Monday, April 28, 2008

Finishing Touches


This weekend I spent some time on the finishing touches for my new bathroom. I bought some towels and framed some art. Now if only I could jump forward in time and see everything installed...

Construction begins one week from today!

Friday, April 25, 2008

Almost there!

It's really amazing. I almost have nothing left to do and I still have one work week and two weekends before the contractor starts work. The most recent development was today. I just picked up my floor tile and I like it even more than I imagined.

Here's a photo of the floor tile with a few tiles of the shower tile, the vanity door, and the sink faucet. I like the way everything looks together!


(Alana in Canada... I may end up putting white contact paper on the inside of the frosted glass if I find that it looks too messy.)

Summary of this week's accomplishments:
  • Floor tile arrived
  • Matching towel bars, TP holder, and glass shelf ordered
  • Toothbrush holder purchased
  • Saw my contractor featured on television news (a feature on green design)! Good thing I've already got a date set for my job!

Monday, April 21, 2008

Tile Choices

I've been asked what tile I ended up choosing for my floor. I wasn't able to get the Eco-Gres Mosaic tile that I wanted because the manufacturer was out of stock. I found a replacement by Daltile. Here's a simulation I created on their website:

This looks NOTHING like my bathroom, but the floor tile and wall tile shown here represent what I have ordered (with the exception of the trim between the floor and the wall, I'm not using what is shown here and I couldn't seem to make it go away).

This is the Daltile Colorbody Porcelain, in their Keystone line. The color is Suede Gray and the tiles will be 2" square.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

To Buy List

One day later and here's my updated "to buy" list:
  • Grout
  • Towel rack/TP holder/Glass shelf
Which means I just purchased the following:
  • Threshold
  • White trim tiles
  • Tub spout/shower head (and drain/overflow)
  • Shower curtain rod
  • Tub
I don't love the tub spout/shower head, but the one I got was the nicest I could find for my price range. Even the majority of the really pricey ones don't seem to match my aesthetics.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Art and Color Scheme



I think I will frame the art from this month's page of my calendar for the bathroom, as shown above. I like the graphic, but I also love how calm the colors are. This is going to come last, but I'd like to have bathroom towels in two shades of blue to match the shades in this. I believe I will have white walls in the bathroom, but paint the ceiling a pale sky blue.

Date Set!

The contractor is going to start work on May 5. He estimates the project will take two weeks (that's the worst case scenario, assuming I have all the supplies before work starts). I even gave him a deposit check (40% of the estimated labor cost). As far as having all the supplies, things are looking good. My faucet came today and my floor tile (a new order that I made on Tuesday) should be in next week.

My "to buy" list is getting fairly short:
  • Grout (to be purchased after floor tile arrives, for color comparison)
  • Tub/tub spout/shower head
  • Threshold
  • Towel rack/TP holder/Glass shelf
  • White trim tiles (Home Depot was out of stock when I bought the rest of my tile)
I'm going to finish a couple weeks late from the official "Cure" schedule, but I'm ok with that because I think it will be well worth it!

Monday, April 14, 2008

The Continuing Saga of the Floor Tile

Today I decided that I would order the Eco-Gres Mosaic tile for my bathroom despite needing to order nearly twice the quantity I needed. I decided I would use the extra tile to create a horizontal stripe about 2/3 of the way up in my shower (with white subway tile above and below). Or maybe I would use it to create a back splash in my kitchen. So I placed an order. My credit card was charged (I even received a fraud check phone call about the transaction from my credit card company-- this project is certainly resulting in charges that deviate from my usual patterns). All was looking good...

...Until my phone rang this afternoon. The manufacturer is out of stock of my tile. Estimated lead time is 16 weeks. It's time to move on to something else...

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Weekend Accomplishment!

Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better...
This is where I'm storing everything I need for the bathroom remodel.


A summary of what I accomplished this week/weekend:
  • Toilet arrived
  • Purchased Ikea vanity and wall unit
  • Assembled vanity and wall unit (doors not yet mounted)
  • Purchased white subway tile for walls
  • Ordered bathroom sink faucet
  • Looked at bathtubs shower faucets, towel bars, and toilet paper holders
  • Did some editing in my living room
  • Filed my taxes
It doesn't look like much, but this will become my new bathroom vanity.

Goals for this week:
  • Order/purchase floor tile
  • Order/purchase shower and tub faucets
  • Decide whether to buy new bathtub or to refinish existing bathtub (please offer your opinion!)
  • Schedule work

Faucet ordered

I just wanted to show off the faucet I ordered for my bathroom (Fontaine RIVIERA Brushed Nickel Centerset Bathroom Sink Faucet):

Still Here-- One story about yesterday

I've been working behind the scenes to further my bathroom remodel project but haven't found a chance to post my progress. I have picked my contractor, Emilio, and now just need to buy all my supplies and schedule the work. Let me tell you a story from yesterday...

I went to Amicus Green Building Center to look at tile for my bathroom floor. By chance my contractor Emilio was there taking a class! I looked at their selection of tile and found a couple things I liked. I asked about prices and learned that the ones I liked were $16-$18 a square foot (not including installation). This was lovely tile and I'm sure it is worth that price, but it is just too far outside my price range. But then I found some tile that I liked just as well and my excitement grew when I learned it was $6 per square foot.

Example of Eco Gres Mosaic Recycled Porcelain Tile

Sample of the Color I Picked: Silhouette (it is much more attractive in person-- it has a beautiful and subtle sheen)

I talked to Emilio about the tile and he told me he thought it would be a good choice and that it would be easy to install. Everything seemed to be going my way, so I bit the bullet and decided to place an order. The sales woman (who was very helpful) started filling out my order form. When we got to quantity, I told her that my floor was exactly 22.5 SF and that I wanted to order 25 SF.

This is where the story turns sour. This particular tile is only available by the box. A box covers 22 SF. Apparently, the company is very strict about never breaking a box. So I would need to order 44 SF of tile to cover 22.5 SF of floor. That's a deal breaker for me. I thought about maybe using some of the tile to form a back splash in the bathroom, or to line the top portion of the shower, but I don't think that fits within the aesthetic I'm looking for.

I guess I need to find a new floor tile...