When four siblings are sharing a bathroom, asking a designer to come in and reduce the room’s square footage sounds like a disaster. But for Leigha Heydt ’s clients, who were without a much-needed study at their Shingle Style house in Mill Valley, California, it made sense. When the clients presented the situation to the Sausalito-based designer, she knew exactly what to do. “The original bathroom measured 12 by 8.5 feet, but flow was essentially cut off, with doors and walls splitting the room in half. So, it was spacious but not very functional for four children between the ages of four and 13,” says Heydt. Her dramatic first decision was scaling back the size of the bathroom to 7.7 by 8.5 feet. The clients had only one request—to use Kohler ’s Brockway cast-iron sink with double faucets to accommodate twice the handwashing and toothbrushing. Here’s how Heydt’s thoughtful design fulfilled the family’s needs.

Heydt removed doors and walls, opening up the bathroom and creating more functional space. This also allowed her to use a clawfoot tub as a focal point. The stand-alone tub makes the room feel bigger as it has plenty of open space to surround it. The newly installed picture window lets in natural light, giving the smaller space an airy feel. The custom-made shower curtains by Benjamin Dhong double as window treatments.

The space in the original bathroom lacked flow with sliding doors and walls breaking up the space. Now, the open plan brings all activities closer together maximizing the smaller footprint.

The vintage vibe of Kohler’s Brockway trough sink led the design direction. Sunrise Specialty ’s clawfoot and pull-chain water closet complete the look. For a luxe touch, a metal plating shop stripped the faucets and soap dish to expose the brass.

The paneling mimics the high-level woodworking found throughout the rest of the house. A horizontal mirror adds visual interest to complement the higher molding it sits under, while double medicine cabinets and four towel hooks from Waterworks keep daily routines well organized. Focusing on the finishes and details in a small space, Heydt says, helps makes the size less noticeable.