More Finishing Touches (Master Bath)

TJ Maxx was selling these planters that look like oversized beach pebbles:

It looks amazing with the Islandstone border in the bath reno:

Bath Reno - The Before Video

Some of you who have been following our seemingly-interminable bath reno have asked us if we took any "before" pix of the space.   I was frankly too traumatized to do that,  but Darren took some videos of the house during our walkthrough.

I especially draw your attention to the ***built-in*** wooden bookcase with flammable contents right over the room's baseboard heater, the Masonite that someone decided would make great wall tile around the bathtub, and the makeshift mini- shower curtain covering the cracked porcelain tile around the window.

Yes, we still did close after seeing this....(Fortunately, Darren  sees the potential in places more than I do....)

The raw footage won't win us any award at Sundance, but it may have helped us earn our recent tax abatement.

Counters and Light Fixture In....

The Silestone countertop came in just last Saturday and the light over the vanity is finally in place:

D and I purchased the crema marfil vessel sink on Black Friday, a few weeks before we closed.) L has been collecting marble bath accessories on sale ever since then.

Eagle-eyed viewers will note that we don't have a faucet hookup yet. Reno plans were further delayed when D"s mom got sick last week. We hope to get a plumber back in within the next few weeks.

Inching Forward

Here's what's happened over the past week or two:

Above: 36" Vanity placed in room.(It's a behemoth in person, given the small size of the room.)

Above: another view of the vanity.

Above: Bath hardware installed; shower curtain up.

Above: Toilet in place.

Above: Detail of bath hardware.

Still need a working sink, more plumbing and electrical, and more bath hardware installed.

Tiling Work Done!

We still need to wash it down a few times before it's clean enough to use, but here's how the tiling came out:

Above: No,it's not some weird wide-angle camera trick. The Kohler tub and shower rod really DO bow out.

Above: Detail of back of shower. Sea-glass tile and river rock inset.

Above: Detail of floor tilework.

Neither Rain, Nor Snow....

Actually, that pertains to the post office, not our tile installer.  After a few snowstorms, Brian was back on the job today.  Here's his progress over this past week: we're nearly at a standstill waiting for a few more sheets of the beach pebble tile to come in.

Above: the Hampton Blonde FloridaTile looks great next to the IslandStone beach pebble border.

Above: incredible work on the edges so far...

Above: First view of the seaglass-colored glass tile.

Above: Brian used leftover floor tile to make "spacers" for where a single row of beach pebbles will go.

Above: "X" marks the spot for the final row of beach pebbles.

Tiling, Day 2 -- the Results Show

Following my dad's example of meticulously documenting each and every home improvement project, I bring you Day 2 of the tiling project:</p><p>

Above: No,Barney didn't sleep here. The purple is the waterproofing.

Above: Brian meticulously followed the curve of the new bathtub. D really has a knack for finding and hiring amazing craftsmen.

Above: The FloridaTile is a great match with the pebble stone. Thanks to Amy at NH Tile for suggesting it!  I can't wait to get home from work tonight to see how it looks installed...

The Worker Bees Were Up Late Last Night

Tile guy did a nice job hanging Durrock(R) in the master bath. Unfortunately, D -- despite knowing I had an after-work event to attend -- committed us to having the ceiling painted by the time he returned this AM, so that work could continue uninterrupted. This meant my schedule was as follows (violin accompanyment, please):

• Early AM tryst at local Benjamin Moore(R) dealer
• Work; work though lunch preparing for board meeting
• Board meeting
• Opera event at nearby historic theatre until 8ish
• Work out and hose down at Planet Fitness
• Pick up wall art which UPS delivered to D's mom's house
• Paint bathroom ceiling
• Take progress pix of bathroom

Here's what the bathroom looks like at this point:

Above: D sanded off the shiny finish on the ceiling, which made the room look like an upside-down ice rink. Here's what it looks like after we (OK, mostly "he") applied a coat of Benjamin Moore Aura Bath and Spa(R) matte-finish paint in "Simply White" (off-white with an almost imperceptible green cast).

Above:D did a great job scrubbing the existing window, which we originally wanted to replace with a round one.

Above: Today, the tile guy's going to waterproof the cement board, in preparation for tile installation....

Above: Testing out a proposed wall color. The chip is highly unusual that it picks up the color of whatever's near it. So far, I've made it look ivory, lilac, and mint green.  (And yes, we'll have more sanding to do before the wall paint is applied)....

The Seemingly Interminable Bath Renovation

Above: View from the hallway. Tub is not usable because shower trim has not been installed and wallboards/tile not yet put in. Check out how shiny the walls and ceiling are... I sense that some chalky Ben Moore Aura Bath and Spa paint is in their future.....

Above: Future location of new toilet and vanity.

Above: We changed our plans to reduce the size of the closet (and create some open shelves) after quickly filling it with towels and toiletries.

Above: We moved the plumbing more to the side because it was not centered over the tub. We also raised the showerhead for D.

Above: L will be happy when the bath vanity is installed upstairs and not blocking the flow of the (retina-searing) family room.

Ch-ch-ch-changes (Master Bath Reno)

I've been pretty negligent about ordering fixtures for the bathroom, especially considering that we need to be fully moved in by the end of January. this AM, I was kicking myself for not ordering them on Black Friday, even though we weren't sure that the sale would go through until we were handed the keys on December 14.

However, in retrospect, it; probably a good thing we didn't because we've changed directions over the past few days:

D and I decided to upgrade the tub, but forego the whirlpool....

Above: Kohler Expanse

We expect this change in specifications will save us money on electrician's bill,since he won't have to hook up the whirlpool features. We also decided to change toilet style to something more contemporary:

Above: Kohler Persuasion

Finally, we decided to step back from the idea of a custom-built wall-mount vanity (partly due to time restraints) and are thinking something more like this....(but with a vessel sink and polished chrome knobs)

Above: Porcher Archive 36" vanity in Maple (Porcher is the "Acura" or "Lexis" of American Standard)

Ultimately, what we eventually end up with will be what can be delivered on our tight deadline and at lower prices than I've seen online.