Progress update, and some more design detail inspirations

This week has been one for the books. I had shit going on at work, shit going on personally, and in general have just been trying to skate through it unscathed, so I can get to my VACATION that starts next week. WOO!

But as far as the remodel goes, it's been a productive week. The shower tile started going in on Monday, and it seemed slow-going at first, but before we knew it, grout was in, and now we're waiting on the countertops to be installed, and stuff.

I was wrong about the focal wall above my vanity being tiled this week...we do have to wait for the countertops for that stage, and it's looking more like they will go in next week. So I'll have to wait till I get back from vacation to see it in person. I'm so excited! Everyone is excited for me! The contractor, the tile guy, Leo...it's all very fun.

So we met with the contractor on Wednesday to go over some finalizing details. We had to decide on the type of wood we'll be using for the front of the vanities, as well as for the tub surround. So we got that taken care of. We also chose an unusual knob for the drawers and cupboards in the space that should bring a fair amount of femininity to the relatively masculine feel of the cabinets and the majority of the tile. This was our inspiration for both the cabinets and the knobs:

Contemporary Bathroom by Melrose Interior Designer Justine Sterling Design



Leo was 100% on board once I showed him that photo, so I went to Anthroplogie and found a few knobs for us to ponder. This one is their Bubbled Glass Knob, and goes for $8 a piece. We will have a total of about 16 knobs that we'll need for all the cabinets we're having installed, so that runs a very affordable $128.

Next up, I found this Silvered Mirror Knob in the Diamond shape. It was a very pretty option, too. It runs $10 a piece, so we'd be looking at $160 if we went with these. Still very reasonable for the effect we're trying to achieve:

That knob also comes in loads of other shapes. Prism, petite orb, pebble, etc, etc...so any number of styles are available for people to choose. It's quality stuff, so I totally recommend them!

Lastly, I fell in love with this knob. The Deco Block. It is actually quite large, and very heavy. And it's a little off of the style we were going toward, but I love it so damned much, I had to see if it might work! It didn't. Leo said nuh-uh to it as an option. (He also has totally nixed the secret bookcase door option for our entrance to the master, so he's skating on thin ice right now, lemme tell ya!) It's pretty awesome, though. It, too, costs $10 per item.

Seriously, if you've ever considered finding a special little something to give your own space some umph and a little sumpn'-sumpn', check out all the knob options at Anthro. Totally worth it!

So, as I mentioned, the shower tile has gone in. I haven't gotten a shot of it with the grout, but here it is the day they finished the actual tiling:

The bubble tile that everyone encouraged us to go ahead and get looks PERFECT, you guys. Just slammin'. We are SO fucking HAPPY we went with this one!;

Yesterday, they put up a bunch of the trim around doorways and windows and stuff, and the grout went into the shower, and I don't know what they're doing today, but I can't wait to get home and see! I'll have more photos up next week, for sure. Come on back and see the changes, and let me know what you think!

Cabinets!

I'm hoping that when I get home tonight, there will be TILE ALL OVER THE GODDAMMED PLACE! (I mean, within reason. Like, not on the doors. Just on the walls and stuff...) They had to smear some waterproofing material on the walls before they could tile the shower last week, so all they had done when I got home was one measly pony wall. BOOO.

So I took a picture of our new cabinets instead. :D

This is Leo's vanity. He's got drawers going in on the bottom, and then under-sink storage behind cabinet doors on top. And he'll get a big ol' medicine cabinet on his side, because he wants one.

 My vanity has drawers on the left, under-sink storage behind doors, and then another drawer on the bottom.

And then off to the right, I'll have a fancy place for putting on my make-up and stuff. It will be built in, so it doesn't exist yet, but it'll look like this:

With the light-up mirror and everything! Super-cool, no? :D It'll be in the space over there by the tub...

My feature wall should be installed this week, and it'll look pretty snazzy right off the bat. No grouting required, due to the type of tile it is. And the countertops should be in by the end of this week, if you can believe it. Hopefully, the wood details/paneling will all go in, too. Should be a busy week! I'll be sure to post updates as they occur!

Standstill.

The remodel project is in a boring place right now. They've completed the drywall installation, and even have the prime coat of paint up on all surfaces. So this week, the tile will be going in on the shower walls, but not on the floor of the bathroom because the place we ordered our tile from is fucking STUPID, apparently.

