8/24/2009

Bathroom Idea Board

As usual, I'm obsessing about the bathroom.  Big surprise there.  To organize my thoughts, I put together a little idea board of the products and materials I plan on using. 

Starting in the upper left and moving clockwise...
  1. Subway tile.  I love the classic look and easily-maintained surface.  Unfortunately, we can't afford to tile a wainscot around the entire room, so we're planning on using it for a tub/shower surround.  American Olean seems to have discontinued their "Greenwich Village" line, so we'll be looking for a suitable substitute.
  2. Pedestal sink.  This one is American Standard's Retrospect.  I like how this sink combines both rounded and squared elements.  It's not too mission-y, but not too colonial revival-y.  It also complements quite a few styles of faucets.
  3. Built-in medicine cabinet.   I haven't seen this particular style for sale anywhere, but I'm keeping my eye on salvage stores.  The open shelf underneath would be great for often-used items (q-tips, jewelry tray).  I definitely want the cabinet to be inset into the wall.  
  4. Some kind of square, mission-style sconce.  These are for either side of the medicine cabinet.  These are from Restoration Hardware, but I found some at VanDykes that are a little less expensive but still have the same feel.
  5. Kohler Bancroft faucet.  Not too rounded and swoopy, just clean and classic looking.
  6. Hex tile.  I'm definitely using this for the floor.  Not sure if we'll include some kind of pattern or accent in black tiles.  Probably.  What;'s the fun of mosaic tiles if you don't get to play with designs?
  7. Kohler Bancroft tub.  Big compromise, for both of us.  Shayne wants a longer, deeper tub; I want cast iron.  Budget and space dictate otherwise.  To keep costs down we're going to move the plumbing as little as possible.  The sink will scoot over 2-3 feet, but that's it.  So there's no room for a wider tub in the current floorplan, and the cast iron one I want (Kohler Kathryn) costs over 3 times as much. The Bancroft is a good compromise with a little vintage character, relatively deep bathing area, standard dimensions, and thick acrylic walls.  Anything's better than the 8" deep, cheap, POS tub we have now, though.
  8. Color.  Some sort of soothing, gray-green.  
  9. Beadboard (not shown).  Poor-man's substitute for a subway tile wainscot.  :)  Plus, since our house is something of a farm house, and is very simple with its detailing, I think beadboard is more true to its style. 
Since we're not changing the floor plan, I was concerned that the room would look closed-in.  It does now, but there are big, oak cabinets and a huge vanity hogging up physical and visual space.  I'm hoping with a smaller sink and no gigantic cabinet it will open things up.  I found a few pics online that show a bathroom almost identical to the look we're going for.  Currently, these are my inspiration pics:

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