Kim Valente, founder and principal designer at Brick + Beam Studio, specializes in creating traditional New England spaces with an unexpected modern twist. After visiting the Spritzo Providence showroom, we got to see how she achieves her designs first-hand. For her Traditional with a Twist Master Bathroom, Kim carefully selected pieces with traditional shapes, but opted for modern materials.
The custom vanity is the standout piece in the bathroom, as it truly captures the essence of the room’s design. While the shape of the vanity is undeniably traditional, the use of acrylic and unlacquered brass gives it a modern flair. For the top of the vanity, Kim chose the Stone Forest Vintage Washbasin in Carrara marble. She paired it with Palmer Industry’s acrylic vanity legs with a tapered foot in unlacquered brass. For the sink’s faucet, she selected the Sigma 2700 series faucet with Tremont handles, also finished in unlacquered brass. Above the vanity is the Uttermost Brayden mirror, which is flanked by two Hudson Valley Islip sconces in aged brass. Both the mirror and the sconces are refined versions of timeless classics.
Since unlacquered brass against marble looked stunning on the vanity, Kim selected The Tile Shop’s Hampton Carrara Polished Marble tile for the shower walls and Sigma’s Butler Mill exposed thermostatic shower set with cross handles, in the same unlacquered brass, as the faucet. For the floor tiles, she chose The Tile Shop’s Hampton Tumbled Niles Marble Mosaic tile. The subtle color palette of the floor is striking against the modern floral wallpaper. York Wallcovering’s Flourish wallpaper in magenta has stunning plum accents that pop against the brass, which prompted Kim to select Sigma’s Butler Mill floor-mount telephone tub filler with Tremont handles in unlacquered brass.
The Kohler Memoirs freestanding bathtub and Kallista Kennebec toilet are both classic pieces finished in white that would be found in any traditionally-styled bathroom. To bring back the modern twist, Kim added in two pieces of abstract artwork she selected off of Minted – Indigo Ink in cochineal and Softly Layered in eggplant. Both pieces of art also have plum colors and are framed in matte brass. All of the bathroom’s accessories – a towel ring, towel bar, and toilet paper holder – are all from the Sigma series 18 collection in unlacquered brass. The contrast of modern and traditional design cultivates the perfect ambiance in this master bathroom.
A huge thank you to Kim for a fantastic Inspiration Board. To see more of her lovely work, follow her on Instagram at @brickandbeamstudio and at www.brickandbeamstudio.com, and be on the lookout for more Designer Inspiration Boards!