By Lisa van de Geyn
Photography by Brandon Barr
The vivacious Lori Morris is fervour and glamour personified. Known for colour and grandeur, drama and sparkle, the master designer is flawless and sexy, and so is the couture work she does for her ultra-lively firm she’s cultivated into one of the most coveted design houses, House of LMD.
So, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that her personal for clients here and abroad. When we spoke about her ensuite for this special Kitchen & Bath issue, the inimitable icon shimmered with passion. “My bathroom is part of my bedroom and I call it heaven because that’s what it is when you walk into this pink masterpiece,” she says. “My palette is dreamy, with pink marble space is as effervescent and sublime as the rooms she creates everywhere. Not only is it sumptuous and romantic, but it has the perfect calming effect. It’s really very beautiful.”
Bathrooms, of course, are classically the smaller, more intimate rooms in a home, but that doesn’t mean they lack the striking details and remarkable features seen in shared spaces. “For me, once we’re in the bathroom, we can infuse the layers we want, the sexiness and elegance we want and the interest we want, and put it together based on what the client is looking for,” Morris says. “These spaces make it easy to incorporate all kinds of genres and styles because you’re not dealing with fabrics and sofas and pillows; you’re not dealing with softness in terms of fabrics. What you create in this room doesn’t have to match the rest of the house or tie into the cohesiveness of the principal spaces — here, you get to shut the door, so anything can happen when it comes to design,” she says ardently. “Do you want a tranquil spa-like space with a neutral palette and sumptuous marble, or are you drawn to more soft and romantic bathrooms filled with stunning floral mosaic floors or walls and beautiful statement making hardware? There’s flexibility for design in bathrooms. Once you establish budget and design parameters, the options are truly endless. If you can dream it, we can do it.”
“When I work with pink, I opt for a hue like blush pink that’s neutral and more soothing. The connotation is that pink is always very feminine, but the shade used in this space offers the perfect balance. It has a luscious and romantic feel.”
Morris is gifted when working with a black-and-white palette. The hues figure prominently in her signature celebrated “Sexy French” style, which exudes a certain effortless aura that feels both exhilarating and at ease. It’s obvious in one Art Deco-inspired bathroom with soft-blue accents. “This room features white polished lacquer cabinetry with black polished lacquer strapping and detailing that’s accompanied by a black and-white marble floor and beautiful brass and crystal faucets. We added a touch of blue because sometimes clients like that slick black-and-white Chanel-inspired feel, and sometimes they like to add a bit of flair and colour, which is always the attraction to this palette,” she explains. In this space, the blue evokes happiness. “Then there’s the Murano-glass light fixture that has an opulent black vein through it. It’s simply spectacular.”
In another impeccably designed Art Deco-inspired bathroom that radiates sophistication and allure, it’s a delicate hint of pink that’s used to inject added appeal to the white-and black palette. Here, a black lacquer high-polished vanity with dazzling black lacquered strapping detailing around the mirrors — complete with an applique moulding overtop — takes centre stage. Two hanging fixtures with iridescent gold glass shades, a marvellous charcoal-grey sparkling Deco wallpaper and an exceptionally gorgeous black-, white-and-pink striped floor are just some of the details that create undeniable drama in a small area.
These kinds of details truly turn Morris’s designs into masterpieces. Take the incredibly posh tour de force that is a gentleman client’s bathroom. It features glorious limestone archways, a spectacular black marble diamond-patterned floor and a black lacquer with brass inlay vanity, finished with black-and-gold faucets. “We married the limestone carving and archway around the vanity, making it a beautiful focal point. The extravagant black-gloss-lacquered doors lead into his boudoir. It’s really gorgeous,” she says.
Also designed for a young man — this time a teenaged sports aficionado — the moody black bathroom with the basketball theme is statement-making, with a basketball-bullseye design on the wall in the shower. “We also did a black-and-white floor with a black lacquer vanity and black marble countertop, and we enhanced the look and feel with a black-and-charcoal wallpaper to give the room another layer.”
“It’s always about using LMD’s signature style of designing in layers upon layers. In these spaces we bring in stunning palettes, coloured marbles in different designs, spectacular hardware, gorgeous fixtures and other details that push the envelope and keep the design timeless and elegant.”
There’s no doubt Morris has perfected the black-and-white ensuite, but not every client requests the dramatic duo. Sometimes a marvellously pink bathroom can be a calming refuge for the homeowner. “When I work with pink, I opt for a hue like blush pink that’s neutral and more soothing,” she says. “The connotation is that pink is always very feminine, but the shade used in this space offers the perfect balance. It has a luscious and romantic feel.” This room has gorgeous pink snakeskin wallpaper, a vanity with white marble and gold veining, a brass faucet and a pink-and-white-tiled floor. “It’s done all in blush tones and creams and it’s just so stunning with the marble clover focal point in the bathtub. It’s breathtaking when you see it,” Morris tells me.
“Whether I’m doing an ultra-modern bathroom, something very romantic or something in between, it’s always about using LMD’s signature style of designing in layers upon layers. Instead of using paintings and fabrics and softer textures, in these spaces we bring in stunning palettes, coloured marbles in different designs, spectacular hardware, gorgeous fixtures and other details that push the envelope and keep the design timeless and elegant,” she says keenly. It’s true — whether she’s designing a palatial kitchen or a petite powder room, every space she creates is vibrant, chic and full of panache.
