Ok, Steph, which bathroom or which sink?
I intended to install the Cheviot Nova (the one with the side apron big enough to set things on) in the tiny bath with the shower. However, the first contractor (or friend and neighbor) decided to reduce the width of the already-small space by another 10 inches to avoid changing the closet of the front bedroom. He chose to do this while I was out shopping, did not discuss it with me. So then I had to scurry around and find another much smaller sink, which turned out to be the Porcher Elfe. Truly it is the tiniest sink in the tiniest bathroom ever.

The sink and the toilet are different manufacturers, but they are the same color. The very soft Behr Lilting Laughter paint on the wall may give a softer tone to the toilet.

The toilet in the tiny bath is the American Standard One Piece Compact Cadet 3 which flushes with 1.2 gallons of water. It is a fantastic little toilet. Takes up only a small amount of space in all directions. I bought the soft close lid for it. And it is very dependable about flushing in one try. I can imagine that it would work placed in a corner on the diagonal, because the tank is built onto the base.

I had planned to install the new toilet in the master bath, or else buy a Toto with washlet for the master. However, the plumber said he'd rebuilt the OLD American Standard toilet and it worked like a charm, so I did not have to spend the money for a new john. And the plumber also had a Toto washlet still in the box that he would sell to me. I bought it from him and now it is hooked up and operating nicely. The washlet is the Zoe model which is discontinued, but it works nice, even warms the water before it sprays/washes your rear end. I was using it already, but connected it to an extension cord since the electrical was not finished in the master bath until Friday.

In the tiny bath, I put in beadboard wainscoting and made the shower unglazed porcelain big tiles, with the 1/2 inch porcelain mosaic for the shower stall floor. I used the big porcelain tiles in the same color as the shower walls on the floor of the rest of the bath. I think there was ONE full tile in the whole floor! The color is the Roman Salmon which we used on the sun porch and loved because it is a soft faded terra cotta, very Italian in feel.

I painted the wall and ceiling of the tiny bath the Behr LILTING LAUGHTER, which is a soft soft color that reads just a shade of white but is great for skin tones. It is one of myy favorite paint colors.

I bought that lovely oval mirror at a local glass and mirror store, 50% off, and it was the bronze look with hints of gold showing through. I tried to get everything in there an oil rubbed bronze, but the faucet, mirror, sconce, and towel hooks are as far as I could get with bronze. The shower is like stainless color, the toilet flusher is polished chrome. I learned my lesson in that bathroom, because I do not obsess over getting everything to match. In the master bath, I said, POLISHED CHROME IT WILL BE.

Now the master bath is ready for floors and paint. When the first contractor/friend disappeared, he'd installed the Cheviot Nova sink and the old toilet, and put in a strip of beadboard wainscoting behind the sink, and dry wall on the wall shared with the other bath. There was a big hole in the floor where the original toilet sat, and which the plumber used to gain access to the plumbing under the house. But he had not taken out the old sink pipes, next to the old toilet. Before they left forever never to return, they did put a piece of plywood over that huge hole, and another piece of plywood over the sub floor so the a/c would function partly anyway. The electrician had pulled wires to a couple of boxes and switches, but none were marked and none were connected. (The NEW electrician found one that was LIVE so it was a blessing I did not touch it.)

Then enter the new contractor who is like a knight on a white horse in my book. Thank HEAVEN. My dear friends who own several rental houses had recommended another man who did whole-house construction new, and he was busy and he said he recommended DeMouy. I called him, and he was between big jobs, with another one starting in a week. He came, he saw, he called me back with the estimate, and I knew before he said a word that I would accept the price.

Our closet and tub bumpout involved foundation work, roofline changes, roofing, framing, exterior material installation to match the existing stucco, building Lexan windows, installing one special window, and then the plumber for the tub and the carpenter for the beadboard walls and door frames and window sills. It was a fiddling involved piece of work.

Now with all that extra time for me to think, I did make a few changes in the plan. We decided to go ahead with bumping out for the closet over there, since DH did not want to make changes elsewhere in the house. And if we had to raise the roofline to get headroom in the tub alcove, we might as well do that whole side of the house at the same time...otherwise it would look funny. And when it came time to pour the foundation, he had to go almost an extra foot further, and that gave me more room for space around the tub. In digging for the foundation, they ran across the existing sewer line and broke a part of that which was the old tile...but it already had been busted and someone had just laid some sheet lead over the hole. DeMouy came over on a Saturday and personally replaced the old sewer line with the PVC pipe. I take my hat off to him for doing this personally on his day off. NOT a pleasant job!

I forget how many different subcontractors or crews came to work here. I don't think I met the roofers. I met the plumber. I met the electrician. I met the carpenters. I met the stucco guys. Oh, and I met the diggers for the foundation, because they hauled the dirt back to my "back forty"....

Steph, if your DBF is able to do all this, you won't have many people come to your place. Just the ones you already know.

