The new-build bathroom is taking shape. The next thing to do is install the tile on the floor and shower and, since that will begin next week, I thought I would talk about some of the saves and splurges, what to look for and how to save.
In this particular house, there was a custom window in the bedroom space where we wanted to put a pair of French Doors. Trying to save as much of the budget for other things, we decided to re-use the window in the bathroom--a big save. It is a rather large window, but it overlooks a particularly pretty floral garden and patio, so we felt it was a good move. My client had to purchase a custom window for a wall in the new bedroom extension to match an existing window, and not having to buy two custom windows made good sense.
Having a large window in the bathroom made for some challenges for the vanity, described in earlier articles; the placement had to be fairly low to be level with the height of the vessel sink. The length of the vanity also had to match the width of the window, so this furniture piece turned out to be truly perfect fit for a vanity. The cost of the vanity was another big save.
Finding an acceptable faucet set for the vessel sink turned out to be more of a challenge that expected; after all, vessel sinks seem to be quite popular. However, we did not find anything that met the criteria in the home centers, so we explored higher end retailers. This purchase turned out to be one of the splurges we had been saving some of the budget for; but beauty has its price.
Since the vanity is the real focal point of the bathroom in this instance, my client wanted it to reflect a certain elegance and grace. The shower fixtures, while important, will not be so much on view as the sink, so those fixtures were a little less spectacular in both cost and aesthetics; however, they are made of a good quality metals instead of more standard plastic that most of the home centers offered-- another save.
A special feature was the accent tile in the shower. Since this house is of an older and particular vintage style, we headed to Mission Tile in South Pasadena and, decided on a classic design in custom colors that will remain timeless. While this could be considered to be on the splurge side of the ledger, the area was small and the cost was minimal. Of course, we could have chosen something from the home center, and the cost would have been less, but the effect would have been less as well.
There are still a lot of details to attend to before we can call the job finished, but the major expenditures are in or nearly so. Hopefully, this project will be finished in the next couple of weeks, and I can share with you some of the photos of the completed bathroom.
