All this to say… here they are, and it’s high time, too!  I’ll now try to make up for it by giving you so many photos you’ll have sore eyes by the time you’re done (if your browser ever finishes loading ‘em, that is).  Oh, and since I’ve had quite a lot of questions, either by comments, email or by contact form, I thought I’d take the time to do a mini FAQ right now, answering questions you, my readers, asked.  Which, I might add, is SO flattering that you would find my bathroom exciting enough to ask me questions about my sources!  I’ll do my best to answer them all.  Here goes.

If you want history on this, start with the mood board here.  Then look at before pictures here.  And here’s the reveal post I did on Brooklyn Limestone. All caught up?

First, a few after pics…

Can I just say we love it?  It turned out wonderfully, and we are really enjoying the benefits of hard work, plus plenty of research and planning.  It’s cool and refreshing and spacious and functions very, very well.

Let’s start the most popular question:

Q) Where did you get your vanity? Can I buy it online?

A) Sadly, no.  Our vanity was custom made by a local cabinet builder (D’Amato and Lee, they always do excellent work).  We priced buying a ready-made vanity from Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware or something similar, and believe it or not, it was much cheaper to custom build a vanity, even considering hardware, sinks and marble top (we bought a remnant in the Bay Area and had it fabricated locally).  In building the vanity, here’s what I did:  analyzed what I liked about my favorite vanities (shaker doors, turned legs, wide center drawers, etc.) and hodged-podged it into a sketch of what I wanted.  The cabinet builder took it from there.

And one of the bid benefits of having something custom built, is we were able to get shelving and recessed cabinets made to match at the same time…

… at a minimum added cost. Oh, and the pull out laundry bin?  I love it.

Q) Where did you find your tile?  Isn’t marble really high-maintenance?

A) Not only is marble tile supposed to be high maintenance, but it’s supposed to be super-expensive too.  Whenever I see marble tile mentioned in a home decor magazine, it’s usually upwards of $50 a SF!  I did a lot of research (local tile shops, bay area tile shops, online, remnant places) and found the best deal online – $7 a sf.  Shipping will be extra, so add that into your costs.  Oh, and BE SURE TO GET ENOUGH.  We ran a little short and were terrified the extra we ordered wouldn’t be in the same shade.  It worked out, but the extra shipping for the second time was not fun.

About the maintenance thing, we chose honed carrara marble (not polished) to make it lower maintenance.  If you’ve seen our kitchen, you know we love marble (understatement) and we’re okay with patina (etching) as it may happen.  I did seal the tile with a very premium product (Miracle Sealant’s Porous Plus) which I highly recommend – we use it in our kitchen too.

Q) What are your paint colors?

A) The walls are Benjamin Moore Silver Marlin in washable Matte finish.  The ceiling is a 50% mix between Silver Marlin and our trim color, White Dove.  I do 50% mixes on nearly all of my ceilings – it really blends things well and I like the softer appearance than straight white paint.  The cabinets are Benjamin Moore Fieldstone in Satin Impervo (I used Satin Impervo in Black for my kitchen cabinets, LOVE the stuff, no chipping at all 1.5 years in under heavy use).  Fieldstone is a warm grey color that is not currently on Benjamin Moore’s palette, but it’s an old color of theirs and if you ask they will have the formula for it still (I think the number is 1557).  I found the inspiration for using that color on Cote De Texas‘ blogpost on Sally Wheat’s kitchen.

Q) Where did you get your chandelier from?

A) The chandelier is from Overstock.  It was 20% off when I bought it, so under $100. It comes in a bajillion pieces, ready to be assembled.  I thought about blogging on the assembly (I have a photo of all the pieces spread out on the bed), but I didn’t want to give anyone a heart attack! It really is a great chandelier for the price.  I loved the one from the mood board, but couldn’t justify even the sale price (40% off) of it. We have it on a dimmer, which is easy to install and makes for great bath mood lighting.

Q) Where did you get the soaking tub from?

A)  I found the soaking tub online at Vintage Tub and Tile (I used them for some items with my kitchen and all of my experiences have gone well).  It is cast iron and so very, very heavy.  We both love it, it’s deep and narrow and fills for a really nice deep bath.  The rim fits my shoulders perfectly and Matt has no complaints either (he actually takes more baths than me, believe it or not!)

And connected to this one…

Q) Do you actually read in the tub?  Does the rack work?

