This ’70s-inspired bathroom is having a cosmic moment

Not much, save for the fact that both were inspirations for what has to be one of Buffalo’s most unique residential bathroom designs.

Emily and Nando Alvarez-Perez are a power couple on the Buffalo art scene. You may know them as the co-founders of the Buffalo Institute for Contemporary Art (BICA). After meeting in San Francisco while attending graduate school, Emily and Nando settled into a duplex on McKinley Parkway, allured by the vibrant arts community in Nando’s hometown of Buffalo. Eventually, they decided to invest in the design of their upstairs apartment.

Enter: Nicholas Wheeler of Industrial Arts Studio, a local craftsman, artist and designer with a background studying architecture. He is currently an independent contractor who primarily focuses on designing and building for residential renovation projects like this one.

After hearing of his clients’ artistic backgrounds and their vibrant vision for the project, Nicholas got to work, planning a collection of dynamic elements that would give a nod to retro design while still propelling this bathroom into the future.

“We came into this project really prepared to let Nick propose whatever he wanted, and to support his vision,” Emily says. “He would suggest things, thinking we would hate the stronger ideas, but a lot of this project was built on a willingness to trust our creative partner.”

Emily has fond childhood memories at her grandmother’s house in Colorado, which was redone in the height of the 1970s. Her grandmother passed a few years ago, and as Emily (also a Colorado native) made her new house a home across the country, it renewed her ambition to connect with those sentimental memories.

“I remember it as really bright, beautiful and warm, and it had a lot of avocado and orange,” she says. “She had the classic, green shag carpet everywhere and the exact same porch furniture from ‘That ’70s Show.’ That house was just such a specific moment in time for my family.”

Design details

Emily and Nando originally had the idea for orange mosaic tile—Nando is a Star Wars fan, and Emily loved how an earthy shade of orange was reminiscent of both fictional Star Wars landscapes as well as her grandmother’s house. Nicholas countered this with a suggestion of white tile accented by orange grout. A more cost-effective solution, the white tile feels timeless while also reflecting more light than the orange would have, making the small bathroom feel larger.

Terrazzo was used across the bathroom countertops and surfaces, as well as the sides and top edges of the tub. Nicholas suggested terrazzo because of how adaptable it is to the size and shape needs of a project. Its uniformity juxtaposed nicely with the ceramic tiles on the walls, which have a more textured surface.

The placement of the bathroom tub was one of the biggest challenges, due to the room’s modest dimensions. An undermount tub was ultimately selected, which feels more luxurious and is often used in bathroom layouts that can support standalone tubs separate from showers. In this case, the undermount tub became the tub/shower combo and succeeded at making a smaller bathroom retain a feeling of comfort and extravagance.

Around the room

Bathroom design: Industrial Arts Studio, Nicholas Wheeler

Build team: Nicholas Wheeler, Casimir Garrison, Jack Wakeley

Cabinetry fabrication: Quincy Koczka