Tag: teak

Dream Bathroom: Revealed!

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It feels like we’ve been sidetracked with all of this flooring drama.  Actually, no, not “feels like”…we really have! We’ve had the bathroom about 85% done for several weeks, but all this flooring nonsense stopped us in our tracks.

This past weekend, we managed to get a lot accomplished. There’s nothing like the impending arrival of my parents from Vancouver to cross things off the to-do list. Oh yes, we have been busy bees. We can proudly say that our bathroom is now 95% done. A few finishing touches, along with the much-anticipated arrival of our bathroom art (really? 2 weeks at customs? For art posters!!??), and we’ll be able to bump that number up to 100% finito.

But I can’t wait. Must. Share. Progress. Photos.

First of all, remember this picture?

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This has got to be one of my favourite renovation-related photos of all time. Anyhoo, back in this post of yore, I shared all the challenges that we had with our tiny, oh-so-narrow bathroom: we couldn’t physically be in there at the same time, the sink literally overlapped with the toilet, the shower head hit Christian in the chest (I think I forgot to mention that one), etc etc. It really boiled down to a non-functional layout for us.

So we changed it. A lot.

Before – view as you walked into the bathroom (sorry it’s so stretched…my SnapFish album went a little crazy):

Screen Shot 2013-04-16 at 9.56.11 PMThis photo does not do the narrowness justice: the entrance was just 24″….Christian and I had to do the Tango every time we passed by each other in here. So, onto the money shot:

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Yes, our bathroom is now a VERY happy place.

Let’s zoom in on a few fabulous things!  First, the toilet.  Yep, I’m leading with the crapper.  Honestly, I never thought I’d be someone who got excited about a toilet but this thing is seriously gorgeous.  And comfortable!  I was kind of against the square at first but I’m so glad that Christian got me on-side.  It’s a conversation piece.  Yep, my toilet is a real conversation starter….what can I say?

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The floor tile is from the store that never ceases to make me chuckle at the simplicity of the store name,  The Tile Store.   Soapbox moment warning!  If there is one thing you take away from this post, let it be this: do not go to big box stores for your tiles without shopping around.  The tile options that are available in this world will blow your mind!  We have been so surprised at all the options that are out there, many at very reasonable prices.  Yes, you can get lovely tiles at Big Box stores, but if you have a specific “vision”, shop around. Go to the mom & pop shops that only sell tile…you’ll be glad you did.  Don’t compromise your vision just because Home Depot doesn’t sell it.

Moving on…..we opted for a teak-look vanity.  Originally, I was really feeling the ash-grey look vanity (which this very same one comes in, by the way) but again, points for Christian for convincing me of the “warmth” of teak (I love that my husband actually cares about these decisions):

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We picked up both the toilet and the vanity at Toronto Vanity, where Miguel was super helpful and responsive.  If you’re into a bit more of a contemporary/ modern look, this is the place to be.  Most vanities come with the sink top, faucet (see photo below for a close up of the faucet), AND medicine cabinet for around $1,000.  Even IKEA vanities have a hard time beating that price…trust us…we did our research.  What’s great is that there are about 8 different faucets you can choose from, all for the same all-in price.  Customization without all the “I love this faucet more but it’s twice the price” drama.  Cuz  you know I’m always the one who wants the more expensive one.  Always.

Now for a zoom-in on the backsplash, which matches the tile in the shower surround.  It’s a beautiful ice-blue frosted square glass tile. Again, we shopped around and had a hard time finding anything like this for under $8.00/ sq foot….on a whim, we hit up Ceramic Tile World in the east end of Toronto, and there she was…on sale for $5.00/ sq foot.  It was destiny!  And I’m in love with my marble soap pump with a hint of sparkle that I picked up at the Bay…it’s so glam-squad.

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Finally, the shower head.  Christian loves the square look so I let him run with this one.  We went to Bath City in the Beach and they were amazing.  Honestly, if you want to learn everything you ever wanted to know about plumbing on a Saturday afternoon, go here.  Their hours are awesome and the staff are super knowledgeable. We picked up the shower system and glass shower door from them.  A+

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The best part is?  The shower head doesn’t even come close to hitting Christian in the chest…or head!  It’s so tall!  Yay!  It’s a beautiful chrome finish rainfall shower and again, I’m in love.  And yes, I *might* sometimes sing into the wand that you see in the photo, as it totally resembles some kind of futuristic microphone.  Whatever.

What’s cool is that we really stuck to our “vision” board and things really came together!  What the heck did people do before Pinterest?

Bathroom inspiration

So, there you have it!  Our 95% complete bathroom!  More to come on artwork, towel bars and other riveting finishing touches.  But we’ll save that for later…too much excitement already for just one post!

xo M

Bathroom reno inspiration!