A) We do.  What’s a tub without a book rack?!? The book from the photo shoot was not staged, it’s the book Matt had left there from a bath the night before.  I have to admit, I don’t read Will Durant’s History of Philosophy in the tub, I might bring in House Beautiful or Elle Decor for a bit of spacing out. To each their own.

Q) Where did you get your faucets, what brand are they?

A) I found the faucets on Amazon, they are no longer available.  I really wanted faucets in polished nickel, the finish we used throughout the bathroom, and it was difficult to find anything that didn’t cost an arm and a leg (over $200). I bought them brand unseen because the price was a good deal ($120) and they turned out to be Hansgrohe (which usually costs up to $600) and very high quality.  They are terrific, and everyone comments on the craftsmanship and heft of them. However, sadly, I got the last two.

Q) Where is your hardware from?  Where are your mirrors from?

A)  The hardware is from two spots – drawer handles are from here.  The cupboard latches are by Cliffside Industries, and I found the best deal for them here.  On a bonus side note, Cameron still hasn’t figured out how to work these.  It’s like antique good looks and child proofing all rolled into one. Enjoying it while I can!

The mirrors are from Pottery Barn, their Elise mirror.  No longer available, sorry!  That was fast.  I don’t think they are originally intended for a bathroom but they work great in there!

Q) Where did you get your bathroom stool from? What a great idea!

A)  Aw, thanks!  All praise in this instance should go to my mother in law, Audrey, who has always had a charming piano stool in her bathroom.  I just thought it worked fabulously (wood, adjusts up and down, perfect size, etc) and I hunted down one of my own from an antique dealer.  You can do the same!  A cute stool with clawfeet shouldn’t run more than $100 or so, or you could restore a shabby one.

Q) And the rug?  Where’s it from?

A) The rug is from West Elm, their 3 x 5 Pebble Rug. It’s not a bathroom rug, per se, but we needed something bigger to cover our floor, and I love the softness of it.  We vacuum it regularly, and so far, so good on maintenance!

Q) You sure love grey and marble, Rebekah!  Don’t you think you might get a bit sick of it?

A) Well, nobody really asked that.  But I thought I’d point out the obvious.  Let’s hope I don’t get sick of it!

Thanks so much for joining me for my first little Q and A!  Flattered to have it!  If you have any more questions, don’t hesitate to ask them in the comments…

Thought I’d leave you with a sneak peek of the bathroom floor leading into the new Master Bedroom floor (chevron!) which is receiving the last decorating touches this very week.  Look for it soon here on the blog!

Happy pattern. Happy weekend!

Well, that was 2003 (seven years ago).  A few things are different now. I have since discovered (gee thanks, internet) that the set we purchased was from Indonesia, and probably not harvested in an, ahem, sustainable manner.  You can call me an “enviro” now, or naive then, but however you want to label it, that knowledge has been bugging me.  We still have the patio set (plus a smaller table set for four that came along a few years later from Cost Plus) and every single year I have refinished, refurbished and revamped it.  It wasn’t super high quality to begin with, but by golly, I’m going to make it last as long as I can!  You could call it a form of penitence, I guess. If it ever breaks down beyond repair… I’m guessing our next set is going to be iron or glass, because refinishing wood furniture every year is no picnic.

But, just in case you’d like a peek into what I do, I thought I’d show you a few images of the refinishing of one piece: our original Safeway bench.

Here it is before, after a full season of sitting outside…

…not really grey, not really freshly stained either.  And very dirty.

The steps are simple.  Once upon a time, I tried wood brightener, and stain stripper, and wood cleaner, and came to the conclusion that those are all money-pit chemical junk.  They all require scrubbing or sanding as your last step, and let me tell you from lots of experience – it works just as well if you just scrub or sand!

For my choice, I use a rough grit steel wool (02 -03) because it works the fastest and I can clean it wet.

I hose down the bench and then start scrubbing.  Here is one arm rest completed:

Looks better doesn’t it? And I just keep scrubbing until the whole bench is done, and my nails look like this…

You could wear gloves I think.   The above right is the cleaned bench when wet, and the lower right is how it looks dry (clean but no pizazz).  Lower left is the gunky steel wool. For refinishing 8 chairs, two tables and a bench, I went through two full bags of steel wool.

Now, I’ve done the nasty part, moving on to the fun stuff…

Seven years of brand testing… Super Deck is the best.  Not a paid endorsement, they just work the best!!  You could use clear, but I like to add in a bit of red. Brush it on…

…and let it dry.

