Mirror Question

En suite sneak peek

So I think the picture speaks for itself! We are almost there.  Sorry I didn't visit the house today so we only have hubs bb pics. And typically he didn't put the cover down!  But here's the big question - what shape and size of mirror?  It can't be too big because of the dainty light fixture (missing shades currently). I considered a medicine cabinet but think it would be unbalanced (I can't recess).  Round / oval is too small; rectangular will look disproportionate against the light fixture 

I'll try to draw on the pic tomorrow but what do you think of this:

Its for sale by First Time Fancy on her facebook page. I'd have to detach the medicine cabinet back and attach a wire to hang it. I'm worried it may be too small but do you agree that it should be a shape like this? Wider on the bottom and narrower on the top?

Have a good night.

Bathroom Update + Giveaway!

So I dropped by the house today and it is looking good.  In my last post I expressed Bathroom Worries. Well no more. With grout the tiles look so much better and the ming green marble is looking cool - to me at least. My key worry now is how to take good pictures for you given the space is so small. I couldn't take pics today because there was too much construction stuff all around. The showstopper so far is the paint - its so amazingly beautiful but so hard to see in pics.  Here's the cleanest shot I could get today. Its the hall bath (yes Hubs chose a floating vanity) painted in BM Whirlpool - see the ceiling corner to get a sense of Whirlpool color.

Main reason for posting though is the National Home Show. I bought tix the day after I bought the house but just got 2 tix as a gift.  The show is in downtown TO from Mar 16 to 25th.  Anyone want? Gotta be a follower (yes I'm trying to build a cult) and leave me a comment - I'll do some fancy random number thing to pick the winner (yes I'm hoping there's more than two of you!). Sorry tix gone. My contractor wanted them!

Bathroom worries

So I've shared one of the two bathrooms with you and its looking promising I think.  We went with a safe tile choice there on the carrara herringbone.

On the other washroom I was more daring and I'm worried I may have missed the mark - but I'm not sure. Here's a bit of the history:  I saw the following ming green 'illusion' tile when we first started shopping and fell in love.

Ming green illusion tile

And when I say love I mean real love. I'd meant to buy a white carrara 1" hex tile when I went in but I couldn't shake this tile from head.  I slept on it for 3 weeks because I knew this wasn't a traditional choice.  I didn't even post about the tile because I loved it so much and you know how hurt you can feel when someone advises against things you love.

We finally took the plunge for the tile but decided we'd do it as a carpet with a white border.  I made the decision because I love white and loved the carpet idea and was trying to get the best of all worlds. Here's what we were supposed to have:

Ming green illusion with white thassos border

I though the above looked sensational but that's when we ran into problems.  Big problems. The green tile didn't look good when it was cut to have a straight edge and the grout lines were too big if we didn't cut. This was a big Friday drama - we had 3 options:
1) stick with original plan but go with big grout lines
2) return all the tiles we'd bought and settle for an easier, safer tile like the 1" carrara hex tile
3) stick with my first love and keep the green tile but put it all over the floor

I've never been know to settle so I took the plunge - green throughout.  Its gone down and I still love the tile but something feels off...

Tile on floor - still needs grout

Don't worry about the squiggly lines at the edges.  Grout / caulk / baseboard will take care of that.  My theories about the 'off' feeling are:

1. The shower jamb and wall tile were both chosen when I had white tiles as my carpet border.  They were already in by the time we ran into our troubles.  Are the wall tiles too white against the green? Is the white shower jamb too creamy white against the wall tiles.  Its almost like I need a creamier white wall tile - but I don't know
2. The washroom wasn't bright enough when I saw it.  It has no windows and only one of the 4 lights were on when I took the above pic.  Once all the other lights are set, maybe everything will be whiter and shinier
3. Not enough is in the washroom yet - once the glass shower doors are in the light will reflect off that onto the white tiles and look OK. Also the vanity will cover some of the tile bringing more white into the space

Hubs thinks the whole thing looks great - spa like. But is he saying it to make me happy and less worried?

