Howdy to you all on this rainy yet fine MLK day!
I’m back to give you a glimpse of the guest bath plans I alluded to earlier. If you recall (and you should be able to because it was, well, only two posts ago) we are attempting the impossible and biting off two bathroom renovations at the same time in order to save a bit of money. I imagine and hope the master bathroom will be a serene retreat of honed white marble with a soothing soaking tub (a high-end feel on a decidedly low to middle-ended budget). Now with the guest bath, I am seeking to fulfill the classic, 1920′s black-and-white itch I’ve had for a looong time. The guest (and kids) bathroom is currently oak and tile (you know, the kind builders put in, tan with brown grout) and lacks any personality whatsoever. The shower doesn’t function normally and needs to have its “guts” replaced. Oh, for that matter, neither does the sink (although I’m told that part has to do with the water softener).
Enough chitchat. Shall I show you the inspiration board? Once again, I’m no professional, these boards are made for my own personal visualization – I’m one of those people that needs to see it to understand it well. Here it is:
Clockwise from top-left: Sussex Tube Sconce (2) on sale now, Matelasse Shower Curtain – similar to the one we’ve already bought from Cost Plus, Kensington Tilt Mirror also currently on sale, Delta Victorian Tub & Shower fixture (we bought from Faucet Direct), Kohler Bancroft Single hole faucet, black and white hexagon tile (inspiration photo, can’t remember source), black and white subway tile (ditto), cool hexagon pattern (ditto, again – ugh. I didn’t think I’d be sharing these with the general public! I need to learn to write down my sources – our tile will be Dal Tile’s affordable Rittenhouse Square and Keystone Hex, I think) and Manhattan 36″ console from Signature Hardware (10% off right now), Drawer pull(s) from Rejuvenation, black ceramic soap and cup holders from Rejuvenation. Whew!
I originally wanted to use a pedestal or old-fashioned console sink, like we have in our powder bath. But… practicality won out in the end, and we just need a couple drawers of storage and can’t sacrifice those. Oh, and one of the problems we have is the door opens nearly right into the current vanity. It’s really tight. See:
Those are drawn to-scale in Illustrator by silly me. Yes, I’m a little obsessive/compulsive on these things. The new console/vanity gives us about 5″ more space to work with, so maybe people other than Cameron can get through the space between the open door and the vanity to get out without having liposuction. Every bit helps!
Not visualizing it yet? Here’s another to-scale drawing of how I’d like the subway tile to look:
Now you know absolutely all of my remodeling techniques. I usually do an inspiration board, to-scale measurement of the before and after of the room, and visualization of the items in place. That’s all there is to it. Very imperfect, but it gets the job done!
Here’s a few of the photos I found inspiring to begin with (again, sorry for no credit, if you know where these are from, let me know! >> update, left photo from William Hefner, thanks Stella!<< ):
So now I need to decide if we do a cool pattern or not with the hex tile. Aren’t those patterns gorgeous?
I’ll be back tomorrow with either bathroom before pictures, or our latest letterpress project, or a shepherd’s pie recipe. You’ll just have to wait and see. 
P.S. The sun came out just now!
by rebekah
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