Master Bath Tub Before and After

 

I think my favorite “cheat” on this before and after is the surround around the tub.  The original plan was to rip out the tile, but it was too difficult.  Solution: Black grout paint—cheap and easy.  I also love that we added the Sprayer.  Although it was a bit scary to drill a hole in the tub, it was a very simple process.

Giveaway and Countertops

I’ve learned so much from reading The Granite Gurus blog, and they are sponsoring another really cool giveaway.

As we’ve remodeled and redecorated the house, we’ve chosen different types of finishes for countertops.  My all-time favorite is still the Silestone in the kitchen.  (Some pics of the big project are here, here and here).



I love the look and feel of the product.  It was very comparable in price to granite, and I just love how durable it is.  The only maintenance involved is cleaning, and it still looks brand new.  The majority of people that come to the house think it’s granite, which is exactly the look we were going for.  That’s good, too.

Also in the kitchen is an entertainment Center/Bar, we had done at the same time. 



The two smaller side countertops are Black Galaxy granite, and the higher middle countertop is wood.

This is one of my favorite pieces in the house.  I love that it is a bar, but not too “bar looking”.  In some of the older homes in our neighborhood there are bars in the Living Room…most of them wind up with that ‘70s vibe of polyester, ABBA, shag carpet and swingers…that’s not what we wanted.   I hope we pulled it off.

In the Master Bath, we went with a mixture, too.  (see some of the BEFORES here and here)



Crema Marfil Marble on the Sink Countertops and Baltic Brown on the Vanity-turned-Morning-Kitchen countertop.



I think the marble is beautiful, but I don’t love the etching of the surface.  Even liquid hand soap left on overnight will etch the surface.  And while I recognize that is the natural process, it’s not my favorite. 
Which I do find interesting, because I enjoy the gradual “distressing” of a hardwood floor….?

The last countertop we’ve redone is the Family Room Bar.



We went with Granite down here, and it is beautiful.  We had considered Vetrazzo Alehouse Amber, but at the end of the day, the price was right on the Granite.  We use this space a lot: especially the kids.  There’s a microwave tucked under the counter and a stove right around the corner of that arched doorway; it works really well when they need to “fend for themselves” for lunch or dinner.  As such, the space does get a fair amount of abuse.  It’s holding up great, but just doesn’t seem to have quite the same original “Shine” as the Silestone has maintained. 

All that being said, in a heartbeat, I would do the Silestone in the kitchen and the Granite in the Bar the exact same way over again.  Now, the marble in the Master Bath…?  It IS beautiful, and if I was redoing AGAIN, I am not 100% sure I’d go with it again, but, I’m not 100% sure I wouldn’t either.  So, there ya go!

Linked to Remodelaholic's Anon.

Good Morning, Morning Kitchen

Hello, Sunshine!

This weekend we FINALLY finished the Master Bath Remodel, which began in 2009.
We ripped out and rebuilt just about everything, but one project we just couldn’t seem to finish: the Morning Kitchen.



We started seeing Morning Kitchens, sometimes called Morning Bars, in Model Homes around our area about 3-4 years ago and immediately loved the idea.  A small space in the Master Suite dedicated to a cup of coffee, some wine or champagne—and all without having to leave your own room.  Like being at a hotel on vacation.

And, as our kids become teenagers, the idea of being able to shut and lock the doors to the Master and hide from them becomes more and more appealing.

Our Master bathroom has two sinks, separated by a bench on one wall.  Opposite those sinks is a linen closet, then the shower, and then a Vanity.  The Vanity is right next to the tub.  The PERFECT place for a Morning Kitchen.

We really liked the idea of reusing the existing cabinetry—being both eco and cost friendly. And it worked out great that the original space, which was designed for a small chair or stool, was very close to the size of a small refrigerator. 

First, we removed the icky, stained, formerly white, wood countertop, and replaced it with Baltic Brown granite.  It complements the Crema Marfil Marble countertops for the sinks, and I knew I didn’t want marble on a countertop where I might spill wine or coffee.

We pulled down the big mirror and replaced the light fixture.

Next, Ryan removed the drawer above the stool/chair opening to give it enough height for a refrigerator. 
We added some trim, painted the whole thing Black, ran an electrical outlet and there you have it.  Good morning, Morning Kitchen.

I think we’ll keep coffee, a bottle of wine, bottled water and, of course, a bottle of champagne there. (we don’t really drink champagne, but won’t it appear to be sexy-sexy by the tub? hah!)  I’m interested to see how much we will really use it.  But, we would never have used the vanity as it was.  AND, it would be easy to convert back to a vanity, if anyone in the future preferred it that way.  Plus, it’s just cool!