Voilà! Another year out of your outdoor wood furniture!

It takes me about 45 minutes per chair to sand, and 15-30 minutes to stain.  Overall the project took me several straight days of afternoon work, so not for the faint of heart.

I’ll show you the rest of the furniture when I take some photos of our backyard set up for the blog… we’ve got umbrellas, curtains, a rug, and other fun outdoor room stuff set up… it’s a fun place to hang!

Anyone who knows me well knows I loooove lists… the pleasure of checking things off satisfies some deep primal urge to feel organized and accomplished all at the same time, I guess.   And while I think most people make “30 before they turn 30″ lists, as usual, I’m late on the bandwagon, but what matter?  Here’s a “30 while I’m 30″ list… a fun way to gear up and goal up for this new decade!

Here goes nothin’ (and in random order no less!)…

1. Eat local, eat seasonal. (we’ve been eating local/seasonal since January, so I’m cheating on this one… but I need to keep it going)
2. Go to the farmer’s market every week. (so far, six weeks strong!)
3. Write 30 personal handwritten notes. This should be doable in a year, right? I’ve got the stationery for sure…
4. Get back to my goal weight (8 lbs down, won’t say how many to go!!)
5. Clean kitchen cupboards.  Eradicate ants that are attempting invasion. Check, check!
6. Potty train the boy.
7. Go to the Ashland, Oregon Shakespeare festival.
8. Travel somewhere (at least once).
9. Remember birthdays and anniversaries!! I’m shockingly bad at this.
10. Listen to new pieces of classical music.
11. Organize my linen closet. It’s shameful. Much less shameful now.
12. Convince my parents to move up here.  Mom, Dad?
13. Learn how to make a pie crust from scratch, and do it well. (Audrey? Help!)
14. Attempt to learn Calligraphy.  Even if I fail, I’ve got to try.
15. Finish Master Bedroom. So happy that it’s finally done!
16. Teach Cameron to swim.
17. Have friends (old and new) over to dinner frequently.
18. Complete my study of eschatology. (honestly, I’ve only scratched the surface so far – I need to finish three full books)
19. Go to the Alameda Flea Market.  Any Bay Area people want to meet up there? We went!
20. Investigate/find a good lotion or eye cream to control wrinkles. None yet, but ounce of prevention, pound of cure, etc. Now gray hairs are another matter…
    
21. Turn upstairs bedroom into a boy’s room.
22. Run (at least) a half marathon. I’m hoping for a whole, but we’ll see.  Right now I’m only at the 5K stage…
23. Master/create my own version of California-esque Filipino cuisine. I love Filipino food but would like to try and make it more understandable/less foreign to picky Americans. Something like what Sunset has been doing a bit, maybe…
24. Read a light and fluffy summer novel down by the lake at the family cabin.
25. Exhibit at the National Stationery Show next spring.  I wish I may, I wish I might…
26. Have a date night every other week. We’ve been shockingly bad at this. You’d think we don’t like each other (we do).
27. Create a small album of our wedding designs for retail stores that have requested it.
28. Do something stimulating and different with Cameron once a week.  A new book, a field trip, a coffee shop, something special.
29. Figure out the local drama/theatre scene. I’m sad to admit I’ve yet to go to a play in Chico.
30. And lastly but definitely not least… Take Down Our Christmas Lights before NEXT Christmas happens! Yay, we did it!!!!!

Those are reasonable, right? Note that I didn’t say “consistently get the laundry done” or anything impossible like that. I’ll be crossing them off as they get completed.  Check back to see how much of a slacker I’ve gotten done!

And just because I never do a post without an image…

Me, age two.  A complete Linus.  Man, I miss that thumb even now!

A bit of an update on the bathroom(s).  It’s been going sloooooow.  Basically, if we can hit a snag, we WILL hit it.  So, not finished (although progress has been made since these photos), but getting there.  Let’s aim for Easter week for the first reveal, shall we?

In the meantime, would you like a peek at our progress?

Tile!  We have tile!!!  Hip, hip hooray!  Would you like a closer look than down the hallway?

Ahem…

…have you ever seen anything so fabulously fun?  The best part?  It feels “old” already, like it’s been in the house forever.  Not in a dirty, gunky sort of way, but a nice lived in feeling.

