When you build a house, or in this case an addition, it’s super exciting to see a room take shape with the framing of the walls, doorways, window openings… but nothing beats seeing it come alive with the chosen finishes!
Bath #1
This bath was designed as the master bath although it isn’t connected to the master bedroom.
What?
No en-suite?
I know it’s what most people desire but with the limited square footage (only 900 before the 225 square foot addition), the staircase in the center of the house, and beautiful views to the east and south that we wanted to save for family room and kitchen spaces, our options were limited. By omitting an en-suite we would gain a fairly open concept for the main living area, with a ton of natural light and amazing views.
En-suite or amazing views? Ultimately, an easy choice.
The tile
I went to the tile shop knowing I wanted this bathroom done in grays but beyond that I was open to anything. I decided to find one tile I really liked and work around it.
Here it is:
A beautiful, multi colored glass tile with a crackled surface giving it a vintage look.
It was absolutely the most beautiful, perfect tile for this house.
The designer suggested using it for the entire back wall of the shower, not just an average stripe up the middle of the wall as an accent, but to showcase it!
Shocking and I was all for it!
Once that decision was made, picking the coordinating tiles was easy:
dark gray tile: floors (lighter in person, looks like concrete)
lighter gray tile: two of the shower walls
multi-colored tile: back shower wall
*not pictured: 2″x2″ squares of the lighter gray tile for the shower floor.
We had Top Gunn Tile do the install. They were great to work with.
Our walk in shower: 5′ deep by 4′ wide.
First came the cement board and shower pan,
then waterproofing,
and finally the tile went up!
The back wall!
Lots of niche space for products and a toe kick/foot rest for shaving legs!
Aren’t those little square floor tiles cute?
They don’t draw your eye away from the back wall because they match the larger tiles in color, but their shape adds a little contrast.
We love it!
We still need the shower fixtures hung and a frameless glass shower door installed.
The cabinets
The trend continues to be white and light neutrals for cabinet colors but this bathroom needed some warmth with all the tile and what better to do that than some beautiful wood.
I didn’t want a reclaimed wood look but I did want a very natural and imperfect surface so we chose a rustic birch in a saddle finish.
The lighting
The vanity is flanked by 4 very low profile (and yes, a little modern) LED lights!
They are so not my style, but when I saw them I knew I had to have them.
They are perfect!
Drum roll please… I got my gaudy and glitzy chandelier. I love it and I think it’s growing on Steve too!
It projects really amazing light/shadows onto the ceiling.
It’s a bit fanciful and completely impractical but I think every home needs some whimsy, kind of like every gal needs some sass!
The counter tops
Unlike the tile, I knew exactly what I wanted for counter tops.
I wanted pure white quartz! A little gray would be okay but pure white was my preference. I needed a really big piece: 90″ x 25″. When buying a single counter top, a remnant piece (leftover from another job) is the most economical way to go, but the size I needed posed quite the challenge.
I’ve lost track at how many stone yards I visited looking for the perfect remnant, most didn’t have anything in the size I needed let alone the color I preferred. I was on every one of their call back lists should a remnant became available.
Then one very windy and rainy day I stopped for a Diet Coke at a Mc Donald’s (surprised, right?) in Hickory. While waiting for my turn at the pick up window, I was checking out the nearby businesses, as I had never been in that area before, and noticed right next door were stone slabs.
After I got my Diet Coke, I headed on over and unbelievably found two different remnants both large enough for my bathroom counter top.
One was pure white (White Cliff by Cambria Luxury Series: Desert Collection, named after the chalky White Cliffs of Dover, England) and the other was mostly white with some light gray throughout.
I was speechless to finally see and touch what I had been searching for and then to have the right size, it was meant to be.
It was definitely my lucky day!
(Everything was moving a little too smooth though, don’t you think?)
While I was loving on that pure white slab of quartz, I noticed a 4 letter word that made my dreams come to a screeching halt:
HOLD
The White Cliff was on hold!
The good news: it wasn’t on hold because someone wanted to buy it.
The bad news: it was on hold awaiting the install of the counter top that had been already cut out, just in case it broke, they’d have a back up piece. I totally get that, but when they said it had been on hold for two months already, as the install had been repeatedly postponed, I was disappointed.
The other piece, with the gray throughout, had no holds but it really wasn’t what I wanted.
I opted to pay a deposit that held both pieces, with my name on them, and wait a couple of weeks to see if they could get the other install done.
Shortly after Thanksgiving (three weeks later), with the other customer’s install still not even scheduled, I decided to go back and take another look at my second choice.
I was sick of waiting.
Guess what?
It was gone!
After the sales person searched the yard, the fabricating area, the back lot…he headed inside to check the inventory sheet and found out they sold it!
The woman who I paid the deposit to was sitting right there so I asked her how it could be sold with my name on it? I reminded her that my deposit was to reserve both remnants.
Her response: I must not have put your name on it. REALLY?
Come to find out it wasn’t on the Cambria White Cliff either.
I was fuming!
Long story short, the owner came out and we walked the lot to see if there was anything else that could work instead and of course there wasn’t.
He personally called the other couple and essentially demanded they schedule a date for install (that could not be postponed) which was December 26 and so he scheduled me for December 28.
In the end everything went great! I got the counter top I really wanted and it’s as perfect as I’d hoped.
I love the rectangle under-mount sink too!
I also adore the classically vintage Kohler faucet.
The toilet
We chose a Gerber Avalanche Elongated Ergoheight toilet.
The window
The window is a Marvin Integrity Wood-Ultrex with a black fiberglass exterior and pine interior. Steve stained the interior black. We opted for a simple framed window, keeping with the original house, which will be painted white.
We’ve got a few things to finish: paint, baseboards, shower door and fixtures, stain and then hang the re-purposed door but it’s come a long way!
Coming next post is bathroom #2. I cannot wait to share with you the beautiful counter top we installed.
As always, keep it simple and do it with sass!
Kim
Your bathroom looks AMAZING!!
I love everything about it. Countertops were definitely worth the wait and I LOVE the chandelier.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks Tiffany, can’t wait until you can see it all in person.
Kim
Looking good. The Chandelier seems to give the room a warm glow. The black window and wood trim combination is very striking. Did you get Chucks approval on the toilet choice? Nice accent wall in the shower. Are you having handles on the cabinets? What are you going to use for the mirrors ? Kim you have a second calling.
Earl
Earl & Val (aka Grama and Grandpa B),
This was a fun project for sure. The wood around the windows as well as all trim in the house will be painted white. The window frames will all be black as you see in the photo. The doors in the house will be a variation of stain that will compliment the wood floors and painted (either white or black). I’m still deciding on hardware for the cabinets. I am planning on oval mirrors above each sink and then a hanging storage unit between the mirrors. Yes, Chuck did suggest a Gerber toilet and they were tricky to locate but our plumber (Dennis) found them for us. Love all your comments!
Kim