The carpenter went shopping for the wall board, and instead of putting drywall in the closet as I'd expected, he got all beadboard for the walls and ceiling of both spaces. I'm not hard to get along with at all, and I very philosophically estimated that it was "meant to be." So I said why not. The board cost more than the drywall, to buy and to install, but it meant we did not have to call a dry wall guy and I did not have to worry about taping stuff. And now I know what it will look like to have the whole space with beadboard! I still have to do some filling and smoothing of the wood, and DH has to do the tile floors of both spaces, but that will happen soon enough.

I never considered a vessel sink. I used the Cheviot Nova sink in the master because I had it. Now we have more space in the master bath than I've ever had in any bathroom in my LIFE, and I could have gotten a vanity sink. I think maybe an undermount would be nice. Smooth surface easy to clean around is my thinking. DH is such a slob when he uses the sink, water everywhere, so I knew a vessel would look awful. It might even be grounds for mayhem.

Also, vessels are such a matter of personal taste, that I was not sure I knew which one I'd love the most. And I'd probably want to change it out for another sooner than later. Of course, it would be easier to do that with vessels than with sinks requiring special shaped/sized holes.

In your case Steph, I would find a piece of furniture you already own and install the sink. If you need a new top to set the sink on, get a piece of marble or any other stone you like, even doing some mosaic under it, and by George, I think you'd have a winner.

Since I have more space now than I thought, I'm building two storage towers out of bifold shutter closet panels/doors and a 12" wide pine boardfor the back. Along with a special wall cab over the toilet in that indented wall space, I should have LOTS of storage space.

Plus I've ordered from the unfinished furniture store 2 72" tall x 24" wide x 8" deep pine shelving units to attach to the walls in the hall outside the other tiny bath. I will cover those with pairs of bifold shutter doors too, and they will be quite full of medical/beauty/cleaning products. Every little inch can be used when necessary.

Hope I answered your question. If not, ask away.

Cheviot Nova from VintageTub.com

thx for replying. I was wondering if they were different if it bothered you. I think you did awesome at figuring out how to get the most room, laid out the best from your areas and with the construction you planned. what super changes to your home to make it more you and dh and functional for living there.

It's too bad you didn't know in time to get a vanity / sink combo but I think having the room for the towers will give you so much more storage area. and towers out in the hall also? wonderful - you just can hardly ever have too much storage space. (maybe a house I live in in several dreams I've had over the yrs - besides being a large house it has 5 or 6 rooms on the back of it just used for storage in my dreams. how weird is that?).
As much as we try to get rid of unnecessary things, it's still surprising to me how much we still need to have. like the set of double bed sheets I have with no double bed to use them on. I'm gonna keep them tho in case I need extra sheets to put over the sofa should someone drop by and spend a few days (like my nephew did 2 yrs ago). and I guess I should keep that extra blanket to in case it's in the winter again. lol! and the sheets that have worn thin, turning to holes and rips - I keep those to put over new plants in the winter when the temp falls too low. so there ya go. those extra plus the about 4 sets I have for my bed (I don't always get to the laundromat real often and most were given to me by my sister when she merged households).

I was wondering if I replace the sink in my mstrbath if I should go ahead and get it in bisque even tho other fixtures are white. The toilet looks to be a builders special - maybe 60.00 bucks at HD. Not sure how that'll work or how long it'll last. And I'm going to try using the tub to soak my feet. a very large tub just to do that. there is a regular tub in the other bathroom. If it doesn't work out I'm thinking that maybe next yr I'll have it torn out. leaving just the shower in white and who knows how long that'll last.
I hate the idea of replacing things one by one in white when I don't like white. and the other bath is white and will surely remain that. I have no thoughts of replacing that tub/shower combo that will seldom if ever be used. It's in good shape from what I can see thru the dirt. I'm sure that toilet is the same as the mstr bath - and will be used more by guests and me when in that part of the house. I have already thoughts of redoing that counter top/sink anyway.
the hall bath has the little (maybe a foot wide) 'linen' closet when you first walk in it. I think I'm going to put slide out drawers in it. It is about 2' deep and I have no desire to be digging over things in the front to get something in the back. I'm going to use at least 1 slide out for the dogs bath stuff, brush etc.

I want all of my sinks to have a single handle faucet because of my hands/fingers. Will be much easier - and easier to clean around. Other than the sliders the hall bath will be last on my list to 'fix' up tho.

I can't think of any furniture piece I have right now that I could use as a vanity in my bath tho. A dresser that would work is in IN at my son's. My mom had been using it so when I moved from there I left it with her. After she died my sister stored it and when ds#3's first son was born a few yrs back I had him get that dresser to use for the baby. It's an old one on legs with a curved front.

I do have the chifferobe that I bought before ds#3's birth for his room. I wish he had that for his kids now. I had thought I'd use it in my bath if I had some 'spare' wall area, but I don't. Unless I tear out that tub next year. It'd work great in a bathroom for storage and I do need more storage in my bathroom.

I might just live with my bath as is for a few months. It still has more storage in it than the one I have now does.
The one I have now had wall room tho (prev area for w/d) and I put a chest of drawers in there and 2 storage cabinets. Maybe within that time I'll know if I'll want to tear out that tub and replace the toilet also.