Here’s my much discussed pattern:

I love it.  Excuse the hole for the toilet (which is going in right this very minute!).  We have painted the walls too… can’t tell you the color yet.  I have to leave a few items as a surprise.

Construction-y, unfinished elements still abound…

…but we’re getting there.

Now, would you like a glimpse of the master bath?  I was hoping you would…

We have lights but no mirrors (or sinks) yet.  Including this fabulous one Matt assembled from a million 40,000 pieces:

Here are a few fun elements…

Glass and polished nickel.  So purty.

That ends the bath update/preview.  Thanks for visiting!  Outside, Spring has come in full force!!  These have spontaneously sprouted forth in my side yard…

And all of our four big trees (wish I knew what they were, I can never remember) on the main lane have bloomed…

68 degrees and holding.  This is why I love Northern California. The Spring and Fall seasons are AWESOME.  So, I have big plans to take a bike ride down Bidwell Avenue by the creek this evening (with Matt and Cam of course), and the Farmer’s Market tomorrow morning to pick up a big bunch of the new ranunculus that are out!

Happy Spring to you too!

But slow and steady wins the race, right? Have a look at our progress so far:

Our Carrara marble hexagon tile is down in the master bathroom.  And I love it even more than I thought I would (if that’s even possible).  I can’t believe that I could be so blessed as to have such beautiful natural stone in MY bathroom, without it costing an arm and a leg. I know, it’s weird, but I ooh and ahh every time I see it.  It will be so fun when it is actually done!!

And two:

…we currently have a shower – and didn’t have to go very long without one.  It’s very makeshift because nothing is finished – but when you remodel both of your full baths – having a shower that is not the kitchen sink is excellent.

Lastly, we have tile choices for the guest/kid bath:

They are: Daltile Rittenhouse Square (3″ x 6″ Subway) in Matte Arctic White and Matte Black, with American Unverse (AU) 1.5″ hexagon tile in matte white and matte black.  Finding these was not as easy as we thought!  The Daltile Keystone series (their hexagon) has a version of white called “biscuit” – and it looked just like it sounds (blech). Why they don’t carry a matte white that matches their wall tile is beyond me. So, we found a nearly perfect match with the AU tile – now all I needed was a pattern, right?  (If you don’t remember the inspiration – here it is.)

Enter trusty ol’ Adobe Illustrator for some rough but to-scale mock-ups.  I started with this:

Very classic and historic looking, right? Enter problem 1: Matt doesn’t like the flowers.

That scenario progressed to this:

Still too floral.

Okay, how about this?

Well, now I didn’t like this one.

So, I tried this…

You can see I’m getting fond of making patterns… it’s kind of mesmerizing, a bit like Tetris (the only computer game I ever loved).  This one was too busy, although I like it a lot.

Matt and I both LOVED the Greek Key inspired square mosaic border above (which I threw together very roughly), but this complicated of a pattern with all of the cuts and extra tile shapes would have cost buko-bucks.

And then there was this one…

…possibly my most favorite pattern. Isn’t it terrific?  I found the inspiration for it here.  But, like the previous design, it was not to be.  Too pricey to put together a pattern like that.

So, we finally came to our last design (and the winner!).  Here’s our bathroom floor pattern:

Love the border… and it’s not flowery OR too difficult of a pattern. Whew!

But what do you think?  Did we make the right choice?  Am I crazy for mocking up so many designs? (yes.)

Let me preface this by saying these are probably not the worst “before” pictures ever.  This is not the “I rescued it from the rotting decaying 1970s shag carpet and pea green toilet covered in black mold” remodel.  You could describe this more as a mostly functioning, absolutely boring builder beige-and-white bathroom.  The main things that don’t work are the toilet (the model is uncleanable, causing some um, bad smells) and the carpet in the bathroom.  Carpet in the bathroom = nasty bad idea.  If you like soft fluffies, use a rug!! That carpet (which used to be white) is just gross. Ick.

Other things we didn’t care for were the Jacuzzi tub (the jets make the water go cold really fast, plus I just like soaking tubs much better) and the oak and tile.

Above: the entrance from the master bedroom. The vanity butts directly up to the tub (kinda like somebody just plopped it all in place, as tight as they could squeeze it). The tile/carpet transition.  Don’t you just love brown grout?

The toilet hole in the wall/room.  My claustrophobia usually makes me run down the hall to pee instead. The vanity, with it’s overhead lights – a couple of lights out as always.  The only thing I find cute about the setup is the goose neck faucets – they were later additions made by my in-laws.