Hope things are going well for you out there.

Bathroom sneak peek

So I shared the hall bath with you the other day. Want to see the tile we picked? 

Hall bath before tie with ditra + carrarra herringbone tile

I haven't confirmed but I think I've learnt a lesson - herringbone is not the best tile for $ savings.  I know I bought enough based on the room measurements but the contractor tells me I'm short a couple of tiles.  I think its all the waste on the edges

Oh and this is the paint we just chose:

Benjamin Moore™ 1436 Whirlpool 

It looks really blue but here is a picture at Color Me Happy of what I think it looks like.

Have a great weekend!

Bathroom update

Just got the above from hubs - isn't it lovely! We're less than a week away from being done

A new appreciation for renos

So I think I'm at the end of the 2nd week of the reno and the end of the 2nd month of planning it and I am exhausted.

• I never want to go into another tile store (or at least not for a 6 month period)
• I dread the thought of going to pick out the accessories
• And 'giving feedback' to the contractor has exhausted me

I truly have a new appreciation of renos and even more for the people who DIY - its a lot of work and so much to learn. But enough of the general and onto the update.  I travel for work so I didn't get to see it all week and returned to the following:

• all the framing got done
• all the electrical got done
• all the plumbing got done

Hall bathroom - has a tub!

You can't see it in this picture but a potlight had accidentally been put right above that knee wall. "Um, we are going to have a sheet of glass there." The contractor said "Good catch" and moved it.

He's not as keen when I give him feedback about the drywall.  See the red X in the pic? That's in the tub area but is old greenboard (presumably).  Should I push him to replace it with cement board. Hubs says its OK because we bought a product called Hydroban at The Tile Store. Since Hydroban is waterproofing used in pools he figures its okay to just paint the boards with it before tiling.

Also one thing you don't see in the pic is the hole for my handshower.  Contractor says piping is there but he hasn't cut the hole in the drywall.  Really!

Onto the en suite:





En suite shower area


So same comment of hand shower applies here. I was on the phone with the contractor who insisted it was there and I was like 'Where?'  Oh well I'm sure he'll fix it.  For those of you wondering the flexible piping is Apex bringing the water in. The black pipes are the vents for the drains.

Here's a wide view of the en suite - oh and this is the only time it will be this easy to see. I hate how hard washrooms are to photograph.





En suite

On the left is the shower and the pocket door (I didn't think we had space for a swing door).  The middle is the vanity and the right is the toilet.

The hiccup on this one was that the shower piping was too high and wouldn't accommodate the gooseneck.  They moved it.

Outstanding issue are:

• Above mentioned issue of handshower that will be fixed!
• See the X on the right.  Old bedroom drywall.  He says it was greenboard so fine to stay.  I'm dubious - should I push? or is it less important since its far from the vanity / shower?
• I had insulation put in behind the vanity - but should it have a vapour barrier?
• The doorway measures at 33 inches but the door I bought is only 32 inches. Is it okay d you think because of the drywall.

Speaking of the doorway that was one of the week's hassles that I had to deal with from a country away:

• On the weekend we bought a 30x80 pocket door frame from Central Fairbank. However when the contractor went to pick it up they didn't have any in stock.  Um it was there when I bought it. Talk about careless. So we had to go with a 32x80 door. Oh and later found out it would have been cheaper at Home Depot. I'm not a Central Fairbank fan, I'll tell you.
• Even the door was a somewhat compromise because there was limited stock in what we wanted. So we got this Milette door but instead of primed we ended up with knotty pine which we'll have to stain and instead of tempered glass we got something called Morocco glass which is much more textured

via Home Depot / Milette

• Worse than the door were the fixtures for the hall bath. They were supposed to get to TO the last week Friday. But they never got on the truck from the US. Um - you could have told us before.  So I had to pick 'settling' things on the phone. Was not a happy camper.

I think that largely covers this week. Oh and we haven't started packing either because this bathroom seems to consume every weekend. We move in 3 weeks - wish us luck.