Dream Homes: Pick of the Week: 10 Great Baths

On a scenic reservoir of the Colorado River in Austin, Texas, Ted Flato, of the architectural firm Lake/Flato, designed a 6,000-square-foot modern village—three guesthouses and a main house—for his clients that appears to float on water. Above: Beyond the glass wall of the master bath is a private Japanese garden courtyard. Rich Ipe flooring gives the serene space a warm tone, as does the custom, amber-hued, egg-shaped resin tub that glows from fiber-optic lighting beneath. A series of photographs by Ed Ruscha is on the wall. (October 2006)


“It’s a juxtaposition of old and new,” Peter Silling says of Schloss Velden, the historic castle on Lake Wörth in Velden, Austria, and its new addition, whose interiors he designed. Black marble, custom-ordered for the suite, adds a mirrorlike reflection to the bath. (May 2008)


Seeking to preserve and update the house they commissioned from Richard Barancik in 1953, Chicagoans Howard and Doris Conant hired Margaret McCurry, of Tigerman McCurry Architects. With its picture window, skylight and natural materials, the new master bath has an indoor-outdoor feel. Ann Sacks tub. LeFroy Brooks. (February 2009)


Steve Wynn’s Encore, created by DeRuyter O. Butler and Glen Ashworth, of Butler/Ashworth Architects, is the newest of the developer’s collection of Las Vegas properties. A duplex bath features floor-to-ceiling windows and Greek marble. Kravet leather on vanity. Maya Romanoff wallcovering. (April 2009)



The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain Hotel & Spa, in Manama, has 23 secluded units along the Persian Gulf. Above: A master bath. The ceiling faucet of the Kohler tub has the effect of a rain shower. (September 2008)



“As a landscape abstraction, it has no expression of façade; rather, it’s a series of slope extensions,” Antoine Predock says of a Colorado house he designed. Tucked into the northeast corner of the house, the master bath looks onto a grove of aspens. (October 2007)



Designer Ed Tuttle worked with Adrian and Bebe Zecha to create a private residence within the couple’s Amanpuri resort on Phuket, Thailand. “Its roots are really developed from the Ayutthaya period of architecture,” Tuttle says. Above: “The tub in the master bath is surrounded by maka, a tropical hardwood similar to teak,” says Tuttle. (January 2009)



“I wanted to look forward, not backward,” architect Thomas Roszak says of his design for his own modern steel-and-glass residence on Chicago’s North Shore. Above: The master bath. Warm elements such as cherry floors “add just enough softness to the otherwise hard-edged lines of the rest of the machine.” Varenna drawers. (May 2005)



Architect Jack Lionel Warner, principal of The Warner Group, and Los Angeles designer Barbara Barry paired up to create a light-filled house atop a hill in Montecito, California. “The objective was to make a strong residence—contemporary but timeless,” says Warner. Above: A Barry-designed leather-covered ottoman sits before walnut shelves that frame the views from the master bath. Kallista tub. (May 2005)

A selection of well-designed gems whose luxury draws upon their peaceful—and often stunning—surroundings.