Get Ready to Re-Think Bathroom Cabinetry
What comes to mind when you think of bath cabinets? If it’s that mailer from your local home improvement store, the “custom” cabinet place that lets you pick the finish you want on a pre-fab unit or a trip to the Swedish assemble it yourself warehouse, hold onto your socks as we introduce you to La Puerta Originals’ bathroom cabinetry.
Our truly custom cabinets are designed in collaboration with you, our client, to fit your sense of style, the scale of your home and your lifestyle. We hand-craft, always using salvaged lumber, finishing each piece with our proprietary, multi-layer, hand-rubbed patinas. Hardware options include self-closing drawers and doors, cabinet and drawer customization and unique knobs, pulls and handles.
We often incorporate architectural antiques in our designs, including intricately carved segments from antique door surrounds, panels from antique cupboard doors, even an antique gear shaft as the base of a powder room vanity in the last photo. And while a bold use of color can make a piece pop, it is not necessary for the “Wow!” factor, as the opening vanity shows. Made with salvaged woods, accented with carved panels and finials from antique dowry chests, the vanity features a creamy patina with a darker hand-rubbed accent highlighting the carving.
The rustic bath cabinets for a guest casita here in Santa Fe feature a center cabinet made using parts of several antique cupboards, flanked by a pair of vanities crafted with hefty reclaimed woods. The matching mirror frames and covered light fixtures were custom made in our metal shop.
The stunning vanity in the blue bathroom was made using the side columns to an antique door surround and intricately carved panels. Finished in a dark brown, the carving is highlighted with a random application of gold leaf.
The colorful blue and green vanity makes superb use of the original antique material, particularly the multiple layers of paint which were matched and fleshed out by our talented finishers. The deep red carved panels adorn the drawer and cabinet fronts, the ric rac design bordering the antique cabinet surround frames the center drawers and, in an earlier version, as a detail photo shows, even the antique cabinet handles were tested for the cabinet doors, ultimately to be replaced with all matching knobs as the mix of patinas didn’t quite work.
Sometimes the thing that makes a room pop is simply scale. In a master bath suite here in Santa Fe, the tub and shower are separated from the rest of the bath in an alcove. The enormous mirror reflects the light and greenery of the windows over the tub. At over five feet tall, in a deep red finish, the mirror is a wonderful surprise accent in a room that is otherwise very subtle, with gorgeous Tabarka tile and a wood facia for the tub.
Our final photo is of a powder room, also here in Santa Fe. So many wonderful things going on in this room! Reflected in the mirror is the door, made with antique wood inset with an antique Nuristani carved panel. The mirror is framed with reclaimed tin that is hammered flat and quilted with tiny nails. The stone sink was added on site. The client said that had she purchased it in person, rather than on the web, she probably would have gone a bit smaller, but she is quite happy with the combination of stone and wood. The contrasting textures are striking. The vanity “leg” is an antique gear shaft from Panama that originally powered a sorghum mill. The substantial countertop was made with salvaged barn beams. It is an extraordinary little room!
The cabinetry shown here is just an introduction into our portfolio of work. To see more of our innovative bath cabinetry, please see the gallery section of our website. Feel free to contact us to arrange a tour, or to see how we can help you re-think your bathroom cabinetry!