Here are the BEFORE and AFTER photos.  I had completely forgotten how bad it was.




I may be hiding out in here tonight…or for the rest of my life.  If I never comment on your blog or post again, well, you know where I will be.

Thank you, Master

Still waiting on that KVM extender.

In the meantime, can we visit the Master Bedroom? We haven't done a lot in here, but it's one of my favorite rooms in the whole house.

First, you get to it by going through it's own little hallway.



Here's a closer look. Renee at Modus Operandi Designs, who just happens to be my SIL, has suggested we frame this massive built-in mirror. Love the idea and have put it on the to-do list. The arrangement and the table both came from Cameron's. One of my favorite stores in the world.

Ryan replaced the original light with this one, which matches our Dining Room fixture and is on a dimmer switch. SEXY! (BTW, the old light -- we thought it was frosted glass. It wasn't. Just years and years of dust on it.)



Turn to the left and you go into the Master Bathroom. I've shown LOTS of pictures of the Master Bath. here and here and here and here . (Sadly, I am not done with that room yet!)

Turn to the right, and that's where the MAGIC happens!

You know it!

His and Hers Closets!

I am on the left and Ryan on the right. My mom says the double closet situation will save our marriage and add 20 years to Ryan's life (I'm a wee bit of a slob.)



Once in the Bedroom, you see this to the right side. The bookcase also came from Cameron's, and is filled with many of my favorite things. We just got the bedspread on sale at JC Penney, and one day will replace the nightstands and headboard.



And you see this to the middle-left-ish. I LOVE this part. Chairs, ottoman, pillows, table and the mirror that you can barely see due to the picture being so dark - all from Cameron's. The pillows and ottoman were in the "Clearance Cove." SWEET DEALS! My mom made the curtains - more on those later! The cats belong to the children: Sugar on the left belongs to Harper and Sonic on the right belongs to Tanner.



There's also a fireplace and a rather largish TV to the left of the chairs. The picture was super blurry, and I'm too lazy to take another right now. Plus the fireplace REALLY deserves a post all it's own (and in this case, that's not a good thing!)

Last - help me out here. See this hole over the bed? REALLY don't know what to do with it. Is it cool or like a college dorm room? Is it OKAY to have the headboard covering up the bottom? I suck at accessorizing. What to do with it?



And THAT concludes the tour!

Shower Time!

The Office is getting so close; I might cry. (of happy excitedness!)

So! Back to a what I consider a remodel success - the Master Bath.

Funny. RD and I spent a part of the evening discussing the merits and drawbacks of the daily shower with our kids. Is it my unconscious inspiring this post?

While I plan on letting the photos drive the story--I must remind, the shower had one glass block wall, which had not been properly sealed, causing rust of the corners and inside the block. There were also two doors - like a car wash. You could enter dirty on one side and exit clean on the other. Sweet!

That was the before and afters. This is the new niche Ryan built into the formerly glass-block wall. For blog-sake, I tried a picture without all of our crap, but was so happy with how the "Crap"-one still looks good, decided to go with it. (And we're about honesty, right?)

That travertine FRAME around the edge? Isn't that fantastic? Regular price? $29.99 for a 9-inch section. I am not kidding. Found it CLEARANCED for $5.99. I've said it before and will say it again...It's important to be flexible when remodeling.

Another thing. Don't be afraid to mix items. While we chose some high end finishes for the bathroom, the main tile in the shower is a middle-priced porcelein. But, we chose to install it in the brick battern and then apply the vertical border on top with the inlays for more interest.

And we did use the more expensive diamond travertine on the floor, in the niche and on the bench, but those are 'impact' areas.

The black accent tile was very inexpensive, but gave us exactly the contrast and tie-in to the granite we used on the floor of the bathroom proper. And then that fabulous travertine trim! We used it in the shower as a trim on top of all the tile, as a frame around the niche, and also as an accent around the tub surround.

And, no longer in the shower, but I love the beautiful mosaic polished Crema Marfil...that was a job of it's own! More on it later.

Linked to FIF #21!

The Sweet in my Suite

When we were redoing the Master Bath, our goal was to get an upscale hotel suite feel. Thus, many of our finish decisions were driven by that: shiny silver fixtures, cream marble, black granite and a clear and frame-less glass shower door.

Imagine my delighted surprise when I got to my room at the Mandalay Bay Hotel for the ACE Conference last week and saw this:

image courtesy Kayak

And how it compares to THIS!