The shower enclosure.  We hope to bring the new tile all the way down the outside wall (I hate the clunky tile “border”) and also run subway tile inside the shower all the way up to the ceiling.

It’s not easy to photograph a bathroom – too cramped, I think I’d need a better lens!

Just to refresh your memory, I’ll leave you with our original mood board:

Ah, much better. Look for some recipes and cooking tomorrow!

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!

{view from our dining room window} …it’s just getting a little old.

Sorry the posting here hasn’t been up to par lately!  We are working on some major projects, which I hope to share soon!  This week even!  In fact, our website is nearly, nearly done.  I may be a bit crazy for doing this and spoiling any surprise, but here’s a sneak peek of one fraction of one page on the site… deconstructed for your amusement:

Hope I didn’t give away too much.   Look for the website soon, plus some killer printing projects.

You’ll be the first to know, of course!

It’s only the 7th day of this fine new decade, but we are already currently working on: weddings, business cards, a special top-secret local project to be revealed in February, valentine’s cards and a few personal stationery orders.  Oh, and our main website is set to finally launch the third week in January, provided I can finish it. Whew!!  But I’d say business is looking groovy, right?

Well, on the home front, we’re in the throes of still another project… the long awaited bathroom remodel(s). That’s right, you read it correctly, bathrooms plural.  You see, both of our full baths are still in their original, untouched, oak-and-tile Mc-beigey builder-grade state.  As in, completely characterless. Do they function? Yes. Well, somewhat. The guest bath shower head doesn’t work. Do we like or enjoy them? Nope. No sirree, no. It’s time for a change, and that time is now! And, since it’s majorly a better deal to do two baths simultaneously (think about it – tile guy comes out once, plumber once, electrician once, …you get the idea), so, well, we’re crazy enough to just do it and save some money in the long run.  I guess washing my hair in the kitchen sink for months appeals to me.

I don’t have any trusty “before” pictures on hand, but I’ll share them with you as we progress! In the meantime, I thought I’d show you my inspiration a “mood board” for the master bathroom. Let me issue a disclaimer, I’m not any good at this, it’s more a hobby and sharing my personal mood board is a bit of a stretch for me – I really just make them to visualize how it might look in the end.  Well, if you promise no laughing (be kind), deep breath, here it is…

Clockwise from top left: Restoration Hardware Wilshire Sconce, Rain Forest Shower head (we wouldn’t be buying this specific brand, but that’s the look), Pottery Barn Elise Frameless Mirror, Ballard Designs X stool, Horchow Madeline Chandelier (was on sale originally, I’m waiting till it’s on again), Footed tub from Luna Plumbing, Cabinet from Pottery Barn (our local cabinet guy would make ours), Hexagon and subway honed Carrara Marble from Builders Depot Direct, double sink vanity from Restoration Hardware (ditto on the cabinet guy making this) and lastly, pebble rug from West Elm.

Well, what do you think? Is it a calm serene marble retreat as I want it to be?  What color would you paint the walls?  Ideas, thoughts, suggestions?  Shoot them at me now, before I make final decisions!

Stay tuned for the guest bath – it has a 1920′s tudor / black and white look planned.

I thought it might be fun to give a glimpse of the “in-between” stage – my house looked like this for two whole days.  See, these projects don’t magically whip themselves up overnight.  They take inspiration, nurturing and, when the husband is gone 10 hours a day, seven days a week for harvest, the projects take a lot of toddler involvement.  Shall we have a peek?

I started by taking out everything from the closet/cupboards/pumpkin patch/grocery store that I might even possibly want to use in the decor.  I plunked this all on the table in the dining room:

Now, that began to inspire me!  Mini gourds and corn from Trader Joe’s, pumpkins from the pumpkin patch, baskets from the closet, and candles bought on sale last year after the fall season that I finally could use.  Fun, fun.

Next, I pulled all the red things (remember summer was red this year) out of the decor,  and piled it in the kitchen area like so:

I sent those back to the closet for later use.  Now here was my biggest decorating obstacle observer:

Yes, that is snot on the couch in the lower left picture.  The best thing I did was to make him a part of the process, it got much easier once that happened.  Here he is modeling our coaster basket as hat:

Nice cereal remnants on the forehead, mom!  Yeah, I know.  The things we do for art and decor.  So, all this left me with a sort of a blank slate…

Stay tuned for the finished product coming up!