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BAAB Architecture and Buildings made a 75-square-foot primary bathroom in Kerhonkson, New York, feel less constrained by putting the room’s essential fixtures into a seven-foot-tall central “totem.” The sink, medicine cabinet, shower, and toilet occupy that vertical core, leaving a clearer circulation zone around it. A clerestory facing the hallway, iridescent pearl-like tile, a shower bench, and a turquoise steel grab bar address light, texture, and changing mobility without erasing the clients’ routines or belongings.
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The project was completed in December 2023 for clients in their late 70s and early 80s. Architectural Record presents the arrangement as a barrier-free design response and says it is intended to make slipping and falling less likely, but the report provides no measured safety results, code review, or independent accessibility certification. Those limits matter when adapting the ideas to another home.
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The bathroom is a primary bath in a compact upstate New York house, not a demonstration space stripped of personal life. BAAB designed for residents in their late 70s and early 80s whose mobility could change over time. The practical challenge was to improve movement and visibility while retaining familiar habits: reading material by the bath, a place for a night-light, and the ordinary objects that make a room feel like home.
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Architectural Record’s project report describes the original condition as dark and constrained. In a room of only 75 square feet, a conventional arrangement can leave the toilet, vanity, and shower projecting into the same narrow path. Each fixture consumes floor area, and doors, knees, walkers, or a wheelchair can compete for that path. BAAB’s answer was not to make the room visually empty. It was to concentrate plumbing and storage in one vertical element so the remaining floor reads as a usable field.
Ted Baab, BAAB’s founder, explains the attitude behind the work: “It is not trying to tell someone that they must live differently or get rid of stuff for a particular aesthetic, but to find a way to fit all those things into some sort of playful purpose.” The statement is quoted in Matthew Marani’s Architectural Record report published February 19, 2024.
How the central totem works
One vertical core, four bathroom functions
The seven-foot-tall totem contains the sink, medicine cabinet, shower, and toilet. Instead of distributing those functions around the perimeter, the design stacks and nests them in a central architectural object. This is the “inside-out” move: the room’s service functions become a freestanding interior element, while circulation is pushed into the space around it.
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Open circulation as the main benefit
BAAB’s arrangement frees floor area and enables what the report calls a barrier-free layout. In practical terms, a person can approach the sink, toilet, or shower without navigating a line of separate projections. That can be useful for a walker today and for wheelchair access if needed in the future. The project specifically identifies a sink and toilet designed for wheelchair use if that becomes necessary.
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“Barrier-free” here describes the project’s design intent, not a certification. A remodeler still needs to verify turning clearances, transfer space, door swing, fixture heights, grab-bar reinforcement, waterproofing, and local requirements with the applicable building officials and an accessibility professional.
Light and color make a small bath feel larger
Clerestory borrowed from the hallway
A hallway-facing clerestory brings daylight into the bathroom. Because the opening sits high, it can share light without relying on a conventional window at eye level. The report does not state the glazing dimensions, privacy glass specification, or whether the clerestory is operable. It does identify Guardian as the glazing credit.
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For a small, dark bath, a high interior window can be a useful planning tactic when an exterior wall is unavailable. The opening should be coordinated with privacy, moisture control, fire separation, and the wall’s structural requirements. Those technical decisions are not documented for this project and should not be inferred from the photographs or description alone.
Iridescent, pearl-like tile as a light surface
Iridescent tile on the walls and floor reflects and scatters the available light. Rather than depending on a large mirror or a bright white box, the room uses changing surface highlights to add depth. Ocean Mosaics is credited for the floor and wall tile. The report does not name a collection, tile size, grout color, slip rating, or installation method.
On a painting project, the lesson is to treat tile, painted walls, metal, and glazing as one light system. A glossy or iridescent surface can throw colored reflections onto adjacent paint. Sample the actual tile beside the proposed paint under daytime and night-light conditions before finalizing a color. In a wet room, use a coating system approved for the substrate and moisture exposure; do not substitute ordinary wall paint for a waterproofing assembly.
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Turquoise hardware as a visible support feature
The bathroom includes a turquoise-colored steel grab bar. Its color makes a support element legible instead of disguising it as generic hardware. The report does not identify the bar’s manufacturer, model, diameter, load rating, or mounting detail. Those specifications must be selected for the individual user and installed into adequate blocking or another approved structural support.
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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteColor contrast can help a resident distinguish a bar from a tile field, particularly when vision changes. Contrast alone does not make a grab bar safe: location, geometry, secure attachment, and the user’s transfer pattern are equally important.
Features that preserve everyday routines
Shower bench and dual showerheads
The shower has a bench and both fixed and handheld showerheads. A bench can provide a seated option while the handheld fitting allows water to be directed without standing. Architectural Record does not assign a brand or model to the bench or to the showerhead configuration, so they should be treated as project categories rather than products to copy.
When planning a similar installation, coordinate the bench height and depth with the user, waterproof the seat and its junctions, place the handheld control where it can be reached from the bench and standing position, and confirm that the hose does not create a trip hazard. A licensed plumber and waterproofing installer should verify the assembly.
Night-light location and magazine rack
A designated place for a night-light and a magazine rack are small but revealing details. They acknowledge nighttime navigation and the clients’ reading routine instead of treating accessibility as a reason to remove personal objects. The report does not specify the night-light type, electrical circuit, or rack dimensions.
