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atsmith_gw

Modern Bathroom Finished!

atsmith
16 years ago

I was on this forum a bit last spring/summer when designing our bathroom (as I had done with our kitchen 1.5 years before) - it is finally finished and I thought I would share some pics and say thanks for all your advice!

Sorry I don't have great pics -I can't get the lighting right. But we used the Rex Abisko wood look tile and it turned out really great, though it is an espresso brown, not the medium brown you see in some of the pics - I remember some were asking about it a while back. Literally everyone who sees it thinks it is wood, including cleaning people who started using wood products on it until I told them it was very resilient porcelain and that they should clean it well and not be afraid!

Also sorry about the sideways pics - they look right on photobucket, so I don't know why they go back sideways when I paste in the HTML code. . .if it hurts your neck, then tell me how to fix it!

Thanks again,

atsmith

Comments (24)

  • vwhippiechick
    16 years ago

    Very nice. Love all the clean lines. Just wondering about the window to the deck. Do you plan to cover it?

  • atsmith
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks so much! As for the window, we have, since the picture was taken, put up some cream sheers, which give a bit of added comfort, but the truth is that deck and side of the house are pretty private. Those windows continue to the right and into the master bedroom, so that whole wall is windows, and we would like to put as little up in the way of covers as possible. I need to get some pictures of the rest of the room to illustrate. . .

  • kgwlisa
    16 years ago

    It's GORGEOUS. During the day I think if privacy is not an issue, those sheers need to be open. I think they are good to soften the big black hole at night but the most compelling picture of your set is the one where the vanity just seems to give away to the outdoors. Stunning!

  • zeebee
    16 years ago

    Beautiful job! May I ask, what make/model is your vanity unit? And is that another porcelain tile on the wall above the vanity or is that limestone?

  • mahatmacat1
    16 years ago

    bravo/a/i (not sure which applies :)) I do love horizontal rectangles. There's something so calming about the line (we chose it too). I'd *love* a closeup of the Rex tile if you could, sometime. And the obligatory question about splashing from the faucets--how is it? Does the water not splash at all?

    One nitpicky thought: is there any way to sharpie/paint/somehow color the little plastic things the shelves sit on in the units above the vanity? Making them go away would give the units a nice clean line.

    I love the tones in the WC room--beautiful, if one can say that about such a room. And, um, is that Jimi Hendrix in a flying bathtub over your commode? My eyes aren't very good...

    I have so many more questions to post--such a beautiful room--congratulations :)

  • atsmith
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Zeebee - The vanity unit was custom made, based off a Porcher unit that we saw and liked but it didn't quite work for a few reasons. It has 4 drawers - 2 large ones under the sinks, with space for the sink plumbing, and then two smaller ones to either side. There are no handles, but the front panel is cut on an angle so you have a built-in handle - we stole that idea from the Ikea Malm furniture, as we have a dresser from that line in the kids' rooms. Here's a run down of all the stuff:

    sinks - Cheviot Quattro
    lav & tub fixtures - Kohler Stillness
    countertop - Silestone Amazon Leather
    vanity and shelves - custom, birch, stained in Olympia Deep Ebony
    light fixture above mirror (not in pic) - not sure - got it at Expo
    remaining lights - 4" cans
    wood tile - Porcelain, Rex Abisko in Ebano - 5"x36", then we cut them in half to be 5" x 18"
    floor and vanity wall tile - Porcelain, Floorgres Cool 1.0 12x24 matte
    edging - Schulter
    tub - MTI Audrey (I think)
    toilet - Kohler Escale (dual flush)
    Window - Pella Architect Series, stained in Olympia Deep Ebony
    Shower door - custom hinged glass door

    I think that's everything. . .happy to answer more questions!

  • atsmith
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks flyleft! To answer your questions - yes, the vanity splashing does happen and you have to know what you are doing to not turn on the water too hard. This is definitely an adult-user set up, not for kids!

    I'll try for a close up of the Rex tile, but in my last attempt, the color was so way off that I didn't bother posting.

    Like the idea of the sharpie on the shelf posts - the shelves actually came with some awful large plastic brackets, and I went by Ikea and nicely asked for some extras of the little silver posts they have for that purpose, which are better. But they would be better still if dark, for sure.

    And lastly - it is not Jimi Hendrix, but it is an odd little lithograph of a guy with an afro in a bathtub that my husband (so it is -a that applies) bought at an art festival here in Atlanta.

  • weedyacres
    16 years ago

    Beautifully done. I love the clean lines and the way you stacked the tile in the tub/shower. Thanks for sharing!

  • miaolinwei
    16 years ago

    Very nice, very modern looking. After looking at your bathroom, I really hate my bathroom now.

  • bonnieg011
    16 years ago

    I'm about a week away from being finished with my total renovation of the master bath. I loved it....until I looked at your pictures. Your room is exquisite and has just the feeling I wanted. Enjoy it.

  • pharaoh
    16 years ago

    flyleft, i love your comments! how do you notice the smallest details ? hendrix :)
    plastic thingies, you better not see my DIYs in person ;) You will see major lippage in my tile work, gaps, rough edges. It looks good in photos...

  • cade
    16 years ago

    Atsmith. Beautiful bathroom! I want your vanity! I have been searching for a double vanity for weeks and can't find one I like. Can you tell me where you saw the Porcher vanity that didn't work for you. Tell me more about the mirror? Is that a shelf under it or just a track for the mirror to sit in?

  • mahatmacat1
    16 years ago

    LOL pharoah--but please understand that the beauty of the design/execution inspires further appreciation and examination...it's not fault-finding at all!