On Friday, Leo told me that the floor tile we chose wasn't going to work out because it was apparently on backorder. So we went Saturday to find a new tile, and tried to put it all behind us. But I've been mad at my contractor about it ever since, and then he sent an email about it yesterday, and I let him know how disappointed we were with the whole situation.

I thought it might've been a problem with the timing on the order being placed...I told him that whether it was him or the tile sub that put the order in, I wanted to know why it was done so late in the game? We decided on our tile choice weeks ago!

Turns out that he did order the tile weeks ago. And then last week, he called to get the delivery scheduled, and the tile shop was all, "Oh, that tile is on a 6 week backorder."

Oh. Really? Oh, ok. It's not like we're IN THE MIDDLE OF A FUCKING PROJECT HERE OR ANYTHING, ASSHOLES.

So now we have to rework the schedule for the tile guy, because this week was going to be floor and shower, and then next week I think he was going to do the feature wall, and then he'd be done with our space and could move on. But instead, he's doing the shower this week, and then the feature wall next week, I think, and then he gets to come back again in 3 weeks to do the muthafucking floor. Because THAT makes sense.

Fucking dick tile store people.

Anyway, as upsetting as it is, it is behind us now. So we have a new plan. Yay.

Cabinets are being worked on, closet has been planned and ordered (we went with California Closets...got exactly what we wanted!), and the shower tile should be done by the weekend, so I'll be sure to get some pictures of all that when it's installed.

I'll throw out some more design choices we've made over the past couple of weeks in a post tomorrow. Wallpaper and barn doors and fireplaces, OH MY!

It's all in the details.

Deciding on the details for our new bathroom hasn't been the easiest task. But the new design site Houzz.com certainly has helped with ideas and giving us a push in the right direction! Where has that site BEEN all my life???

One of the early design ideas I came across that I liked was this wood surround on a bath area...



Contemporary Bathroom by Bozeman Interior Design Envi Design

 Our tub has always been tucked under a window area in our bathroom, and we felt that it didn't really need to be moved. It naturally has a niche that it's in, because of the way the house is built out in that area, so we're capitalizing on it and putting in shelves and a tub surround with an awesome veneer/wood treatment of some kind. We're meeting with the carpenter tomorrow to discuss it more, so I'm looking forward to hearing what he's come up with so far.

Another feature that will carry the wood theme into a larger part of the bath is this wood on the ceiling thing...


Contemporary Bathroom by Watertown Architect Solomon+Bauer+Giambastiani Architects

 We're looking at a wide plank, though. And we're even considering putting laminate up there, simply because a lot of the laminate flooring we're finding has more of the look we're going for. Not sure if that will work at all, though. If not, that's fine. We have a relatively small area of ceiling to cover, so we can go full on walnut or maple or something, if we want. We'll see!

 A third major element is the floor. We decided that we'd like to do a herringbone pattern, much like this one...


Eclectic Bathroom by Baltimore Interior Designer Elizabeth Reich

Our tile is a light gray color, and our cabinets and ceiling will be a darker wood. With those three major elements in mind, we had to pick details that were complimentary and wouldn't take away from the focus of all that wood we'll have going on. Like the lights... 

...and hopefully the tile will all come together really well, too. My vanity wall will be the closest to the wood tub surround, and I'm hoping that the two elements are more of a WOW than a BLECH. We have the flexibility to change our minds about it at this point, so we'll have to see how things turn out. We're open to the suggestions of our contractors, and I'm really good at reading their reactions when we tell them what we'd like to do and have no fear in asking them what they really think about it. So that's been helpful along the way, as well.

Priming this week, after the drywall all dries, and then we can start tile. So excited to see that go down!

Screw off floor!

This is written on the floor about 2 feet inside the master bedroom entrance:



Yeah! SCREW. OFF.

 Not sure what it means. But it seems important, what with the exclamation point and everything.


So the construction keeps on plugging right along. They finished putting up all the new drywall as of Friday afternoon, and next they will do another coat of mud and sand it all down, and then they'll prime it, and then the fun can REALLY begin.


I suppose.


I don't know, actually. Seems like we're so far off from getting everything done, but we're only 3 weeks away from where the end should be. And the first 3 weeks flew by, so I'm expecting these next 3 weeks to feel a bit like a heart attack on acid*. We'll see.


*I’ve never dropped acid, and I’ve never had a heart attack, so this is purely imagination-based conjecture, really.