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It’s official = 2013 is the year of the major bathroom renovation!

Here’s to having a proper sized bathtub, not hitting our elbows on the wall every time we shower, being able to brush our teeth at the sink together (at the same time…what a concept) and not having the top of our toilet tank overlapping with our sink (true story)!  Before, during and after photos will come as the weeks pass – we plan on starting this overhaul in mid-February.  Until then, and as we begin shopping for all of the elements that go into a bathroom reno, I thought I’d share with you our ideas and inspiration for the design and aesthetic of the soon-to-be-finished product.

Our goals:

  • make use of the existing window inside the bathroom and allow natural light in
  • create a ‘spa’ feeling
  • create enough room so that we can both be in the bathroom at the same time

I’ve been adding to our Pinterest board for…about the past 6 months (what can I say? I was excited!) and it’s been neat to watch the progression of our vision.  First, ‘spa’ meant more grey tones: stone tiles, and neutrals.  But as the months progressed, our images started to move towards lighter, clean and crisp tones with pops of ice blue or seafoam green.  I suppose spending a week on the west coast over the holidays, including a trip down to Cannon Beach, helped us to channel “sea shore” inspiration into our plan!

Cannon Beach

So, with beach inspiration fresh in our brains, it was back to the Pinterest drawing board!  Here’s where we are at, and as we finalize our tile choices in the coming weeks, we are feeling great about our percolated vision (yep, it’s like coffee…you just have to let it brew, and it will come):

Bathroom inspiration

The main bathroom images above come from here, here, here and here…let’s highlight the one the really started it all, and really got us thinking about the beauty that is blue and white:

Blue Bathroom

I love the simplicity of this bathroom (from Houzz.com).  Plus, the fact that is the very same layout that we are moving towards, complete with an in-shower window, the look just clicked.  So, our path is set and this shopping has begun!  New bathroom coming very soon…

The Great Craigslist Challenge!

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I write this post while sitting on my living room couch, with my back to the massive hole in the wall behind me (on purpose; I can’t stand to look at it).  Yep, we’re mid project, dust and dirt everywhere.  Christian decided to tackle our “2nd” front door, which is one of the remaining key parts of our almost-complete front porch reno.  So this is a bit of a we’re-in-between projects post, however, it is related to MY current project: the home office!

Our third bedroom, or “office” has been somewhat of a catch-all since we moved in.  Over the past few months, I’ve been tackling it bit by bit, finding new homes for things and giving away/ throwing away things we no longer need.  A few weeks back, I posted a few items on Craigslist: a love seat from my bachelorette days in my basement apartment (woo!), striped area rug, and a swivel office chair.  All were in pretty good shape and we felt we could get a decent buck from the items – here are a few of the goods:

Christian and I agreed on the room make-over terms before we posted our pre-loved goodies on line: whatever we make off of these items will become our budget for the office makeover.

Well, I love a good challenge and Christian loves to be thrifty, so this little project was a match made in heaven!

And it just so happens that today marked the day that my make-over budget would be revealed!  $215….whoop!  Not too shabby.

We’re going for a sort of a 60’s inspired look with some modern pops.  I’ll be suing the fab peacok blue and chartreuse green fabric that I recently picked up and shared with y’all in this post on DIY inspiration. Here’s another little bit of inspiration to help me stay focused, found here:

Gorgous.  I love the modern look, the bright blue sofa and chairs, and that funky lamp!  $215 will certainly not get me this room, but I’m excited to see what I can do!

In terms of great feature items for the room, we’re off to a good start.  We scored a cool teak desk off of Craigslist (where else?) last year for $100, and inherited a lovely teak chair from Christian’s grandmother (here’s a sneak peak of our new desk chair…the recovering will be coming soon to a DIY post near you!):

Here’s what we plan on accomplishing within the room:

  • window coverings – fun fabric panels in a colourful print or solid textured material
  • covered bulletin board
  • black and white photo wall/ collage
  • recovered office chair
  • new handles for the Craigslist desk
  • recovered lamp shade
  • pillows for the amazing FREE arm chair that we scored on Craigslist a few months back
  • throw blanket for some extra colour
  • area rug to replace my striped friend that we recently sold
  • backing of existing bookcase with shelf paper/ wrapping paper for an added pop of colour behind our book collection

Good heavens this is a longer list than I thought!  And I only have $215 to do it!  Ah well, I’ll get crafty.

So I leave you with this challenge:  what room are you looking to update?  What “not perfect” or unused items do you have that you could sell to free up some cash for your project?  How creative can you get?!

Bring it!