Room of the Week: Reisa Pollard, Beyond Beige Interior Design

According to interior designer Reisa Pollard of Beyond Beige Interior Design, the design team started by taking an antique clawfoot tub and re-enamelling it in chartreuse yellow (Para Paint, Crisp Gewurtzraminer, p5050-52), then embedded it in cast concrete. Shower hardware is the Windham Hotel Thermostatic Tub and Shower Set from Signature Hardware. The lights above the vanity were crafted by a Canadian artist Tanya Clarke who uses recycled plumbing parts along with hand-blown glass, and the red faucet hardware from Rubinet adds another bright color without going overboard.

Category: Bathroom

Designer: Reisa Pollard, Beyond Beige Interior Design

Location: Vancouver

Goal: To bring color and life to the powder room in an old heritage loft in the Hamilton building, located in the heart of Vancouver’s Yaletown neighborhood.

Inspiration: The client is a well-known actor and producer from Canada and his wife is from Chicago, but they wanted a relaxed, low-maintenance space. Pollard wanted to keep the bones of the loft while bringing in rich texture and color in a unique and original way.

Breakdown: “This small space encouraged us to be creative in the details since there was no opportunity to modify the floor plan,” Pollard notes. “I felt that because of the size constraints of the room that if I simply worked with industrial elements that it would have to propensity to be dreary. I wanted the user to go in and feel happy and inspired by the space. The inspiration started with two images: one of a concrete tub, and another of an old corrugated iron wall. These elements seemed quite natural to include and the challenge was how to infuse the color as I don’t typically design with bright primary hues.”

Tips to Get the Look: Pollard advises consideration for the materials that are already in a room, such as drywall, and working from there to find creative, colorful, and interesting ways to cover it up. In the case of this bathroom she mixed higher-priced, hand-glazed hexagonal tile from Ann Sacks with inexpensive corrugated metal paneling behind the Janitor’s Card vanity from U-Line Distributers. “Typically, when designing you are trying to match metal finishes etc.,” she says. “In eclectic design, it is better use reckless abandon and mix various elements together.”