2007 HC&G IDEA HOUSE TOUR

Located at the bottom of the stairs on the lower level is a full bathroom designed to look "classic, calm and monochromatic," says Susanne Kelley of Hampton Design Kitchens Baths. She and Peggy Fruin evoked this feeling of tranquility first and foremost by their choice of tile. They used a Calcutta marble herringbone floor (surrounded by a border of mosaics) in the main room and in the shower still more Calcutta marble—large, horizontal tiles with bold blue veins on the walls and mosaics on the floor. "I took one stone and did different things with it in different areas to achieve a variety of textures," Kelley explains.

The centerpiece of the bathroom is a four-inch-thick Calcutta marble sink supported by sleek mirrored chrome legs—a modern take on Art Deco design. It features fixtures by Laura Kirar for Kallista, as does the shower. Above it hangs a simple recessed mirrored medicine cabinet from Restoration Hardware against a delicate horizontal stripe wallpaper by Osborne & Little. "It's really very elegant, but we did it in a contemporary way," Kelley says of the bathroom. "It's a classic look with a very modern feel."