Remodeling series-week three

Knowing that I was heading into vacation for a week, this particular week for the Mrs S remodel was hectic. I wanted to make sure that everything was in order, decided on and ready to go for my contractor Ritchie, while I was out of town. I rarely go out of town, and vacation is only once or twice a year. SO when I leave, I do not want to think about work. I want to think about morning coffee on the porch, moms old fashion cooking, and stiff drinks on the lake surrounded by laughter and funny memories. My biggest stress of the day: What time do we eat, go out in the boat, and who do we want to see. Serious stress!

This week the new boards for the floor were completed so new drywall could go up.

New tub drywall

Walkway to toilet

His vanity and shower

Her vanity

This week Mrs S and I had to reselect several of our original plumbing pieces. They came in over budget and they were not things she felt were items worth being over budget, and I agreed with that decision. Original tub selection was fine but we had to purchase faucets after finding out old ones could not be reused, and reselect our shower hardware and tub hardware. We kept Kohler as our brand but selected a line that was less expensive.

New faucets and shower hardware

In addition to re selecting our plumbing, we also went to the slab yard to select our counter slabs. We picked a beautiful polished marble:

Carrera Marble

Never choose your counter tops from a small 4×4 square. A lot of kitchen and bath companies will have little samples for you to choose from which is great to get an idea of the direction you want to go. However, always go to the slab yard and select THE slab that will go in your home. Marble and granite are natural materials and each slab is different. The veining is different and oftentimes the slabs will have blobs, smudges, and boogers in them (and yes those are technical terms!) Some people love the variances and others absolutely hate them.

Blob

This slab above was rejected by Mrs S. She hated that large, dark vein. She preferred the more subtle and consistent slab that we chose above. I have worked in three major cities as a designer and every slab yard has a terrific team of experts that will move these gargantuan slabs around so you can find the perfect one for your home and preference.

After we selected our slabs we went to the door and window company to choose our doors. The bathroom layout is unique in that it has four doors. There are two closets, one for her, one for him, there is a door for a linen closet, and finally a water closet housing the toilet. Because Mrs S has a small bathroom with a lot of doors, I wanted to highlight the doors and make them an architectural feature. I also wanted them to be glass to make the bathroom appear larger than it was, and allow more light into the closets.

Bathroom doors

This is the door we will use, but ours will be a three panel not a five. Mrs S also prefers that the glass be frosted so both of the closet doors will have a light frosted glass, and the linen closet will have mirrors. A decision Mrs S came up with, that I thought was a terrific idea! It is also important to note that design is a group effort. Oftentimes design will start with a strong direction from the designer but will typically unfold and come into it’s own style as decisions are made by the client. Never underestimate your style and creativity. Many of my clients think that they are not creative and unable to do design, but often their contributions to the project are what solidify and define the look and feel that makes it extraordinary!

So there you have it. If you missed week one, click here.

If you missed week two, click here.

Have questions? See something that you want more clarification on? Send me your comments and let us know your thoughts. We will post questions and answers here on the blog.

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