A Purifying Bath, 2003 French Designer Showhouse (aka International Designer Showhouse) in New York City

This exploration into "Zen Kink" - as dubbed by William Hamilton, Design Critic at the New York Times - in an October 16th article, was inspired by the adjoining "Master" bedroom by the architect William T. Georgis. In a standard sized Manhattan bathroom, I juxtaposed a textural exploration with ceremonial Asian bathing and sexual innuendo. The ceiling was clad in black glass tiles, and the tub in Mexican river stones. Concrete pavers were installed for the floor, surrounded by river stones. The antique water bucket would be filled from a pot filler that I used over my custom granite pedestal sink, to bath ones' partner. To sharpen the contrasts, a gorgeous stainless steel commode was installed and could double as a bidet with the adjoining wall mounted magic wand. A buddha and a monk's bowl (from Palisander) and silk kimono (from Shanghai Tang) balance the macho hardware and 82 inch industrial zipper. Make note - there isn't a mirror to be found here, the bath with toothbrush is down the hall.