Master Bathroom Reveal!

finished.  complete.  done.  concluded.  over.  through.  Whatever word you choose, it’s finally time for a formal reveal of the master bathroom at casa da bauer.  It’s officially time to let her  to walk down the runway, hopefully without tripping.

We designed the vanity with with the help of our local cabinet store, Nitro Carpet and Tile.  The cabinets span 12 feet across the entire bathroom.  They are made of solid maple with a linen (white) stain.  The hutch was on my must have list since Ryan requested a television like we had in our first home.  The hutch is 36″ wide, 8″ deep, and 60″ tall.  Ryan added extra support for the TV mount and hardwired cable and electrical before we hung drywall.   The wall scones are from the Halina Collection at Home Depot and the towel bar is the London Terrace towel bar (I splurged for the 8″ towel bar because I have a bad history with towel rings…they constantly fall off the wall!!!!!  …at least for me).

Despite naysayers, we opted to go with a Carrara marble countertop.  It was quite a fiasco.  I put a deposit on a slap that perfectly matched our 12×12″ floor tile at a local store called Casto Tile.  They decided to sell our piece to someone else then refused to give us our money back because they didn’t have enough money in their account (go figure).  After a few calls to the credit card company, we got our refund and found a similar slab at Origins Granite.  It’s not an exact match (the veining is a bit darker) but in the end, really?!  ….I’ll be the only one who looks that closely.  And our double bonus?  We ended up saving $1,000 by going to the competitor!  (note to all: ALWAYS put your deposit on a credit card!)

We opted to go with the rectangle under-mount sinks.  Originally my plan was to go oval.  I thought the round shape might break-up all the straight lines in the room, but at the request of Ryan we went the rectangle route  (Gotta let him win one here and there).  They are the Decolav brand from Home Depot.  The faucet is the Victorian center-set chrome faucet from Overstock.  It’s a single handle design (at the request of Ryan – he has more say than he thinks he does (wink, wink)).  The faucet is actually the first thing I bought back in January/February 2013 when this whole remodel mess began.  The reviews about installation were awful, but since I knew a plumber was going to install them I figured it didn’t really matter…and I was right, he had no problem (leave it to the pros!).  We actually hired a plumber to do about $1,300 worth of work.  We needed to move  the plumbing for our sinks and add to the existing plumbing to accommodate the 3 separate shower heads in our massive 5×8 shower.

The glass doors are each 36″ wide and 80″ tall, spanning a 74″ opening.  They came from another local company called The Glass Guyz  (who were awesome, by the way!), out of Hurricane, WV.    We tried to shop local, avoiding the big box stores as much as possible.  The hinges and handles are also chrome.  We splurged on the upgraded towel bar handle for $50 more per door.

All three shower heads are Delta brand, also in chrome.  The center shower head is a handshower on a slide bar for easy cleaning or handicap accessibility if something tragic happens down the road….always thinking ahead!

We used 2×4″ Carrara marble in a subway pattern on the shower floor.  At first we were concerned the floor might be slick, but there’s enough grout between those tiles to act as a natural anti-slip mat.  We also carried those 2×4″ marble tiles to a chair rail on the shower walls.  In an attempted to add a little contemporary flair to this mostly traditional bathroom, we laid the 9×24″ grey wall tile vertically.   The tile itself is almost the exact opposite pattern of the Carrara marble.  It’s a dark grey with light grey veins.  Made by Crossville, it’s called General’s Grey.  We order both the floor and wall tile online, both shipped without any problems!

Lastly, the watercloset.  I won’t lie, it was my request.  Having the pleasure to stay at several Ritz Carlton hotels as a youth, I was always fascinated with that private watercloset hidden behind a  louver door.  (I guess interior design has always been in my blood…ha!)  Granted, I didn’t get a louvered door (another win for Ryan), but a fancy Kohler commode with crown molding from Ferguson’s is always a plus.  We still have to replace the window sill and add casing around the window when the weather is warmer but if that’s the only thing incomplete on this 9 month renovation, I’ll take it!!!

Now for the side by sides of the before and afters from the same angle.  (Find more on the befores here , here and here)

So did we hit it?  Did we create the timeless mater bath retreat/classic hotel feel that we were going for??!   It’s insane to look back at the past year and the transformation our (not so new anymore) house has made!  We plan to put the finishing touches on the bedroom and start the custom built closet system in the walk-in during the next few weeks….we’re moving at the pace of snails, I know.