I'm going over to the new place in a bit to measure a few areas and map out on paper where outlets are and air vents.

It's been running about 105 here this wk and it's doing me in. this coming week should drop to 100-102. it sounds weird, but that does make a difference. Seems once it goes over 102 it's so much worse.

I'll be making a list of any electrical stuff I need done so I can hopefully get it all done at one time. If I can then I'll have an outlet put in by the mstrbath toilet for a washlet. Do you think they are worth the money?

OIC, Steph, I was wondering what you needed tiny sinks for. It was the color. I just checked that bath again, and the sink is white and so is the toilet. There is something about the flash going off in there which makes it look different. There is only one spot I can stand to take a picture of both fixtures, and that is in the shower. :) Maybe I should get a spotlight and really turn the candlepower on to get a true color shot?

If the vents and outlets in the vanity area are not inthe way, you might try some 12" wide x 12" deep x 36" tall plain wall cabs turned on their sides over your tub or over your vanity.
I saw an IKEA ad with them used that way all along the wall in a bedroom, above the bed. You could even put a surface mounted or recessed LED light setup below it for your vanity lighting. IKEA also used them in ads for kitchens, with the glass doors that raised up out of the way.

Waiting a few months to decide how to change the bath is a real good idea. Live in it a while, Steph. Once you are able to stretch your legs in the place, you might change some of your routines or your habits that developed over the years in the old place.

Meanwhile, keep an eye out for SOMEBODY to get rid of an old chest! Then do the vessel sink that you know you want.

I agree that single handles are wonderful. I have that kind on both bathroom sinks and the kitchen sink. and the shower too. But, hmmmm, I have two star handles on the bathtub. Then the little handle which changes it to the handheld shower wand. My tub fixtures have old fashioned star or cross handles with porcelain and HOT COLD SHOWER written on the handles.

I've never been this anxious to take a bath. Today I went into the bathroom as the sun was shining brightly through that stained glass. OH WOW....How lovely. It lit up the whole bath. Having the window was an afterthought, and suggested by our first contractor. But I thought OF COURSE WHY NOT.....and immediately went looking for one. Parts of that bath are just ordinary, but no one will ever look at anything but the window and the claw foot slipper tub. I've never had such a large bathroom before.

Do you think I could get a really plush fuzzy mat to put down when I take a bubble bath with all those candles everywhere? And the ROSE PETALS.........oh mercy I should be 25 now, I'm too old for all this excitement. :)

nah, you're not too old! but yes, I do think you should get a fuzzy/fluffy rug for in front of the tub. It'll feel great to your feet getting in and getting out!

I sure can understand why you are anxious to take that bath! it'll be such a luxurious experience. like being at some fancy hotel/spa.

A good sized bathroom is nice to have - we too often (and most often in the past) just had barely enough room in them for the necessities. of course, that was better than not having indoor plumbing!

I was thinking it'd be good to get that vanity done early and put down the new flooring - but I planned to wait on the kitchen to have time to see how it works or doesn't for me so I'd know WHAT I did want to do with it. I can guess in advance but it's easy to miss something important that way. So I'd better just make the best of the bathroom for now. When it's cleaned up it'll till better than what I have now.

I saw a few vessel sinks I did love but they go a total different direction that I have planned for the bath. one is goldish and red swirls - not good in a purple and green bathroom - lol! and a vessel sink would be too easy for me to crack. I dropped a pot on girls dish yesterday and broke a chunk off of the outer lip of the dish! A glass vessel sink is dangerous around me - lol!

I went over there - it was like a sauna, just needed some eucalyptus. so all i did was locate and mark electrical sockets, cable / phone outlets and fire alarms on a diagram of the rooms. The fire alarms seem to be wired in - will have to double check that!

it's weird how a few of the switch/socket covers are missing. such value to steal... there was a strange wire running thru LR into bdrm closet 1, across hall and into closet 2 of mstr bdrm. there also seems to be a security system. AND the back 2 bdroom doors had key locks on the outside. no handle that I remember. how weird. I think I'll ask dbf more about this guy who lived in it.

Steph, sounds like he was a bookie to me.
Maybe several phone lines running into the house.

ah... there are 2 phone lines into one of the rooms with a deadbolt on it. the other room has a big desk in one corner and I didn't even try to move it to see if any ph/cable or electrical behind it.

it's so weird - no handles on either door!

Steph, here is the current state of the closet, showing DH's end of the closet.

And here is a view of the bathroom, fixtures removed to allow DH to do the tiling which is 2x2 porcelain mosaic. It is now ready for grouting.

I am still painting the drawers which go in this tall wide chest, which will sit in the middle of window wall in the walkin closet.

oh wow! you are sooo close to being all done!

don't forget to show pics when dresser in place(all done ) and tub in place etc!

pic of entrance into closet also when done!

I love your stained glass window and I am drooling over your big chest. Oh the storage in there!