photo courtesy: Junior League of Boston
The Junior League of Boston Show House returns this fall after a six year hiatus, working its makeover magic on the historic Potter Estate located in Newton, Massachusetts. The show will open its doors to the public on October 16th and run through November 18th. There will be over 36 decorated spaces to enjoy in this 1860’s Victorian mansion and the list of participating designers is quite impressive.
We are honored to be a part of this highly anticipated event, with fixtures from our Beverly showroom being featured in “The Guest Bath” designed by Janet Marena of JTM Interiors.
We asked Janet to share thoughts on her work in progress ...
Janet Marena of JTM Interiors
It can be a little overwhelming to walk through an old, empty house, looking at each of the spaces trying to decide which one you want to design and decorate. This is especially true when other designers are in the room you’re standing in – with their notebooks and measuring tapes – trying to decide if they want to decorate the same room!
“Before” photo credit: Janet Marena
While touring the three floors of the empty soon-to-be Show House I was drawn to a few spaces and the Guest Bath was one of them. The room, with its stained-glass windows and beautiful tile work, made me smile as I walked through it. So I pulled out my camera and my measuring tape ...
The first visual to ‘pop’ into my head when I was in the room was of a tropical plant.
Rendering of The Guest Bath designed by JTM Interiors by Erin E. Evans
“Before” photo credit: Janet Marena
The good news is the beautiful antique tile work and stained glass windows are beautiful, however, the tiles are in need of cleaning and in no way can they be removed. They were installed about 100 years ago using cement to grout them. They will be restored by the professional tile and stone refinishers at Boston Stone Restoration.
The first step was for me to find my bathroom ‘furniture’ so I called Jason Sevinor and asked him if Designer Bath wanted to help me furnish the room. I sent Jason my before photos of the space and then we scheduled a telephone conversation for one week later. In the meantime, I worked to find ‘complements’ to the room’s primary features. Again, a visual popped into my head after ruminating for a while. The visual was of clean, sleek bathroom fixtures. I did not want to go the ‘skirt the sink’ route with vintage fixtures. Why do that when there are so many more elegant choices?
During our phone conversation, I explained to Jason my vision. We set up a time to meet in the showroom. I walked in with a Duravit advertisement pulled out of a magazine and Jason showed me the same wall-hung cabinet in his showroom. Yeah, we were both on the same page! We then went on to choose some sexy and sophisticated Hansa faucet and bathtub fillers. And, no, the bathtub filler does not have a gooseneck as one would expect!
Next I needed to invite a plumber to review the room with me and determine the options for removing and replacing the sink and toilet. The bathtub will remain, and Porcelain Patch and Glaze Co. will resurface it for me. I worked with Tom McGovern of Holmes Plumbing, and along with being extremely knowledgeable, he was sooo easy to work with. After a few meetings with Jason present, we determined that the Duravit wall-hung cabinet we fell in love with could actually be installed! It worked out well since the water lines were in the floor, so logistically, a floor vanity would not have worked in this space.
