By Shelby Deering | Photographed by Shanna Wolf
A bathroom can be more than a bathroom. It can also be a place where you take time for yourself in soothing surroundings—where you can sit in your tub with a glass of wine and watch the snow fall. Or do some stargazing while you soak in a relaxing bubble bath.
It’s a feeling that’s been captured in this peaceful, modern bathroom belonging to Lori Zoha Tomaselli and her husband, Tony, of Middleton. When the couple purchased the 1970s home in 2001, their goal was to complete one renovation per year. “The interior didn’t reflect our tastes,” Lori shares.
In April 2018, Lori reached out to Bella Domicile to make her vision for the bathroom a reality.
“I knew what I wanted the bathroom to look like long before we started,” she says.
She had always pictured a gray color palette, especially since it’s one of her favorite hues.
“Even before decorating in gray was popular, a cool, wintry palette has always been one of my favorite color schemes. Twenty years ago, I started decorating our Christmas trees in that palette, and everyone thought it was so unique that I slowly started steering our house in that same color scheme,” Lori says.
Dana Langreck, lead designer at Bella Domicile, helped Lori bring her dream to life. Completed as part of an addition that wrapped in a master suite, the project started in November 2018 and was finished in June 2019. The team also included Casey Haselwander of Sauk Prairie Remodeling, Inc. and Kris Elser of Nonn’s.
Langreck loves many aspects of this bathroom, but she particularly enjoys “how we used a simple collection of materials, but we used them in unique ways like installing the tile in various sizes and directions.”
The materials and fixtures really do shine in this space, figuratively and literally. In addition to the two types of porcelain tile used in the bathroom, hints of sparkle peek out from the rhinestone-encrusted cabinet pulls, the light fixture above the vanity and even the granite countertop that glitters in the light.
“I love Lori’s additions of bling,” Langreck says.
The design process came together through a mix of in-person appointments and internet inspiration. Lori initially met with Langreck to discuss the layout.
“I suggested a new plan flipping the closet and bathroom and showed Lori some ideas to fit with her preference for contemporary styling and used 3-D drawings to help relay these ideas,” Langreck says. “I also showed her how we could incorporate big windows to take advantage of her connections with her beautiful countryside setting.”
The two went to The Granite Shop of Madison to pick out the perfect granite countertop—a score from their remnant collection. But Lori actually tracked down several accents through websites. She purchased the light fixtures, cabinet hardware and even the luxurious soaking tub online.
There’s a good chance that the tub steals the show in this bathroom, acting as an ideal spot to de-stress and take in views of the cornfield Lori transformed into a natural prairie.
She says, “Just walking into that room is like an extension to the outdoors, especially at night with the lights off. You can brush your teeth or sit in the tub while counting the stars.”
