Kaleidoscope Haven: A Hand-Cut Mosaic for AOME Architects

Completed primary bath with bespoke blue freestanding tub and mosaic shower enclosure, Kaleidoscope Haven

Kaleidoscope Haven is a custom waterfront home in Seattle, Washington — a project that began with a bold vision from AOME Architects and grew into one of the most intricate mosaic installations our studio has ever undertaken. The primary bath anchors the home: a room designed around a bespoke cast bathtub and an immersive, floor-to-ceiling underwater world built entirely by hand.

Our Scope

Our work centered on the shower enclosure. Miller Interior Design led the mosaic concept, producing detailed surface maps for every plane — back wall, side walls, ceiling, floor, bench, and niche — each depicting a different layer of a Pacific Northwest marine environment, from the sun-lit shallows down to the jewel-toned ocean floor.

Miller Interior Design surface layout showing mosaic artwork mapped to each surface of the shower enclosure

Working from those plans, Vitalii — our lead decorative tile artist — assembled the installation piece by piece in our studio. Many tiles were cut individually to follow the organic curves of the design: the sweep of a sea fan, the spines of a sea urchin, the rippled edge of a nudibranch. There was no templating those shapes. Each one was read from the design and cut by hand.

Built in the Studio First

Before a single tile touched the job site, the panels were assembled flat on the studio floor alongside the reference prints that guided the color palette and creature placement.

Reference prints and source imagery spread on the studio floor during design and layout phase

Mosaic panels being assembled by hand in the studio — coral and sea life emerging piece by piece

Close detail of hand-cut mosaic tiles forming sea anemones and coral forms

The process required equal parts patience and spatial thinking. The design had to read correctly when wrapped around a three-dimensional space — creatures needed to flow continuously from wall to ceiling, floor to bench, niche to surround.

The Finished Installation

The completed shower is unlike anything we've installed. Every surface is covered. The design moves from brighter, coral-rich shallows near the top of the walls, down through a colorful reef, and into a darker, more textural ocean floor underfoot. The glass enclosure frames it — and through the window behind it, an actual view of the water.

Interior of the completed mosaic shower enclosure — full walls, ceiling, and floor depicting a Pacific Northwest underwater scene

Shower niche and bench detail showing continuous hand-laid mosaic tile work

The Collaboration

Projects like this don't happen without everyone involved making room for the others to do their best work. AOME Architects held the vision across a complex, multi-trade project. Miller Interior Design designed not just the interior but the mosaic itself. Mosaico Tile supplied the material. Toth Construction built the space. Chown Hardware sourced the fixtures. And the bathtub — a one-of-a-kind piece cast from our client's own form and realized by a specialized artisan team in Indonesia — set the tone for how seriously everyone took the details.

Bespoke blue freestanding cast bathtub with copper floor-mount faucet, Puget Sound visible through the window

We are grateful to the entire team and especially to AOME and our client for trusting us with this scope.

Photography: Miranda Estes

Project Credits

Architecture: AOME Architects
Construction: Toth Construction
Interior Design: Miller Interior Design
Mosaic design: Miller Interior Design
Mosaic tile supply: Mosaico Tile
Mosaic tile installation: Carly Michael Stone Design
Hardware: Chown Hardware