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For another bathroom, keep the night-light’s switch or sensor reachable without crossing a wet floor, and choose a fixture rated for its location. A rack should not reduce the clear approach to the toilet, interfere with a grab bar, or create a sharp projection.
What the project demonstrates—and what it does not
| Documented project fact | What it means for interpretation |
|---|---|
| Seven-foot-tall central totem | Sink, medicine cabinet, shower, and toilet are consolidated in one vertical core. |
| 75-square-foot primary bathroom | The strategy responds to a very compact room; dimensions for other homes will differ. |
| Barrier-free layout and future wheelchair-use sink and toilet | These are stated design intentions and features, not an accessibility audit or certification. |
| Shower bench and turquoise steel grab bar | Support features are present; makes, models, ratings, and installation details are not reported. |
| Hallway-facing clerestory and iridescent tile | Daylight and reflected light are central to the visual strategy; glazing and tile specifications are limited. |
| “Less likely to slip and fall” rationale | The report gives no measured rate, study, or post-occupancy result, so this is not a quantified outcome. |
The project report supplies no construction cost, client identity, published study statistic, or measured performance result. Its value is as a documented design case, not as proof that one arrangement will produce a particular reduction in falls or a guaranteed accessible bathroom.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Adapting the inside-out idea to a renovation
1. Record movement before drawing fixtures
Observe how the resident enters, turns, sits, bathes, dresses, and reaches for towels or controls. Note whether a walker, cane, or wheelchair is used now and whether a caregiver may need space later. Measure the existing room, door swing, window or clerestory possibilities, plumbing stacks, heating equipment, and electrical locations.
2. Test a central-core plan at full scale
Use painter’s tape or temporary cardboard to mark a proposed core and the clear paths around it. Try the layout with the actual mobility device, not an assumed body width. Check approach to the sink and toilet from more than one direction, and test whether a helper can stand beside the shower bench.
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3. Separate design intent from verified requirements
Ask the architect, contractor, or occupational-therapy accessibility specialist to verify turning and transfer clearances, fixture heights, door hardware, slip resistance, lighting levels, waterproofing, and structural backing. Confirm local code requirements before demolition. The Kerhonkson project is not presented as a code manual, so its seven-foot core should not be copied dimension-for-dimension.
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4. Coordinate the wet-room assembly
Place the drain, shower slope, bench, controls, handheld hose, grab-bar blocking, and wall finishes in one coordinated drawing. Keep penetrations out of vulnerable waterproofing areas where possible. Select tile and grout for the floor’s wet use, and obtain written installation requirements from the tile and membrane manufacturers.
5. Build the lighting and paint schedule together
Map daylight from the clerestory or window, general ceiling lighting, mirror lighting, shower lighting, and the night-light. Then test paint samples beside the tile and metal. Iridescent tile can shift from warm to cool as the light changes, while a saturated turquoise element may alter the perceived hue of nearby neutrals. Specify sheen by location: a bathroom coating must tolerate cleaning and humidity, but excessive gloss can create glare for some users.
6. Keep storage in the plan
The totem includes a medicine cabinet, and the original project retains a magazine rack. Count medications, toiletries, towels, and cleaning supplies before closing walls. Storage that is too high or too deep can undermine an otherwise accessible plan. Put frequently used items within the resident’s comfortable reach and keep floor-level storage from narrowing the circulation path.
Project credits and known specifications
| Item | Reported information |
|---|---|
| Architect | BAAB Architecture and Buildings; Ted Baab, principal |
| General contractor | Feinberg Construction |
| Location | Kerhonkson, New York |
| Area | 75 square feet |
| Completion | December 2023 |
| Client | Withheld in the project report |
| Cost | Withheld in the project report |
| Glazing | Guardian |
| Floor and wall tile | Ocean Mosaics |
| Lighting | WAC Lighting |
| Sink | Kohler Verticyl |
| Toilet | Duravit |
| Shower | Hansgrohe Raindance |
| Bench and grab bar | Brands and models not identified |
The named fixtures are credits in the Architectural Record feature, not a complete specification or confirmation of current availability. Exact dimensions, finishes, mounting details, and prices should be obtained from project documents or manufacturers before ordering.
Why this is a useful model for painters and finish teams
Painting is only one layer of a compact bathroom, but it can either support or fight the architectural idea. A central core creates several planes that may be seen from different angles, so transitions at corners need crisp preparation. Protect the tile, glazing, grab bar, plumbing trim, and lighting during surface work. Resolve whether a plane is painted, tiled, or clad before estimating labor; the published report does not identify painted wall areas, so a contractor should not assume that every visible surface received paint.
Use mock-ups to evaluate color contrast at the toilet, sink, shower controls, and grab bar. Check the result with the room’s actual lamps and with the night-light operating. A color that appears distinct in a showroom can flatten under low light or become visually noisy beside iridescent tile. Document the chosen color, sheen, substrate preparation, primer, and number of coats in the finish schedule so future touch-ups do not compromise the cohesive light strategy.
The central lesson
BAAB’s inside-out bath is a spatial strategy rather than a product package. In a 75-square-foot room, concentrating the sink, medicine cabinet, shower, and toilet in a seven-foot core leaves more legible circulation while allowing color, daylight, texture, and personal routines to remain visible. The project shows how aging-in-place goals can be integrated into an expressive interior, while its limited published measurements remind renovators to verify safety, code, and accessibility conditions for their own occupants.
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