    And atsmith--I'm not sure I said this, but it's such a *brilliant* move to reconfigure the faux-wood-planks as long rectangular tiles--we made our long rectangles out of 18x18 (some 3s, some 6s, and some 9s), never thought of your approach--great out-of-box points, there!)

    OH, and if you could share the paint color in the WC...it's vaguely greenish grey, which is a color I adore...or at least it comes off that way with the lighting?

    And thanks for clearing up the art-over-the-commode question--of *course* it's not anyone famous with a 'fro, just some average guy in a flying bathtub. I should have known. (Please tell your DH I LOVE his taste in art--although this is from someone who collects paint-by-number and seriously bought a sad-clown-face original painting from Goodwill, not a fake one, but a real one that someone actually took the trouble to compose her/himself...I can't display it anywhere, though, because it's too d*mn sad!...why did I just remember that? I don't know...)

    Are you liking the Leather finish on the silestone? I sure did like the look of it when I saw it in the display.

    What are the shelves in the shower niche made out of?

    Just really beautiful work, again. Such a pleasure to look at.

  • kulagal
    16 years ago

    Atsmith: love your "baath"! In particular, I love your sinks but I think we want the faucets placed on the vanities (Kohler Purist) rather on wall and wondered how deep and wide your vanity is. Not sure our faucets would work with your sinks because of the large size. And...also love the tile on your walls - what kind of grout did you use? Congrats on a great job, and I'm envious you're done.
    TIA

  • MongoCT
    16 years ago

    Smmoooooooooooooooth!

    With a capital "S" and a lot more "o"s.

    Nice! Very clean.

    From the land of rough,
    Mongo

  • atsmith
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Flyleft - the paint (which is also in the master bedroom) is Valspar, color = Gravity in a "washable matte" finish that they have. It really isn't greenish, just a light gray, but it took a lot of searching as gray can be so tricky.

    Kulagal - The grout was Laticrete sanded in Mocha, for the dark tile, and Sauterne, for the light tile. Here is a link to the sinks for dimensions, below.

    Cade - the Porcher vanity was the Tetsu - we took that as inspiration and copied their under sink drawers. But I couldn't find anything existing that worked exactly as we liked. The shelf under the mirror is a steel angle mounted to the wall and finished with beeswax - it was an idea from the architect/contractor that worked out OK (the shelf is handy for bathroom sink business) but could probably be accomplished another way too. It was funny - once it was up, my husband and I realized that we both had a very different understanding about what it was going to look like, and we were both wrong. But it worked out fine.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Cheviot Quattro sink

  • organic_donna
    16 years ago

    I just love it! It looks awsome. You did a great job. I have the same toilet.
    Donna

  • mahatmacat1
    16 years ago

    Ah, thanks, at. I'm going to check it out today for our powder room.

    beeswax? Is it finished with that because otherwise it's raw steel? Is there a reason you didn't go with stainless? I've never worked with beeswax before--does it stop being sticky after a while? How long does the coating last? Very cool.

  • kulagal
    16 years ago

    Atsmith: thanks for the pointer to the sinks - looks they would work with deck mounted faucets! One other question: we are getting Silestone (Sienna Ridge)for the kitchen but didn't know about the "leather" finish collection. Might consider it for the bath. How do you like it now that you've had it for awhile? Does it really look like leather? The color on the website looks so different from your photo. How would you describe the color in realtime? Thanks for all your information - much appreciated!

  • kulagal
    16 years ago

    OMG! I just saw your kitchen - so beautiful! May I ask what cabs you used, hardware, color of cabs, appliances,and those counters - are they the same Silestone? I want your kitchen, too. Well done!

  • atsmith
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Flyleft - It's finished with beeswax because that was the architect/GC's plan all along. I had expected it to be stainless steel (when he said a steel shelf I just naturally assumed SS) and my husband, somehow, thought it would be finished in wood. By the time we had realized our misconceptions, it was already cut and installed, and it's not like it wasn't as promised. . .anyway, it is fine though not what i would go for with full knowledge. I like the function of it though - handy for putthing things down while you are doing bathroom things in the bathroom, like contacts, makeup, teethbrushing, etc. - not that putting things ALL THE WAY down on the counter would be the end of the world either.

    Now that you ask, though, I remember - didn't like the beeswax coating as it was (it was liquid beeswax and never did stop being greasy) so they recoated it with a spray poly. Looks the same as the beeswax did, though.

    Kulagal - I do like the Silestone leather finish, though I wouldn't say it really looks like leather. It gives it more of a stone look though - kinda concrete-y. Because it is dark and matte, it does show greasy fingerprints and coffe cup rings such but only until you wipe it off. No problems so far with any staining or anything like that. I would say the color is more of a dark brownish-grey - pretty much dark grey with a little brown in it. We found a sample for it at Lowe's so you could probably check it out there.

    (Oh - little tip - the samples are nice and square and simple, and make wonderful coasters to keep those coffee cup rings off the counter. . .but since they match the counter you don't really notice them sitting there, which keeps the counter uncluttered, and I like a nice bare counter whenever possible. So grab a couple samples in your color while you are there. . .)

  • atsmith
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Oh, the kitchen. . .thanks! I STILL haven't gotten final pics of that posted, because now that we are living in it with 3 kids and all, it is a rare moment that it is truly photo-ready. The cabs were Leicht, which came with the hardware - can't recall the name of the color but might have been espresso. Appliances are a DCS range (love), LG French Door fridge (hate), Bosch panel dishwasher (love).

    The counters are concrete, which I love the look of but you REALLY have to buy the whole "patina" argument to not get driven crazy by the wear on them. Some days I do, some days I don't. If pressed to make that decision again, I don't know what I would do - I vacillate between loving them and wishing they were never born.

  • gsciencechick
    16 years ago

    Wow, just gorgeous!