From Julie
San Francisco architect Cary Bernstein devised a plein air shower/spa space in a house designed for indoor/outdoor living in Sonoma County, California (see more photos of the house at Cary Bernstein Architect).



Recreate the effect with the following elements:

Above: Designed by Marcel Wanders for Boffi, the floor-mounted stainless steel Pipe adds a note of industrial chic. Go to Boffi to locate a dealer.

Above: Bernstein used Ann Sacks Summit Bark tile ("It's one of my favorites—gorgeous, practical, and inexpensive" ). The Summit Collection is a highly durable, easy-to-maintain glazed flooring tile that reproduces the look of stone quarried in the Burgundy region of France.
Above: Zurn Chrome-Plated 5-Inch Shower Drain; $47.95 at Aspire Mart. 

Above: Alno Euro Robe Hooks are available through San Francisco's Bauerware, a favorite hardware source.

Above: Bernstein used steel windows from Bay Area–based Bonelli Windows; for more ideas, see Windows, Walls & Floors: Steel Window and Door Fabricators.


Above: For the walls in the indoor spa space, Bernstein used Northern Lights Creme 2-by-2-inch quarry tile from Ceramic Tile & Design ("Because it's quarry tile it has a slightly heftier feel than glazed ceramic tile. It's irregular and a bit of a pain to work with if you're precise about your layouts, which I am, but it's worth the effort").

Above: For the indoor and outdoor benches, Bernstein used ipé, an exotic tropical hardwood that is naturally resistant to rot and decay (and eight times harder than redwood and as fire resistant as concrete).
April 28, 2009
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It would be interesting to find out whether not not ipé can be sustainably harvested. Nearly all tropical hardwoods, such as iroku, cannot be, even though it's often claimed that they can.