Even the floor. While the Mandalay Bay bathroom had an Absolute Black Accent strip inlaid in the Crema Marfil Marble floor, and our bathroom has Absolute Black Diamonds inlaid in our Polished Porcelain floor (which matches the Crema Marfil Marble counter tops, mosaic tiles and other accents), the colors and feel were really spot on.

AND the pivoting flat screen, which can be seen from the sinks or the tub were both there.

While Mandalay Bay has more modern lines, and we were going for more of an early century look, the feeling when you are in the rooms is really similar.

The one drawback our bathroom has compared to the fancy hotel suite: I have to clean my own toilet.

The Master Bathroom Tub

Ahhh...the Master Bath. For today, let's focus on the tub.

Just a reminder that our home was not built in 1983 and Joan Collins did not live here.
image credit

It was, in fact, built in 1997.

And other than pointing out that the gold fixtures have greenish/brownish discolored spots, the grout was stained, and the plastic blind over the tub was yellowing--I can't really add any more words to describe how ugly this area really was.

Our original plan was to tear out the tile on the tub deck and replace it with a solid granite, but as we dug into it, we were reminded again that while whoever 'designed' the space did a lot wrong, whoever built the house did everything right. The tiles were all set in a solid bed of concrete; pulling them up would have probably damaged the tub and been a a more difficult task then we (okay...RYAN) were willing to undertake. Thus, BLACK became our accent color. (When remodeling, I cannot stress the importance of FLEXIBILITY!)

We also discovered that they make grout paint, which is durable and pretty easy to use, (I did that part!) and by painting the grout lines black, it hinted toward the seamless look we were after.

BTW and FYI - My mom had suggested that I try a Black Sharpie marker to color the grout. I tried it. It totally didn't work. Get the Grout Paint.

Master Bathroom countertops

The Master Bath Counter Tops BEFORE.



(read with sarcasm) They went GREAT with the burgundy paint and black tile.

We went with Crema Marfil Marble on both sink counter tops. I do get concerned that I will stain it or forget it's wimpiness and use Ajax on it some day OR my mom will decide she can no longer stand the Jungle Dirt of my home and scrub them to the point of erosion with an abrasive cleaner. But I really like it.



And we went with Baltic Brown Granite on the vanity turned Morning-Kitchen, but it's not done yet!

Peer Pressure and Plumbing Fixtures

The hardware on the doors throughout our house is brushed nickel. When we redid the Master Bath, we were planning on buying pulls and plumbing fixtures with that same finish. When the time came to make the purchases, we changed our minds. Our cabinet guy was all relieved and said, "Thank goodness, you have decided to go with oil-rubbed bronze!"

Ummm, NO! Not ORB! We had decided to go with the shiniest silver finish we could find.

He was shocked and blown away and made it obvious he thought we were going in the wrong direction. We did trust his opinion and had some fears the shiny might look cheap, and although the fixtures we wanted were cheaper in the silver than the ORB, those suckers weren't cheap. We went back and forth and back and forth questioning our decison and finally went with our gut.

We were shooting for that high-end hotel suite feel...lots of clean and shiny surfaces, and I really think the silver finishes helped pull that together. And the best part?! They were literally 1/3 of the cost of the ORB!

Master Bath Remodel

It's hard to know where to begin on the Master Bath. By and large it was the ickiest room in the entire house (after the cleaning -- in fact, our daughter's bedroom wins ickiest BEFORE cleaning...shudder...).

First, it had carpet, which was just gross.

Second, it had wallpaper under two layers of paint, which had never been sealed properly. The most recent coat was a burgundy shade and when the room got steamy, the paint ran. It was like the walls were bleeding.

Third, there's a great jacuzzi tub, which was tiled with black 4x4 tile and a burgundy accent - that with the Grecian columns gave it a '70s porn vibe.

Fourth, the glass block shower had never been sealed properly, thus water had gotten between the tiles and caused the metal outsider corners to rust: leaving rust stains inside the glass block and rusting out the lower corners of the walls on either side of the glass block wall.

Fifth, the counter tops were those precast counter tops and sinks and were in a lovely shade of light pink.

And last, there were lots and lots of mirrors in which to admire everything.

We ripped out the entire shower and rebuilt it, took down all the mirrors, took out all the tile around the tub (but ended up leaving the black tile on the tub deck), took up the carpet and replaced it with tile, left the original cabinets, but got new counter tops, sinks and hardware, had some cabinetry built for above the cabinets and on the tub front, framed new mirrors, hung new lights, added sconces and I think that's it. We were going for a warmer, cleaner, fancy hotel feel.

Here's the before, and I must say that this picture makes the bathroom look FANTASTICALLY better than it did in real life.

This is the After: