Beveled Tile - The Problem With Finishing Corners

When we were renovating the bathroom, just as my marble-tub vision was starting to come to life we hit a snag with the tile that could have been a show stopper. I want to share some information that I wish I'd known then about beveled tile. Perhaps someone out there right now planning your bathroom reno will stumble across this in your planning phase, while you have all your options open. Or maybe you're right in the middle of dealing with this very issue right now, and this information might help.

Is the Pink Bathroom Back?

via Yellow Brick Home

Anyone who has ever renovated an old home has likely encountered "the pink bathroom." It's often the first thing you see hit the dumpster in home renovation shows. The once-ubiquitous fixtures are lined up like pastel tombstones in architectural salvage yards everywhere and can be had for a relative pittance. But not for long! Savvy renovators are snapping them up. Repurposed in a more modern context, pink console sinks look especially fresh and new. Could we be on the cusp of a return of the pink bathroom?

My Honed Marble Bath - SIx Years Later

When the design for our bathroom renovation was just a gleam in my iPad but I was starting to investigate marble for the tub surround, I was definitely concerned with how marble would wear in a bathroom. I did some research, and articles like this one from Houzz, "Why Marble Might Be Wrong for Your Bathroom," gave me pause.

"Marble is easily etched by acidic materials, such as lemon and certain cleaning products... Because marble contains minerals, there's always the risk that its iron content will turn to rust in a bathroom." 

Recycled Luxury Zen Bathroom for Less Than $2,500

While stalking a recycled kitchen on Green Demolitions this week, I came across some great deals in the bath section. Two never-used Lefroy Brooks deep soaking tubs for under $1,000 — and one is the lovely Zen Tub. (The wooden feet alone retail for more.) Then I saw that the tub would pair really well with an Alape floating vanity, marked down to $950. This got me falling down a designer rabbit hole. Could we kit out a whole dreamy Zen bathroom for under $3k just shopping markdowns at reuse stores? Why, yes, we can! Even less!

Mood Board for a Black and White Bathroom

One of the first things I like to do when I'm designing a bathroom is bring all of the elements into Pixlr as layers and move them around without worrying a lot about distortion and proportion. It's fun, and it's often surprising what I discover. Take the black and white bath we're working on...

Factory Doors and Encaustic Tiles Make a Strong Statement in the Bath

The Bower Birds

I'm advising a friend on a design for a master shower in her new home, and so much has changed since I designed our own bathroom just three years ago, I can't wait to share some exciting finds. 

Covering Exposed Heating Pipes with Rope

When we gut-renovated the bathroom, one of the first things we demo'd was some ugly crumbling insulation covering the heat pipe. The previous owners had small children, so that insulation was a necessary safety measure. But I was sure that I could find something nicer looking, fit to be seen outside of the walls.

A whole year went by before I got around to it, though. And in the interim, both Ross and I have scalded ourselves while drying off after a shower.  So this year, covering this pipe was top on my list of things to do before cold weather hit and the heat was turned on in our building.

With this weekend turning unseasonably cold for early fall - no time like the present to check this project off my list. 

Bathroom Design: Encaustic Tiles Have Real Art Deco Appeal

Marrakech Design

I'm drooling over encaustic tiles lately. Over at Sweeten Blog, Pepper and Marshall share their bathroom reveal and the tile they chose for their Washington Heights art deco era home. 

Artwork in the Bathroom

It had been a little over a year since the big bathroom reveal, and I still had a blank wall. I'm a big fan of artwork in the bathroom. Well, I'm a fan of artwork everywhere, really. And for many years, the bathroom was the place where I'd hang some of my lesser favorites or framed posters, thinking any moisture damage wouldn't bother me so much. But I've spent so much time designing this bathroom that I couldn't put just anything in here. I was holding out for the right thing.

Marble Bathroom Reveal: From Gutted to Gorgeous

It's incredibly rewarding to renovate an old home, especially a mid-century gem like this one, which had seen better days. Weeks of excavating layer upon layer of poorly executed past remodels has brought out the beauty that was always hovering beneath the surface.

Do you recall my inspiration board and final design plans?

As bad as the bathroom looked when we purchased this home, you could see it had a few things going for it. First, a separate shower stall allowed me to delete the redundant shower head over the bathtub. Ditto the curved shower rod and plastic curtain. 

A new free-standing soaking tub became the focal point, and we wrapped it in marble. 

The art deco chrome-and-glass shower door is the original, manufactured in 1946 by G.M. Ketcham MFG Corp., Brooklyn. Luckily, it was in salvageable condition. I cleaned it and polished the chrome with Bar Keepers Friend, then had it reglazed with clear glass.

