In an eight-bathroom house, it’s only natural that the design choices start to push the boundaries—how many times can one designer get excited about white subway tiles, after all? So by the time Katie Rioux and Candice Arcuri of Calgary’s DWK Interiors got to this space (an ensuite attached to the family’s college-aged son’s bedroom), they were ready to get bold, with an arresting black-on-black design.

Photo: Michelle Johnson

The trick to keeping the room from feeling like a black hole is subtle texture. Here, the walls are lined with a mix of textured and solid black tiles from Ames Tile, which run from behind the tub all the way to the back of the vanity. The shower, too, is decked out in this moody black-on-black-on black palette, and the fixtures here are matte black to match. But amid the darkness, one thing pops: an egg-like ivory tub that seems to almost glow beneath a Cartwright Lighting pendant lamp.

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