the rooms and furnish them with Baker and McGuire furniture which are also companies within the Kohler corporate family. While staying at the hotel you can visit Kohler's Design Center and learn how fixtures are made and see the latest and greatest from Kohler's designers. When we visited their website we also learned that in addition to producing superior kitchen and bath fixtures, Kohler also maintains two golf courses, which are probably mowed with lawn mowers powered by Kohler engines. Panoramas of their Whistling Straits golf course have recently been incorporated on lavatories in Kohler's Artist Editions series. So Many Options The Hammonds chose their fixtures after considering several different options from Kohler. From the outset Anne and Ned had wanted their house to have all the modern conveniences while maintaining a sense of traditional style. When you renovate your home or have a new home built, there are several factors you will want to consider when deciding on new bath and kitchen fixtures. One question you may ask yourself is "how formal do we want our house to be?" If you have been looking for a new home or considering building or renovating one, you may have thought about how your existing furniture will work. For instance if you enjoy deco or contemporary furniture you will probably want your kitchen and baths to meld with that. Even if you are planning to move from your present home in a year or two, often times the bathrooms and kitchen can sell a house. So when you determine your budget, consider if skimping now may hurt you in the long run. The First Floor Bath One theme the Hammonds have followed since the design phase of their project is the blending of contemporary architectural features with antique charms. Their choice in the first floor bathroom is a good example of this. Now that everything is plumbed and installed we can see how stylish fixtures are enhanced by the antique faucets and accessories. The merlot pedestal lavatory is from Kohler's Memoirs collection. The Sonata shower module ties in well with the Revival lavatory faucets. Even the toothbrush holders give the room a sense of timelessness. When Bill and his crew from Weston Plumbing installed the pipes in the first floor bath they also installed the washing machine hook-ups. A design consideration was that in order to have the washer and dryer on the first floor the bathroom would have to be smaller. Instead of putting in a half bath the folks from Kohler, Acorn and the Hammonds decided to put in a shower module. Deciding this early on made it easier for the architects to design a room that was roomy and not too tight. The two bathrooms on the second floor have full-size bathtubs so having a shower downstairs was an extra bonus. Because the house is perched above the beach and because the bathroom is located right next to the back door, it will be easy for the family's beachgoers to shower off the salt after a cool Atlantic dip. The location of the bathroom will also mean there is little concern with children tracking sand and periwinkles on the way to the shower. The Glassworks shower doors and the Revival hand shower will also make it easy for the kids to aim the water at their bodies and let it drain in the shower and not on the floor.

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