I'm so happy that we were able to save it—it's the old things like this that give a home character. 

Finally, we were lucky enough to encounter surprisingly good conditions beneath the walls. 

The plumbing was in great shape.

The beams were solid.

No leaks and no mold. 

It's rare to open walls of a bathroom and find zero issues—and testament to the soundness of this 1946 building.

Ready for some After vs. Before photos? (Let's have "dessert" first!)

Installing a Statuary Marble Bathtub Surround and Deck

The marble arrived and it is a thing of beauty:

Though warned by multiple sources, I stuck to my guns on a honed finish. I just don't like ultra shiny marble. Empire covered sealing upon fabrication, and again after installation. And I will take their advice to reseal it myself every couple of months (I'll let the "water test" be my guide).

Choosing a Marble Slab

Today I visited a marble fabricator in Brooklyn - Empire Cabinets and Marble. And I viewed a few slabs that might work. I'm loving the deep veining of Statuary Marble.

When you go to "choose your slab" from a fabricator's yard, it comes out at you in big raw blocks like this. Having had to choose slabs before for kitchens, I can tell you that it's not always easy to visualize how stone will look once you get it inside and onto, say, a countertop. For one thing you are standing outdoors in a huge yard of stone slabs in glaring natural light.

Choosing the marble was easier somehow than those other times. I don't know if it's that I've been through this a number of times or that it's easier to visualize how it will look on the sides and top of a bathtub than countertops. Or if it's the size - we're not buying a whole slab for our small needs, just a remnant (much less expensive). Anyhow, I found the one I want and put down the deposit.

And not a moment too soon.

Bathroom Lighting & Storage

We are down to the wire! Literally.

It is time for me to firm up lighting specs and measure where the recesses for the medicine cabinet, tall side cabinet, and shower alcove will go.

It's always jarring in that stage of a renovation when you move from dream phase to purchase phase. It means the dreaming (and paging through Houzz and Pinterest) that I have been doing since I made the offer on this apartment in July is about to come to an end. But also that the end product is near.

So, these are my choices.

Measuring Your Bathroom for Subway Tile

If you are like me, you may have been poring over Pinterest and Houzz for months in preparation for your next home renovation project, but when the time comes to actually place the orders for all the fixtures and supplies, you find yourself scrambling.

When it came time for me to order our bathroom tile, I had some measuring to do.  

Final Bathroom Design

My Inspiration Board!

After many hours spent poring over Houzz and Pinterest, shopping tile stores in Chelsea, and comparing samples, I've decided that the bathroom in our 1940s mid-century apartment is going to be a modern take on the classic subway tile bathrooms of the era. 

Here's the plan.

1940s Bathroom: In Praise of Subway Tile

We are closing in on our purchase of our new home in Jackson Heights! On Friday I received the mortgage commitment, so the next step will be our interview with the co-op board.

Today I am sitting at the computer assembling all the financial information that the co-op board has requested. Well, that's what I'm supposed to be doing. What I am really doing is flipping through bathroom photos on Pinterest and Houzz.

Vintage Sinks Versus Vintage-Look Sinks

I am seeing some amazing vintage sinks on craigslist for just $50!

Look at this vintage peg-leg sink - swoon! These old sinks make me weak in the knees - despite the grit and grime. I just love these old porcelain beauties.  Unfortunately, I can't go for them. 

Here's the reasoning.

Bead Board Bathroom Loves Claw Foot Tub

Cottage After - With Bead Board

Our cottage was built in 1925, so it's pretty astounding that it had an indoor bathroom. One of the elders in our home association told me that our cottage was built as a display home and the indoor bath was a selling point.

Here's what it looked like when we bought the place.

Corner Cabinet in the Bathroom = Cottage Style

Corner Cabinet = Cottage Style

As you can see, the mauve tiles are gone and the bead board is up. We actually did not even remove the wall tile. Dan paneled right over them. Yes, you can do that. He had to remove trim and put it back. But looking at it today, you can't tell it was ever there.

You can also see the base of the new pedestal sink.

I love the look of a pedestal sink - especially in a small bathroom, where being able to see the some floor beneath the sink contributes a sense of airiness - but I also hate clutter. And there is always the challenge of where to put our "stuff".

This cottage bathroom has a linen closet right outside the door, so we can store extra towels and soap and TP and such things there. But where to put all the little things like razor blades, shaving cream, shampoos and rinses, shower gels, and sunscreen?

We found this charming little corner cabinet at one of my favorite antique stores - White Flowers Farmhouse in Peconic. And I think it will fit right in with our cottage decor. I'm not even going to paint it. I like its imperfections.

This bathroom is coming together!