The entrance to the master bedroom is all framed out and the drywall is up, and oh, what's that? The thermostat is in the middle of the wall where a bookcase is supposed to go? Oh. Awesome.

Can you see the thermostat hanging off the wall there by wires?

Here...I pointed it out. We're putting a bookcase there when this is all done. It was there before, and it's going right back where it belongs. I asked Leo if we're going to have to move the bookcase every time we need to adjust the temperature. He had the thermostat moved today, instead. :)

 I've finally decided that it's time to admit that we need a TV in our room. But I want one of those hidden away kinds of TVs, so they're putting it in the wall for me. WOOHOO!

From the entrance to the bathroom, the space looks so serene...

I'll put up some decor ideas we're working with sometiems tomorrow. Today was frought with staff meetings and fire drills here at work, so I'm le tired, and don't have it in me to talk about all the pretty things.

But still...stuff is moving right along! It's very encouraging. Can't wait to see what they did while I was gone today!

Bathroom Taking Shape! (a.k.a. DRYWALL, MF-ERS!)

The drywall started to go up yesterday morning, since the rough-in inspection went smoothly, and we passed without issue. ::fist pump:: ::little dance of joy:: ::drinks celebratory vodka::

Ok, so the wall in our bedroom portion wasn't finished at the end of the day, but it's still taking good shape the way it's framed in already. The entrance to the bathroom will be one of those barn door hanging things. A nice big one. We haven't quite decided on one yet. Maybe Leo and I will do that tonight over the celebratory vodka... 

Leo's in the closet! =O Just kidding....I mean, he is. But it's really a closet closet. =P His vanity will be to the left of the closet entrance there. And the entrance to the closet will be a pocket door, so as to maximize space for ALL THE PRETTY DRESSES. (And for some of Leo's stuff, too.)

I stand in the closet entrance, pondering all the ways that I will manage to fill my new closet full of lovely girlie things...

This is where I wash my hands, all imaginary-like! The ladder will make a nice rustic addition to the space, I think...

Behind me in that photo above is the bath area. We're doing a wrap-around wood shelf type thing that should be the centerpiece to the room. We are VERY excited about this feature.

And through the entrance to the bathroom, you can see the shower taking shape. Wheeee!

They were mudding and taping the ceiling today, and Leo and I are shopping for countertops and stuff. This has been a mellow week, workwise. Lots of electrical and plumbing, for the most part. But it's been exciting in other ways, what with the shopping for things, and all. 

Can't wait to see what next week will be like! I'll update with some countertop ideas and all that good stuff, too. Happy weekend, all! 

Rough-in Inspection is Today. I'm not nervous...our contractors are pretty much officially The Best at what they do.

It's been a week since I updated because, again, things aren't as changy-changy as they had been in the first week. This is officially Week Three of our reno, and today, they're doing the rough-in inspection, which means that all the plumbing and electrical stuff had to be completed last week/the beginning of this week.

And that kind of stuff just isn't as fun to capture and share, I've found!

But we DID decide on lighting, so here's how that went...

I was considering this light from the Robert Abbey collection, called "Bling".

 It costs more than $1,000, though, and that seemed a bit much, even to me. ;) So I searched out alternatives, and decided on this $400 chandelier from Pottery Barn, instead:

A wee bit more traditional than the Robert Abbey one, but the feel is the same, and it will look SUPER-pretty with the tile we picked for that part of the bathroom. Wheeeee!

And then we had to choose the vanity lighting. I came home with several different options printed out all week last week for Leo to go over with me. And he liked two specific ones, but said that "if they could have a baby, it would be the perfect light." Challenge accepted! I found their baby. And it is this Trinity Bath Bar from Hudson Valley that I picked up on Lumens.com:

It wasn't the cheapest option I'd come across, but it really is perfect. Plus, I went cheaper on the chandelier, and everything, so really, I saved us money! Eh-em...ok, whatever. Moving on...

The only other light fixture we needed was one for over our bed in the master bedroom. We had a fan up there all this time, and it was nice, but we rarely used it. So I proposed that we put a chandelier up instead, and Leo agreed. (He hates having air blowing on him while he's in bed, so he was ALL FOR getting rid of the ceiling fan!) He chose this light from the options I brought home, and I thought it was pretty, too, so this is what we got...also from Pottery Barn. 

Today, after the inspection was over, they were supposed to get started on hanging drywall. So THAT should be fun to get some pics of once that gets going. I'll be sure to share as the changes occur!