Noteworthy Books for Kitchen and Bath Pros

Style To Go: Bed & Bath
By Josh Garskof
The Taunton Press, Newtown, CT

A sourcebook for the style-conscious, the Style To Go books are a series of pocket-sized references that offer snappy tips and style points for everyone from designers and builders to savvy consumers.

Bed & Bath aims to show an effective symbiosis between the two sanctuary rooms in the home. Garskof examines what makes the rooms work, what makes them worthy of retreat and how master bedroom and bath designs can work in concert with one another without standing in contrast or monotonously blending together.

With helpful sidebars including tips and tricks to overcome style challenges such as limited space and storage issues, Bed & Bath shows conventional styles with customized twists such as the inclusion of unusual wood species, often combined with a traditional element like wainscoting and moldings to make the space truly personal.

Suggestions for satisfying the homeowner’s needs during the process are peppered throughout, such as ideas for selecting tile accents, and how to choose and combine attractive, slip-resistant surfaces for the bath.

Garskof suggests the creation of “bathroom work zones” where, much like the kitchen work triangle, activities can be usefully grouped together to create an efficient, shareable space, better for busy families.

Additional suggestions include ideas for decorative/functional hardware selection and innovative storage solutions to make small areas such as narrow guest baths feel luxurious.

Garskof completes this volume with a comprehensive product source guide, lists of builder- and designer-friendly organizations and resources for each bed and bath featured. From simple tips about matching new and salvaged bath components to form a singular look, to tips about changing up decorative hardware to infuse a new look into old cabinetry and doors, the strengths of the Style To Go series lay in its wide inclusion of ideas that fit every budget and its attentive, eye-catching photography.

Contemporary Asian Bathrooms
By Chami Jotisalikorn and Karina Zabihi
Periplus/Tuttle Publishing, Vermont

Successful ethnic design, no matter what culture it is derived from, thrives on merging the effects of that culture with the latest innovations to create a thrilling aesthetic. And contemporary Asian bathroom design is no different.

In this richly photographed coffee table book, Jotisalikorn and Zabihi give a complete history of the Asian bathroom, from its outdoor origins to its modern-day status as art form.

The books include photos from private homes – luxurious Southeast Asian spas and resorts – that any designer charged with creating “a temple dedicated to body worship” would do well to take note of during the design process.

The designers featured are of a new generation ushering in a wave of innovative bath design who desire to bring their designs to an international audience, the authors further note.

Utilizing locally available materials such as coconut shell in the Philippines and Balinese boulders crafted into soaking tubs, the signature of each is the successful marriage of traditional elements, clean, modern design and regional flavor.

The harnessing of local objects is key. In parts of Southeast Asia, outdoor living influences home building, and the bathroom’s integration of that concept looms large. The idea of the bathroom as sanctuary is found in the serene lines and subtle colors of baths in this book.

The photos of the various spaces all have one thing in common and that is the proof that the essence of Asian minimalism survives: clean lines. Although the soul of the movement is intact, other trends point to a widening palette of materials growing in popularity. Traditional white tile is taking a back seat to versatile, eye-catching materials such as terrazzo, identified as the “material of the moment” in Asia, and clean, sleek stainless steel.