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Corner Medicine Cabinets

"The central element in this room is the view," explains project architect Amena Hajjar of this master bath's corner configuration. "To put these vanities side by side, we would have had to eliminate one of the windows and we couldn't do it." Custom medicine cabinets the same width as the windows reflect the panorama. Only the mirror swings open leaving the mahogany frame in place to perpetuate the illusion of four windows. The perpendicular arrangement adds to the room's romance quotient since to gaze out at Mount Tamalpais, the owners must also look toward each other.

Floating beech vanities leave floor space open to visually extend the size of this 7 1/2-by-12 1/2-foot room. Mahogany counters connect the vanities and reinforce the corner focal point. Pale limestone tiles on the floor, vanity counters, and shower walls complete the subdued material palette. Principal architect Steven House says the materials are "soft and calming with nothing decorative because the view is everything."

Hajjar adds that the clients "are very honest about how they lived and weren't interested in amenities just for show," so rather than adding a tub that wouldn't be used, a roomy walk-in shower is the sole bathing facility. Two showerheads mimic the vanity setup in the opposite corner. Overlapping partitions, staggered in height, maintain bathers' privacy while offering glimpses of the scenery.

Contractor: Innovation Builders, Emeryville, Calif.; Architect: House + House Architects, San Francisco; Photographer: David Duncan Livingston. * Resources: Hardware: Bauerware, Circle 400; Light fixtures: LBL, Circle 401, Sonoma, Circle 402, Translite, Circle 403, and Zaneen, Circle 404; Paint: Benjamin Moore, Circle 405; Plumbing fittings/fixtures: Kallista, Circle 406, Kohler, Circle 407, and Pohl, Circle 408; Windows: Blomberg, Circle 409.

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